Miss Kitchen Witch~ My Little Book of Spells

Vegan Margarita Cupcakes: The Real Deal

2011-10-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

As part-two of the fiesta cupcakettes that I made for MonkeyMan's
Aunt, I wanted some crazy margarita cupcakes. Obviously citrus,
but I didn't really know where to go from there.

Hopefully I won't get assaulted for this, but why are there no cupcake
recipes other than from the 'cupcakes take over' book. I looked over
the recipe and could just tell it wasn't going to be flavourful enough.
No, I wanted a sharp citrus, a creamy cupcake, and a strong kick of
tequila. Not a lingering aftertaste and some glaze with sparkly sugar
on top. Too harsh? I just wanted something that would knock people's
socks off. If it was just the tiniest bit bland, people are going to
immediately blame it on being a vegan cupcake.

Ole!

Margarita Cupcakes: El Auténtico

Ingredients

Juice and zest from one lemon
Zest from one lime
3/4 cup coconut milk/cream
(if using cream, reduce the oil and increase the cream to 1 cup)
I Like how this adds a little more of a topical taste
1/4 cup oil
3 tbsp tequila
2 tbsp triple sec
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup cake flour
2 tsp corn starch or arrowroot
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup earth balance
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
lemon or lime zest
1 tsp lemon or lime juice
4 tbsp tequila (Or more)
dash of salt
(one drop of each yellow and blue colouring: optional)

(+rock salt and more tequila)

Combine the lemon juice with the coconut, stir and set aside.
Sift together the dry ingredients (including the sugar).

Stir the coconut/lemon once more and add the alcohol, vanilla, and
oil. Gently combine the wet and dry ingredients, just until mixed.

Portion out into cupcake cups, about 80% full.

Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350°F. Remove when a tooth pick inserted
into the middle comes out clean, or you start to see the tiniest bit of
gold on the tops.

Remove from the pan and allow to cool on a rack. Right after placing
the cakes on the cooling rack, brush the tops with more tequila, making
sure to get around the edges too.

While the cupcakettes are baking, prepare the frosting.
First cream together the sugar and earthbalance, then add the zest,
juice, salt and a little bit of the tequila at a time.

The frosting should be smooth and fluffy, but not stiff or wet.
Right before frosting, brush the cakes again with tequila. Pipe the
frosting on in your favorite design, then top with a tiny wedge of lemon
or lime and sprinkle lightly with rock salt.

These went faster than a blink of an eye. Maybe a guacamole or salsa
cupcake should be next? Or is that just too weird? Okay.

How about a spicy mango?

Mexican HOT Chocolate Cupcakettes

2011-10-11T21:39:00.000-07:00

Monkey Man's Aunt had her big Five-O last week, so I've been planning
on sending some vegan goodies that direction for a while. Since her
party theme was Fiesta, I couldn't resist going loco for flavour.

This is part-one of these fiesta cakes. I call the mini ones cupcakettes
because I think it sounds cuter. And this is my first official blog
featuring cupcakes. I don't really care for them. If I have the option of
pie or something else, cupcakes are the last thing I would order.

SO. If I don't really like cupcakes and I say these are good...
You better bet these are smokin' Good!

For the initial recipe inspiration, I have to give a big 'ol shout-out
to "Yeah That Vegan Shit" and her Mexican Chocolate Cake!

I basically pumped up the spices, HOT factor, made my own frosting to
top 'em, and overall revamped it for richness. Not being able to resist
chipotle, I had to throw some in. I don't care if that bandwagon has
come and gone as far as food fads are concerned, I am forever sold on
the smokey spiciness!

These were rich, moist, and oh so spicy. Not overwhelming, but you
definitely get a warm kick after the first bite.

(Please be warned that I have a very high heat tolerance,
so please taste as you go).

Mexican HOT Chocolate Cupcakettes

Ingredients (yields 36-40 cupcakettes)

1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 cup sucanat
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp mild chili powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 chipotle in adobo sauce, diced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup almond milk

Add the lemon juice to the almond milk and stir, set aside. Sift together
all the dry ingredients, make a well in the middle of the bowl to add the
wet ingredients.

