Princess of Pies: Part Two

The pie parable continues...

Typically we are confronted by two kinds of pie right?

Custard/Cream Pies and Fruit pies.

Generally it is thought that pumpkin pie and sweet

potato pie fall somewhere in the middle if not make up

their own new category. What say I? Who gives a trixie's butt.

I love the idea of creating pies that no one would expect.

Or creating pies out of whatever you can scrape together.

For the vegan potluck we attended at Rancho Park in LA

on Thanksgiving, I made a winter fruit pie. Originally from

Catt Johnson's Witch in the Kitchen, I veganized it.

It uses a basic pastry crust, but I can imagine something like

a gingersnap or oatmeal crust being really good too.

The filling includes

3 cups of dried fruit (any, chopped)

I used apricots, raisins, golden raisins, and cranberries

2/3 cup vegan rum (white bacardi is good)

1/3 cup turbinado sugar

juice of one lemon or large lime

2 tbsp of earthbalance

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp sea salt

Mix all your dried fruit in a bowl, so its evenly distributed.

Heat the alcohol, sugar, juice, earthbalance, and seasonings

over a medium heat until it starts to thicken and bubble.

Add the vanilla and pour over the fruit, stirring to coat well.

Allow to sit about 20 minutes, so the fruit absorbs the syrup

and it can thicken a little. Pour into your prepped crust and

bake for about 20 minutes at 375F.

With the extra bits of crust, I shaped some autumn leaves and

placed them on top. Beautiful!

For more picture in this series checkout my facebook page!

Seven Pies for Seven Brothers: Part One

You may be thinking to yourself why the heck would I be making

so many pies and how in the world do I know seven brothers,

well the answers are simple. First, I like pie. I also would like to

mention that the holidays are here and you all need to refresh

your traditional pie making habits. Seven brothers, no. I just

hijacked the name, but if I end up eating all of these on my

own I will be the size of seven brothers by New Years.

Step One: Revamp or Perfect your crust

Although its been a while since I've even tasted a store bought

pie (blasphemy!) my main complaint at the time is that the crust

either appeared to be made out of tissue paper and paper mache

or rolled out- sugary wall paper paste that absorbed the jelly

filling. Yeah, I've been making my own pies for years and a

damn good crust is something I kind of pride myself on.

Now I don't plan on divulging all my secrets of pie making to you

here and now, but I want to just state some simple things.

Be inventive and match your crust to your pie, it doesn't all

have to be the same basic pastry crust. Here I made a strawberry

pie with a chocolate crust by just adding a couple tablespoons

of sugar and cocoa powder to the mix.

Don't over mix your crust when you're preparing it.

When you add the oil (i.e. Earth Balance, vegetable shortening etc)

keep it in the form of little pea sized bits. They make pastry knife

do hickeys for exactly that purpose... Dough Blenders... I can't

recommend a specific one because I don't actually own one.

But they come in handy and are very easy to find. And if any

company wants to send me one to endorse, I'm certainly open to

that! The act of adding the oil into in the dry ingredients in the fashion

is called 'cutting'. You 'cut' the margarine into the flour. This ensures

a flakey crust, as the bits of oil will melt upon baking-- it will create

layers in your crust.

Do not knead or over mix your dough. We're not making freaking

bread here folks. If you over mix your dough, it will not be flakey.

Or worse, if you start to get into really mixing it you will activate

the gluten in your flour and it will get chewy and tough.

You can start to see this when you roll out cookies or a pie crust

multiple times.

Keep your surface floured lightly and evenly when rolling out.

The thing that pisses me off the most is when after rolling it out,

the crust sticks to the counter.

After rolling it out, trace the pie pan + an inch with a knife into

the crust. Fold it into quarters and place it that way into the pan.

This makes it easier to move and your crust won't tear.

Are you making a wet pie? If there is a lot of juice in the pie you are

making, like a fruit pie that I just did for Thanksgiving, than it is

important to prebake. Prebaking is simple, so don't look at it

as some sort of daunting task. After prepping your crust, just

throw it in the oven for about 8-10 minutes at 350F. This seals

it a little and prevents later sogginess. Another cool trick is

to brush the crust with soymilk before prebaking. Also try

that five minutes to the end of total baking time on the crust's

edge or top to add a beautiful gloss one would only expect with

egg whites!