Add the vanilla, oil, and chipotle and about 1-2 tbsp of adobo sauce to
the almond milk. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until just
combined.

Pour into mini or regular cupcake cups and bake for 12 minutes at
350°F, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

It depends on what size you’re baking. Take a peek through the
window of your oven first, if they look like they are still rising—
DO NOT open your oven door! This could cause your cakes to fall!

Once baked through, remove from tray and allow to cool on a baking
rack before frosting.

Mex Hot Chocolate Frosting

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup earthbalance
2-3 tbsp almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Whip together the powdered sugar and the earthbalance, then add the
vanilla, cocoa, and spices. Add the nondairy milk a little at a time to
get the right consistency. It should be soft and smooth enough to pipe,
but not wet or runny. If it is too wet, just add a little extra sugar and
cocoa to absorb the moisture.

Spoon into a small star and pipe on your classic swirls, or whatever
design you like best. I topped them off with a chocolate cigarette and
a dusting of cinnamon.

Check back soon for some fan-frickin-tastic Margarita Cupcakettes!

Vegan, Soy, Gluten-Free Peach UpsideDown Cake

2011-09-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

With a lot more gigs picking up and all the summer travel plans,
the side work of writing, blogging and testing has taken the sideline.
However, I’ve been promising this posting for quite a while and
couldn't keep it from you forever!

Last month, I whipped up a summery storm for the Animal Acre’s Hoe
Down. Cooking and spending time at one of my favorite places?
What could be more fun!

Going with the summer/western theme we had BBQ Tofurky Baked-
Beans, Gardein Chick’n Salad, Tomato and Watermelon Salad,
gluten-free Sweet Potato Corn Bread, and gluten-free Peach
Upside-Down Cake! All my favorite tastes of summer before it
slips away to chilly autumn nights.

I just had to share the recipe for the Peach UpsideDown Cake!!
This cake can be done with pineapple, cherries, mango or any of
your favorite fruits—but I can’t get enough of fresh juicy peaches
when their in season. Served with vegan whipped cream, it is simply divine!

I’ve been doing a lot more gluten-free, so I hope you all enjoy!

Gluten-free Vegan Peach Upside-Down Cake

2 large ripe peaches or about 2 cups, sliced
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1 1/2 cup All Purpose GF flour
1/4 cup rice flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup peach pulp or juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp flaxmeal whisked with 3 tbsp water
1/3 cup turbinado
3/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla extract

In an 8 or 9 inch pan sprinkle the first quarter cup of sugar, then
place the peach slices over it.
Add the lemon juice to the almond milk and allow to sit and curdle.
Sift together the dry ingredients: flours, soda, powder, ginger, and salt.
Separately mix the juice/pulp, oil, flax sugar and vanilla. Add the
almond ‘buttermilk’ to the liquid mix. Gently fold in the dry mix,
just until blended and pour over the peaches in the cake pan.

Bake at 350F for about 25-30 minutes.
Once removed from the oven, put a plate over the pan and
(being careful to not burn yourself) flip over and let the cake slide out.

Allow to cool, but eat it while its warm with cream (Peaches and
Cream!!) It doesn’t keep that long, so eat it the day of at least!

Harry Potter Cauldron Cakes

2011-07-19T21:08:00.000-07:00

First off, I know not everyone out there is a Harry Potter fan and
not everyone is an avid fan as some of us. If you’ve never read the
books, watched the films, or taken part in the wizarding world of
J.K. Rowling, I strongly encourage you to.

It may not change your life, but you may be missing out on some really
good entertainment. What’s all the hype about? It may have just gotten
on your nerves and now you’re ignoring it out of principle. Get over it
and go read the books. Really. Honestly. It’s not high classic literature,
but they are really FUN and undeserving of your contempt.

I am not just saying this because of how much I love swords and
sorcery, or because I was one of those teens those wore capes to the
midnight book releases, or was one of those who finished the last book
in less than 48 hours.

I enjoy fan culture like this because of the sense of camaraderie.
Sure you can go to a rocky horror picture show screening or some other
cult flick and experience the same type of tuned-in energy, but the
whimsy of the whole thing becomes addictive. The HP bug doesn’t turn
off when you leave the theater, it stays with you the whole way home
and the next morning and lingers-- leaving you wanting more!

Cult flicks are tons of fun, all the fans cheer when certain characters
come on or when certain credits roll, but Harry Potter is much more.

I think it also has something to do with how loyal the movies were
to the books and how disappointed I was in the new Star Wars and
Lord of the Rings movies. I’ve given up on comic book films (Scott
Pilgrim excluded). I still enjoy the rebooted films like TRON and
Star Trek etc. But they simply don’t exude the same intoxicating energy
that Harry Potter does.

It is engrossing because of the depth, the detail, and the sheer
extent of character development. For many of us it was also a coming
of age ritual. It was something for us to look forward to each year
and to hide away in when reality got a little low. Hogwarts was a little
escape for each of us and sadly it has come to an end. I was a few years
older than the kids in the books when it first came out, but I was still
growing up while I was reading them. So it truly is the end of an age for
some of us.

Now all the films are out, I plan on going back and rereading the series
(when I get some time-- Eventually). I’ve read the first few books more
than once, but not the later ones. So, I’ve gone a little fuzzy on many of
the details. Besides, it is always fun to go back and try and pick up on
all the little hints when you know what the ending is going to be.

To be honest, the end has left me feeling a little low and really old.
I don’t like waiting for Halloween to costume up. How often to I get to
flaunt my Ravenclaw uniform? For now, I’ll have to bid a fond farewell
to Hogwarts and a turning point in my life-- now I’m coming up to my
quarter-life crisis who knows if anything will catch on like Harry Potter
and steal the hearts of so many muggles... at least in our lifetime!

So lets all raise our butterbeer and pumpkin juice to what was a damn
good, magical decade!

Yes, I saw it opening night-- not the midnight showing, but still...
And of course it was epic! (Surprisingly violent, watch out little ‘uns)

In celebration of Book 7 Part Two, I made some Cauldron Cakes
for your enjoyment. To be honest can’t remember if there was a
description in the books of these or not. So I just made what I thought
Cauldron Cakes sounded like. These are not sweet, so don't expect a
cupcake. They are hearty and look like they were cooked over a cauldron!

Harry Potter Cauldron Cakes

3 cups unbleached wheat flour
3 tbsp powdered sugar
2 3/4 cup non-dairy milk + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup berry jam
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup raisins, cranberries, cherries or chopped dates

Sift together the dry ingredients.
Mix the oil, jam and curdled non-dairy milk, slowly add to the
dry mix and stir briefly to not over-mix the soda. Add the nuts and
which ever dried fruit you like.

Pour into greased and floured cupcake cups or mini bundt tins.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes at 350•F.

Serve while still warm with powdered sugar and jam.

Try em with some Pumpkin Juice!

Here is also a Vegan version of ButterBeer from PETA2 which sounds
pretty good, except I might add some vanilla vodka or spiced rum
to give it a real kick.

All Hail Kale Salad: Swipe!

2011-07-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

Swiper, no swiping!

Those of you that have young siblings as I do or children of your own
might catch that reference. If not, I just swiped or knocked off a dish
from everyone's favorite Veggie Grill.

To be honest, I've never even had the darn thing. Yes, everyone raves
about it, blah blah blah-- but I have a hard time bringing myself to
pay $8-10 for a bowl of kale. I don't care how good it is. If I'm going
to go out to eat and drop dollars in the double digits, it better be
something I can't make at home or have never experienced before.

Its Ok if you can't cook and like to eat out because its the only decent
way to get good food, but you have to at least tell me you're trying to duplicate these things.

What is this All Hale Kale stuff? Apparently it is Kale and Quinoa
marinated in a papaya vinegarette, topped with purple cabbage,
walnuts, carrots, and a roasted corn salsa and chic'n/tempeh (opt).

I basically had everything but the papaya, so I subbed out some OJ for
that baby. Voila. Pretty delish. I didn't do the grilled plant protein,
since we were already eating quinoa and quinoa is high in protein.
Although, we did have some assorted baked sweet potato fries on the
side: orange, purple, and white sweet potato!

FYI: although many people do, there is really no need to remove the
stems from kale. Just cut off the very end and roll the whole leaf with
a rolling pin to tenderize. Crush the stem so it is soft and chewable.
Why waste a perfectly good piece of kale?