Pasty Palooza

The all time best way to go through some on-the-edge veg

is by making soup, for sure. But what if instead of adding

all that broth, water, or (non-dairy) milk we kept all our veg

and seasoning ready for something else.

Howsabout some cornish pasties? They are dinner turnovers

to put it simply. Pronounced past-ee, not like pasty when

some is pale beyond belief.

Traditionally I believe they are made with lard (ew barf) and

beef (ew double barf). I made these with tempeh and a bunch

of different vegetables.

I used onion, a couple cloves of garlic, carrots, celery, turnips

(my favorite!!), collard greens, bell peppers and a bunch of

fresh parsley. The 'gravy' is pretty basic. I just start the

vegetables cooking in some oil or earth balance, add a little

bit of broth along the way and then add a few tablespoons of

flour when the vegetables start to look tender. This creates

a kind of basic roux. You can also go crazy with herbs.

Fresh of course is always best, but use what you have.

I like sage and thyme, marjoram is good to... maybe dill...

ROSEMARY.

So then you just plop your 'sloppy soup' into the center

of a rolled out ball of pie crust.

[1 1/3 cup flour, 1/2 cup earthbalance, 1/2 tsp salt, 4 tbsp water]

Fold the dough over and pinch the edges.

This made three very large pasties and we still had a lot

of filling. So leftover soup is a good filling where you

don't have a ton.

Put a couple of slits in the top to let the heat escape and

bake them at 400 for about 40 minutes or until golden.

You can brush the top with oil or soymilk during the last

five minutes of baking if you like to add an extra gleam...

*shiny shiny pasty*

Manic Mondays: Apple Dumplings with Rum sauce

Sometime between breakfast and ending up in the produce aisle

yesterday I had to choose what I was going to make for dessert.

I had a friend over for dinner before Monkey Man's gig. He was

making pizza and I had the assignment of wow-ing with dessert.

I didn't have much time to commit to cooking something, so it

had to be quick, simple and (as usual) absolutely delish.

I knew though when I saw those pretty little gala apples at the market

what dessert was going to consist of. Whenever I go camping I do baked

apples, stuffing them with just some sugar, raisins and cinnamon.

But last night I made full blown dumplin's.

Don't know how much wow-ing went

on in the rest of the room, but my taste buds were pretty happy.

I believe my taste buds where dancing to a punk rock version of 'what a

wonderful world'...

I started with a sweetened pie crust recipe- cut in half because there

was only three of us.

Crust

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup earth balance

1/4 tsp salt

1 tablespoon raw sugar

enough ice water to form a ball with the dough- about 2 tablespoons.

Cut the earth balance in to the dry ingredients, forming little pea

sized balls. This makes the crust flake, so don't knead it at all.

Add the water and split into three balls (?) Two if you want

a thicker crust. Roll these balls out and cut into squares.

The Apples

Core the apples, removing all the tough bits inside.

The filling

mix together a couple tablespoons of raisins and sugar

add about a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and couple tbsp of rolled oats.

I also added abut a tablespoon of sun flower seeds, but you can

use walnuts, pecans, or whatever blows your skirt up.

Place the cored apples on the center of rolled out crust.

Pack a third of the filling into the center of the apple.

Pull the corners of the crust up to meet the opposite corners

like a little package.

Stick em in the oven at 375-400 for about twenty minutes

or until the crust begins to turn golden brown.

To be honest I wasn't really watching the time or heat.

So don't worry too much. If your crust is cooked, your apple will

most likely be tender. Just don't put it right under the pilot light.

While this is all in the over or just ready to come out, start on your

rum sauce... which is comprised of .... soymilk... earth balance... sugar...

cornstarch or arrow root powder and rum. Dark or light rum is fine.

I used light, but dark would be just as tasty.

So melt a tablespoon of earth balance and 1/4 cup of sugar over med heat.