All Hail Kale Salad for 4

8 stalks of kale, tenderized and shredded finely
2 cups cooked quinoa

1 cup purple cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup raw walnuts, chopped

1/3 cup orange juice
2 tbsp olive oil or a nut oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp agave
juice from one lemon
1/2 tsp grated ginger
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup fresh corn
1 tomato, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 small clove garlic, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
juice from one lime
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro (opt)

Once the cooked quinoa has cooled, toss it with the kale and add the
dressing. Go ahead and mix the salsa, let it sit to 'age' the flavors.

Once you're ready to chow down arrange the salad on the plate
starting with the marinated kale, salsa, cabbage, carrot then walnuts--
or whatever you like, it's all ending up in the same place anyway!

This is where you go "WHAT? That's it?!" and I smile and laugh manically.

I guess it's the Forth of July... Don't go out and roast dead animals
or burn a forest down with stupid fireworks... please and thankyou.
No, we are not celebrating today. Why? I dunno, should it be a priority?

Mother Vegan Seitan Stroganov

2011-05-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

If you've followed me for a while, you're probably familiar with
my complicated relationship with mushrooms. You'll also be glad to
hear that I am still working on it. In fact, I actually had a craving
for a dish with mushrooms. Yeah, weird huh? Craving something that
could potentially trigger me to start gagging.

(If you're not so familiar with my mushroom problem-- for some
reason, ever since I was little, they cause me to gag. Not that
I don't like them, they just trigger me to puke. Yes, a complicated
relationship indeed.)

A few months ago I had a dish of middle eastern vegan stroganoff.
It was pretty good, I guess. But it was one of those dishes that you
sat at a restaurant eating while only thinking about how much better
you could make it. (Why the hell am I paying $12 for this!?)

I've also noticed that I have recently been ordering things that
Monkey-man would be more likely to pick off the menu, I suppose it's
my way of eating outside my comfort zone. It hasn't gone wrong so far!

Yet, since I knew he'd enjoy this Russian comfort food, I had to
make it for dinner. I believe that middle eastern versions usually
contain tomato paste, so mine is more Russian. I'd use a different type
of pasta than the little UFO guys we had here-- or even make it again
with some roasted potatoes, even better!

Mother Vegan Seitan Stroganov

2 tbsp earthbalance
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups white button (or any) mushroom, chopped
1/2 cup cup dry red wine
1 vegetable bouillon cube
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp mustard
1/4 cup water
1 cup seitan, chopped*
1/3-1/2 cup vegan sour cream
salt and pepper
pinch of tarragon

Melt the earth balance and add the onion and garlic, sauteing
for a few minutes until it become translucent and fragrant.

Add the mushrooms, bouillon cube, and wine. Cook the mushrooms
until the start to look a little soft. Add the flour and mustard
and cook for a few minutes more.

Add the water if it looks like it needs a little liquid.
Toss in the seitan, sour cream and seasonings and heat through.
Serve once the mushrooms are tender and it is thoroughly hot.

Made about enough for 4 servings, maybe more depending on what
you serve it with. I used my homemade cracked pepper seitan.
But use whatever works for you, as long as it has a good flavor.

If it is the unflavored seitan maybe add an extra bit of soysauce
and seasonings.

And if you haven't watched it yet, check out our video entry for
the Daiya cheese contest. And please share it too!

Cooking Video!!

2011-05-18T15:03:00.000-07:00

We had a blast this past weekend, filming and editing our first
'cooking video'. Of course we've both done this sort of thing
before, just not with food. Its an all out Scott Pilgrim, Classic
video game, geek squad sort of deal.

The recipe is for Chilaquiles, something my Mom used to make a lot.
Traditionally the recipes call for eggs, a lot of frying and a
butt load of cheese. (As in so much you'll get a big butt from eating
it all). Its a cross between an enchiladas casserole and nachos...
or a pizza. Lets just say its real tasty and easier than eating out.

My Mom used to make it with tomato sauce and ricotta, I've one up-ed
that and use a home made sauce pumped with garlic and onions and
tofu instead of cheese. You can top it with any of your favorite
vegan cheeses, but I prefer Daiya Cheddar or Pepper Jack!

So, watch the video, have a laugh and share-share-share.
To win we need the most views, so help us get it out there peeps!

Share me!!

Love Your Ma'ma!

2011-05-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

I know this is super last minute, but...

As a very special treat, I'm actually officially filling orders
for Mother's Day boxes in Los Angeles. If you're interested in
some taste vegan treats and forgot to grab something-- I've got your
back with...

Cake Donuts! : $12 a box - A pack of 6 classic cake donuts, 2 in each flavor:
Vanilla-Lemon
Cinnamon Sugar
and Original Sprinkle

Breakfast Scone Box: $12 a box - Features 4 delightful types of scones:
Orange-Cranberry
Green Tea
Ginger-Lemon
and Savory Sage

Fairy Cakes: $4 for each miniature cake
Raspberry with White Cake
Mango with White Cake
and Chocolate Creme

Order Now while you still can by emailing me misskitchenwitch(at)gmail(dot)com

Galaxy Vegan Cream Cheese

2011-04-05T20:34:00.000-07:00

It is spring (actually it has been for a month, but I'm behind).
The flowers are blooming, our lawn is literally a jungle out of
control, and all sorts of new veg products are hitting the shelves
faster than you can say 'march hare'.

One of the newest vegan cheeses on the street is Galaxy Nutritional
Foods cream cheese, which I got the pleasure of trying out for
all of you!

Not only is there an 'original plain' flavour, but there is also a
'chive and garlic' flavour much to Monkey-man's delight.

I can't lie, I love my bagels. But I wanted to do something a little
nicer than bagels to try out something new.

So with the 'original' we made some crepes and stuffed them with
the cream cheese, diced apples, spice and drizzled it all with
agave.

The flavor is milder than it's dairy counterpart without that
gross sour aftertaste. The texture is cross between any other vegan
(or nonvegan) cream cheese out there and sour cream. It is soft and
perfect for spreading. It doesn't turn your toast to crumbs while
you're trying to spread a layer of goodness.

We got a little spicy with the Chive and Garlic and made some
jalapenos poppers for Monkey-man's Bday.

Because it was already seasoned with just enough garlic and chives,
all we had to do was fill some halved and seeded peppers, sprinkle
with paprika and bake. Oh, yeah-- And eat to our heart's content!

We still had a little bit of each left over so we had a little European
meal the other night for dinner. Monkey-man made some classic borsht...

And I made some dumplings to go in it.

To fill the dumplings I cooked 1 cup TVP in enough vegetable
broth to make it soft, then added some salt and pepper, sage,
soy sauce and a little bit of molasses. A little plop of
vegan cream cheese and some wonton wrappers later... Deliciousness!

I really dug Galaxy's new product, I liked how smooth and versatile
it was. And the chive and garlic addition? Very nice, tasty and
savory, but not overwhelming or artificial tasting. And I just saw
it stocked in my little health food store! What a coincidence!

Good on ya Galaxy!

P.S. We just back from Paso Robles, CA and I have some great wine
stories to share with you all!

HSN Cooks Spring Weekend Event Winner!

2011-03-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

Sorry this is a bit late, but I was off gallivanting in Palm Springs for
the week and now I'm back for business!

For the HSN Cook Spring Weekend Event Giftcard Giveaway...
I'd like to congratulate Dulcigal!

The ideas were all super yummy sounding and it made me hungry,
so I hit up a random number generator for the winner...

Thanks everyone for participating
and be sure to check back for another
giveaway soon and check out the
HSN Cooks Spring Weekend Event
happening NOW!

HSN Cooks Spring Weekend Event Giveaway!

2011-03-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

This weekend, March 26-27, Bon Appétit is presenting a Spring
Cooking event on HSN. They've got all the big food network
names like Wolfgang Puck, Padma Lakshmi, Emeril, and more.

They've even got a Master pastry chef coming on to do a special on
sweets and maybe even some handmade chocolates. Looks like it
could be pretty cool! And you all know how much I love chocolate!

So if you dig cook shows and have the Home Shopping Network
than check it out this weekend.

You can find more information HERE for a program line up, featured
products, and to see who is showin' up.