Dissolve 2 tsp of cornstarch in 1/2 cup of soymilk, making sure to avoid

lumping. Cook until just starts to thicken and remove from heat.

Add 3 tablespoons of rum and use immediately. That means pour

it over those hot apples!

Curry in a Hurry

It never ceases to amaze me that although I really don't have

tremendous amounts of stuff going on in my life-- at least

compared to what I was doing during my undergrad--

Everyday I still feel like everything is done in a hurry.

I cannot say if it is our culture, our society or just me, but

I always feel like I have so much to do, never get anything done

and am always HUNGRY!! Hee hee. Well, maybe not always,

but when I get home I want food right then in my face!

And the joy of being on one's own? I get to make whatever I want.

... Sort of. Although I dream of eating gooey brownie ala mode

every night and pie every morning for breakfast, I don't because

I don't wanna look as round as a pie. So instead I look to my other

favorite foods for respite.

All time, absolute favorite, king of them all?? Curry... *wipes drool*

You can get curry powder pre-mixed ready to go or you can throw

in the spices separately. Amusingly enough curry is not a traditional

indian dish, as many of us believe. Its actually a westernized take

on an indian blend of spices in a sauce used on whatever. Funky, eh?

Although each curry powder you buy is gonna be different most do

have a blend of coriander, turmeric, cumin and fenugreek. Red or orange

curry powders have different kinds of chillies and peppers.

Here I just used an average blend of yellow curry powder and

added some extra surprises.

Yellow Curry in a Hurry

1 tablespoon of olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp grated ginger

1 large bell pepper, chopped

2 carrots, cut into rounds

3 potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 package of tofu, cubed (can be fried beforehand)

2 tablespoons of curry powder

2 tablespoons of hot chili sauce

1 cinnamon stick

1 can of coconut milk

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.

Add the onion and cook until translucent and tender.

Add the garlic and ginger and keep stirring until fragrant,

about a minute or so. Next add the spices and chili.

Next drop in the slower cooking vegetables-- mainly the

potatoes. Add a little water, while these are all cooking to

prevent sticking. You can use vegetable broth if you like too,

I like adding a bouillon cube to add a little extra flavour.

Throw in the cinnamon stick and continue to cook on low-med

heat until all the vegetables start to cook. Stir in the coconut

milk and tofu and cook until heated through. Season with

salt to taste.

Serve over basmati or jasmine rice topped with fresh cilantro!

Manic Mondays: The Easiest Vegan Pancake in the Universe

Monday is always a hectic day for people it seems.

Getting back to the typical work week, going back to class,

packing your kids lunch, etc etc etc

So will that this chaos going on breakfast isn't always feasible.

So we need something fast, easy, and filling.

Well pancakes isn't alway the first thing that comes to mind

when talking about something fast, but when you make them

easy- its lightening baby. (Filling is always a given when talking

about lightening, I mean pancakes).

Pancakes can be a very delicate item when making. The batter

is super easy to over mix and then you're left with a flat-cake.

So if you want a pancake that is not like a fat lady came and sat

on your breakfast, take it easy Tex. Pretty much every culture

has sometime of pancake or flatcake, little leavened bread...

I like adding some vegan chocolate chips or berries. Oh, my

absolute favorite combo is chocolate chips and dried cranberries.

I top my pancakes with just a dab of earth balance and a drizzle

of light agave syrup. Leftovers are easy to pack up and roll with

some peanut butter and take for a snack.

The Easiest Vegan Pancake in the Universe

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon sweetener

dash of salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 cups soy milk

Combine the dry ingredients first then mix in soymilk gently

until just mixed. Preheat your griddle to cook on over med heat.

You will know when the pan is hot enough by sprinkling a

dash of water on the pan. If the water hisses and skips, the pan

is ready.

Pour onto a preheated griddle by the 1/4 cup. Cook until

the bubbles on the backside of the cake pop and flip.

cook a few minutes and remove, repeat and enjoy.