The reason I am telling you this is that I have a $10 giftcard from
HSN to giveaway to one lucky viewer! I'll pick the winner on Friday.

If you want to enter to win this giftcard to put towards a sweet
new frying pan, some cookie cutters, or even some awesome blooming
tea than leave me a comment telling me what your specialty would
be if you had your own cooking show. Remember to keep things veg
folks and you must enter before Thursday at midnight, just to
keep things simple.

Spread the word and stay posted so if you are the winner I can
contact you! And checkout the HSN Cooks Spring Weekend Event!

ecoVegan!

2011-03-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

One of the sponsors of the recent Compassion Over Killing Launch
Party and maker of two hit products used there, ecoVegan has stepped
out on to the scene.

I had many people inquiring about their amazing tofu product, not to
mention the Black Pepper Island Veggie Meat Gyoza that were gone
in seriously 10 minutes.

For those of you that were unable to make it out to the party or were
there and were wondering what that deliciousness was dancing around
inside your mouth-- here is a closer look at some of what ecoVegan
has to offer!

Before the actual event they sent me an awesome sample pack so I
could decide what to use in my featured dishes.

In the pack they sent Spicy Bits

They really were spicy, not that fake heat so
many products now use. Perfect for kabobs!

Vegan Shrimp

Soooo real tasting to me!

Q-slip Tofu

Black Pepper Island Patties

Though everything was great I ended up choosing to use the Q-slip
Tofu and Black Pepper Island patties.

These products (except the Spicy Bits) are currently wholesale,
though they do have a number of retail products available.
You may be able to find some of these products cooked up a your
nearest Loving Hut.

The Black Pepper Island Patties are a soy and gluten based product
and not like a burger like it may sound. They remind me more of the
patties and faux meats of yon that I grew up on before the days of
Boca. They have a realistic texture and a peppered flavor. Similar
to some ‘chic’ patties have had before, but not rubbery like I’ve
found many to be.

I grilled up the patties and shredded them. Mixed with some stir
fried veggies in a thai black bean sauce.

It all got stuffed into some potsticker wrappers and cooked.

They were such a huge hit at the party, they did not last more than 10
minutes tops once they hit the tables.

The Q-Slip Tofu got cubed, grilled, and mixed into Thai Rice Noodles
with a thick Peanut Sauce.

This tofu is pre-seasoned and not the same texture of the tofu that
immediately comes to mind. It has the smoothness and softness of
silken tofu, but is spongey too. Cooked up you have to be careful to
retain the shape, but if you let it go and just fry it-- it yields
an amazing scrambled egg texture.

In fact, it is exactly like scrambled egg. More so than any tofu scramble
I’ve ever had. They should definitely make a hard boiled egg product.
But I had tons of people asking me about this product at the party,
so I hope to see it one day on the retail market as well as the wholesale.

In sum, everything from ecoVegan was really awesome and I am
honored that I got to cook it all up for the Compassion Over Killing
Los Angeles Launch party. Look for their products on their distributor
location page!

COK LA Launch Party: Mango Mochi

2011-03-09T21:42:00.000-08:00

Alright, I know this is a wicked tease, but there is no recipe here.
I'm just going to taunt you with photos of something I'll be making
for Compassion Over Killing's Los Angeles Office Launch Party this
Saturday.

I mentioned yesterday that I was making mochi, so here you go.
This is the tester batch of Mango Mochi that will be gracing
palates and plates at the party...

After mixing together the mochiko, flavoring, sugar, and juice you
steam it in a pan or bowl for 30+ minutes...

While the outer mochi is steaming, prepare your filling.

After steaming, you allow it to cool just enough to handle.
You need to work quickly because once it cools completely it is
way too hard to handle and shape properly.

Using potato starch (katakuriko) you shape the mochi ball into
a patty and cup it in your hand to plop the filling.

Pinch the edges together to seal and roll in the starch again
if needed.

I make it sound easy, but it is really sticky and messy.
Once you get the hang of it, it's a lot easier to get the
filling right without it bursting out somewhere or leaking.

Want some? You know where to find me!

Launch Party Prep, Mochi and Memories: Kushi Dango Recipe

2011-03-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

Huzzah! Am I ever glad to be back on my broomstick!
It took too long, but I am over my illness and the doctors set me right.

I am most pleased to actually be able to enjoy cooking and food again.
Not sure who is happier though, me or Monkey-man! He was eating the
bland, simple foods right along side me. I couldn’t stomach much and
he was sweet to not make me feel left out of something exciting. But I
don’t think he could stand eating beans on toast much longer either!

So I am back and getting ready for the Compassion Over Killing
Los Angles Office Launch Party! It is going to be amazing! There is
going to be tons of great people, food, and a darn good time for all!
You can check out the event on Facebook or get your tickets here!

One of the product donors, Eco-Vegan, is donating some amazing
veggie meat for the party-- and I have the honor of dressing and
cooking it up for the party-goers!

Tomorrow I’ll show you the awesome samples they sent me to test out
the recipes for the party.

Because of the party, I’ve been working on some of the menu items.
One of which will be Mango Mochi! Not a lot of people may be very
familiar with mochi and I am a huge exception to that rule.
Mochi has become a little better known lately, but is pretty unusual.

Mochi is a Japanese sweet made from pounded sweet, sticky rice.
Depending on the occasion, it will be served plain, flavored, colored
with barley or beans, wrapped in pickled leaves (sakura-mochi),
filled with sweet bean paste (an-mochi), baked, served on sticks,
the list goes on and on.

I chose this dish for a number of reasons... first my menu is
Thai-Japanese fusion. A traditional Thai dessert is a steamed,
layered, sweet rice cake that is very similar to a plain Japanese mochi.
Second, I wanted to choose something that would be easy to eat,
pick up, and would be soy and gluten-free for those with allergies.
But most of all, I have very fond memories of mochi and I’d love to
share them at such special occasion...

I took Japanese language courses for many many years growing up
and became entranced with many of the cultural traditions. Wish I was
still fluent, I was as a teenager. Not like riding a bike though.
Watching anime as a kid I loved watching the characters munching on
the sticky treats. Of course the American producers would change the
dialogue and call mochi donuts instead to match US interests.
But I also grew up in a very heavy asian community in So Cal,
so many of the shops nearby offered fresh mochi!

Also, when I was growing up my parents were very into watching
Sumo. I know this may sound very weird to you, but its true. It is
not a bunch of fat guys bumping bellies like many Americans believe.
It rich in cultural traditions (many of which are dying) and extremely
cool to watch. Whenever they got the chance, my parents would take us
to actual tournaments. Instead of hotdogs and peanuts, you’d find red
bean cakes, mochi and Sapporo!

Well, I didn’t drink beer, but I certainly enjoyed the sweets and
maybe some green tea soymilk or red bean ice cream!

Skip to my teen years- Hilo, Hawaii. The communities in Hawaii
emerged from a plantation culture, a conglomeration of Japanese,
Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese, Thai and so on. As such many of the
traditions are seen in the local faire. You see a lot of sushi, char sui,
and yes mochi. Hawaiian mochi is often baked instead of steamed
(oh gods, or worse microwaved) and made with condensed milk or
butter. This yields more of a chewy cake instead of a plush bun.
But there are traditionalists, and my favorite was Two Ladies in Hilo
who would make the Strawberry-An Mochi, read bean filled, and even
Taro. But my favorite was the Momo-Mochi-- (Momo= Peach)
Peach and white bean filled. PEACH LOVE!

(To find more vegan Hawaiian Recipes, check out my vegan-hawaii series)

It is from the Hawaiian fusion flavor that I pulled out some wicked
mango mochi. I'll be posting some pictures as I go along and certainly
of the party, but here is something in the meantime. These we would
get at sumo tournaments and anime expos. Plus, something you can
depend on being vegan. FYI, many of the prepackaged versions do have
MSG in the sauce. Find it fresh! If you live in LA, you can get it in
Little Tokyo.

Easy, delicious and not as sweet as your usual mochi cake these are
great for parties or just a snack. Careful, they are addictive!