In Silence Sunday

As I am breaking the week up into a set schedule for my posts

and delineated what topics I will cover or what I want to show

that I've been cooking, I thought it was essential that I designate

a day for the discussion of the plight of non-human animals and

the degradation of or planet. Since Sunday is usually a day off for

me and comes as a holy day for many, I thought it was natural

that I choose this day to open to you all issues that come up

in my week that I feel are particularly pertinent and I can set

a space of time to honor the non-human animal that suffer at the

hand of their fellow earthlings. It is important that we honor who

we fight for and we remain grounded remembering that we're

not alone. In a way, it is honouring the fallen and rediscovering

our passion for life.

Today I came home from a class debate meeting slightly disappointed

in our not covering an angle that I feel is very important.

Our debate is on the effect of illegal immigrant on the economic

and social well-being of the US. It is unfortunate that this narrowed

thesis doesn't seem to allow for a discussion of environmental

well being. Yet, we must acknowledge that without long-lasting

environmental sustainability, you will not have economic

or social well-being. The degradation of our land will not support

the perseverance of any species-- thats the bottom line.

So here is the issue that I was hoping we would be able to outline.

The traffic and discarding of waste by illegal immigrants traveling

up through the US-Mexican border is destroying Southwestern parks,

wildlife refuges, and natural habitats.

The increase in border control near by urban areas has pushed illegal

immigrants into environmentally fragile areas. It would only take

some forethought to protect these areas, as well as their borders.

The main areas that are being affected are the Organ Pipe Cactus

National Monument and the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge,

which span more than a million acres of natural desert wilderness and

house beautiful creatures such as the Sonoran pronghorn, jaguar,

desert bighorn sheep, Gila Monsters, tropical kingbirds, and desert

tortoise-- and damage inflicted on these areas and these species could

take decades to repair.

In July of 2009 video footage from hidden cameras was put out

showing hundreds of immigrants carving trails though sensitive lands,

leaving behind piles of trash, human waste, clothing, drugs, CARS (!),

and evidence of fires. These roads are destroying vegetarian, wildlife

habitat and force migratory animals to retreat. These immigrants

draw the attention of Border Patrol helicopters that can disturb wildlife

as well as off roading vehicles that damage sensitive regions. The

trash left behind can poison the soil and water, as well as affect natural

erosion.

And what is the response to stop illegal immigrants tromping through

these precious wildness areas? Building huge fences and watch towers

across the borders. These fences are just as destructive to animal habitat

and wildlife patterns. This could be avoided by more innovative designs

for construction projects or more intelligent surveillance equipment

to improve security and reduce the need for fences, since all the fences

do is harm the animals-- they don't impede people. Partnerships could

be struck between environmental conservation groups and government

agencies to work together to protect these desert forests.

Now it has become a war in the government with opponents arguing

that once again environmentalists are impeding the progress of national

security. I read somewhere that there has at least been a decrease

in vehicles used by border control-- replaced by agents on horseback

in attempts to protect the natural wilderness.

If you watch the video (Created by a right wing group surprisingly),

you will be shocked by the disgusting disregard these people have

for this ecosystem. Trash and debris litters the trails in heaps. They

discard their belongings on the last part of the trek before taking off

in packed vehicles, led by coyotes (human traffickers).

Animals are shown frequenting these areas. As a hiker that religiously

abides the ultimate rule (leave only footprints), it makes me sick.

I'm not sure that I have a specific solution, but spreading the knowledge

is more important. Read more become aware.

And always write to your political representatives to make your views

and concerns known, even if they don't always read these things

what do you have to loose? A few minutes?

http://www.life.com/image/57203830

http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/view/5378

http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2006/02_01_2006_report_details_environmental_damage_from_illegal_immigration_and_border_enforcement_activities.php

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/16/national-park-service-putting-holes-in-border-secu/

Thursday Vegan Review

The best thing by far of being in a city again (probably the only good

thing actually) is options. You actually have the option of going to

a restaurant and pretty much depend on an all vegan menu if you so

choose. I can say that its become almost like a little side hobby of ours

in finding these little spots. Some have been pretty hot and popular--

others are classic hole-in-the-wall joints.

Don't get me wrong, above anything else I would rather cook at home.

And cooking is my passion, but once in a great while it is fun to go out.

It gives you ideas, lets you try new things, and lets you get out of the

freakin house already!!

So starting, now that I have the option to do so, I will be doing a weekly

review of something vegan! I may not get to a strictly vegan restaurant

every week because a lot are pretty far away. So the review may be of

a vegan option at a big chain, a vegan product, store, etc.

So lets get munching!

My Vegan

633 S Arroyo Pkwy Ste 3
Pasadena, CA 91105

(626) 578-9017

www.my-vegan.com

My Vegan is just out of downtown Pasadena, in the same general area

as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's-- and Granny's Natural Foods (?)

The place has the same vibe as a chinese restaurant, which worried

me a little at first because chinese restaurants are the bane of my

existence. But we were starving and it was hot hot hot outside.

So it was like a little sanctuary.

We were so hungry when the food came that we were actually giggling

with anticipation. First of all, their menu was enormous, so choosing

was a little difficult. They had a variety of asian/thai dishes with

some random continental ones thrown in.

We got a 'chicken' appetizer to start off with.

It was marinated in a yellow curry-- the brand-- no clue.

But they were in cutlet type shapes, kabob style.

They came with a cucumber salad and an orgasmic peanut sauce

(maybe a little too oily though).

We also got a serving of pumpkin fried rice with pepper steak. Every thing is shown on the menu and you get to add whatever fake meat you like. Retrospectively I would choose something else for this dish though, probably seitan. But it was still really really good.

The service was nice and helpful, the place was spick and span,

great location, a lot more dishes I would like to try.

Overall critique? Absolutely delish. Would I go back? Yessir.

Did I vote for them for the #1 Vegan restaurant in LA County

at the Vegan Day celebration?!? (I can't say! Hee hee!)

Not a Nut Sunflower Stew

No peanut butter for me from now on folks!

Well, at least not for a while. November 1st was international Vegan

Day. We went over to Burbank for a Vegan Roller Skating Party, which

was a blast. There were tons of vegan food vendors, a silent auction,

raffles, goodie bags, and lots of roller skating vegans.

So I left with a huge bruise on my tail bone and the winning bid for a

huge basket of sunflower seed butter (5 jars and a bunch of other stuff).

Sunbutter is pretty darn tasty-- and if you have a peanut allergy, its the

butter for you. My basket and goodie bag came with a bunch of their

little sample packs too, which I guess will be good for school lunches

but I don't like all that extra packaging that cannot be recycled.

Since I love peanut thai dishes, I absolutely had to try this out.

All the flavour and love of a traditional thai dish without the hidden

nastiness of the fish sauce. (That is something to remember kids,

whenever you eat out ANYWHERE-- thai dishes [curry, etc] will

ALWAYS have fish sauce or flakes init-- even if it is on the vegetarian

portion of a menu). You know how, even after you tell people that you

don't eat meat they still think you eat fish because some how fish

doesn't qualify as an animal (??!).

Anyway, enjoy my come back boys and girls (and monkeys)

Thai Sunbutter Stew

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1 large bell pepper, diced

1 tsp fresh ginger, minced

some vegetable broth or water

1 package of firm or extra firm tofu

1 sample pack or about 2 tablespoons of sunbutter

3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce

(1 tablespoon fresh lime juice- opt)

1 tablespoon (or more) of soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and add onions.

Cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent. Add garlic

and cook for one minute more. Add tomatoes, pepper, ginger and

some water or vegetable broth to assist in cooking and prevent

sticking. Cook for a few minutes more until peppers just start

to get tender. Add sunbutter, chili sauce, juice and seasoning. Stir until

all mixed and add tofu. Continue to cook until tofu is heated through

and peppers are thoroughly cooked. Serve over jasmine rice or a

super thin pasta like I did.

The pasta I used is similar to a thin angel hair, but it is packaged

in almost cake like packs at mexican markets. Super good and

satisfies every peanut craving.

Feel free to add a hot chili pepper to this recipe to add an extra

kick, I would have if I had had one...