Kushi Dango

Mochi:
1 1/3 cup rice flour
3/4 boiling water

Mitarashi Sauce:
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp potato starch + 1 tbsp water

You can use mochiko (sweet rice flour), they will just be a bit
stickier and chewier. Joshinko, plain rice flour is made from long
grain rice and not as glutinous as the short grain mochiko. Don’t try
to use western style rice flour-- the stuff you’d find in the gluten-free
zone of American and western markets-- it is not the same as Japanese
or other Asian rice flours.

I used party picks here, but traditionally they are grilled on skewers
(3 on each).

Pour the hot water over the rice flour and stir with a wooden spoon or
paddle. Once it has cooled enough to handle, knead in the bowl with a
little extra rice flour. It is more folding over and over to make sure
there are no lumps, not exactly like you’d knead bread dough.

Next pull off little scoops and roll them in between your palms to form
smooth balls. They should be around 3/4 inch in diameter or about the
size of a walnut in it’s shell.

Place into a lightly greased steamer with some room in between. They
will expand and stick together, so give them some space if you can.
Steam the rice balls on high for 10-15 minutes. Scoop them out and
push on to damp skewers. They will be very sticky.

While your pan is heating, start the sauce by bringing the water, sugar
and soy sauce to a boil. Add the potato starch mixed in water and stir
til thickened. Keep on low.

Place the skewered mochi on a hot, non-stick pan and grill each side
until a golden brown. Brush with the mitarashi sauce and serve
immediately. If you used a joshinko rice flour they will last longer,
if you used mochiko they will get denser the longer you wait.

Recipe Contest

2011-02-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

Hello All!

I said I'd post this when it came up...

The recipe contest has arrived and yours truly is one of the top five
finalists. I need your help more than ever!

So please go and vote for my King Midas' Golden Soup as #1

We have 5 more days and it will only take a minute.
Also, my is the only vegan recipe up there.
Support Miss Kitchen Witch and vegan soups as #1~

*MKW*

Sick Leave

2011-02-09T13:22:00.001-08:00

Sorry all, I've been really meaning to get back on here and post...

But to be honest I haven't been cooking that much because of some
tummy problems I've been having that are forcing me to eat as basic
and bland as I can stomach. It thankfully hasn't gotten worse, but
it certainly hasn't gotten better either.

In the meantime I do have a recipe that is in the top five finalist
place for the Galaxy Nutritional Foods Blog. We are all just waiting
for them to do the photos and recipe testing and then the voting
will begin. So, I'll need your help to win this!

I will post officially when it goes up with the link and rules.

Until then, I'm resting this one out for a bit and I'll be back
with more magic soon.

~Miss Kitchen Witch

Breakfast for Dinner

2011-01-27T10:23:00.000-08:00

Growing up we had breakfast for dinner alot. In fact breakfast is
my favorite meal. I like it even more than dessert, believe it or not!

As a kid it was eggs, potatoes, and toast or pancakes.
Later it became tofu, potatoes and a green veg or fruit.
But sometimes toast with marmite! Hee hee As long as it is not heavy in
faux meat or sugary pankcakes, I am a firm believer in breakfast at any hour.

As much as Monkey-man loves his sweets, he goes ape-shit for
anything salty and savory. I think it is a male thing to be honest.
I know I've read something about women being more biologically wired
to like sweet stuff like chocolate. Now this isn't a 100% of the
population or anything, just tendencies. I believe it was a podcast from
Stuff You Should Know or Stuff Mom Never Told You.

Anyway, I was thinking a quick fix of french toast for dinner,
but there was no way I was gonna get Monkey-man happy with that.
And it dawned on me-- savory french toast. Who says this stuff
has to be sweet.

It worried me a little though because I once tried to make savory
waffles and it is one of the most embarrassing foods I have ever made
to date. So disgusting. Remembering that I tread carefully.

Now you don't need eggs to make french toast, just your favorite
unsweetened or original flavored non-dairy milk.

I pair this up with some roasted potatoes and a tofu scramble with
peppers and tomatoes.

Breakfast for Dinner Savory French Toast

Ingredients

4 slices of day old or stale-ish bread
(I prefer a whole wheat because of the density)
1 1/4 cups unsweetened or original flavoured non-dairy milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp soysauce (opt)
1/2 tsp white pepper
1-2 tsp black pepper
2 tablespoons of flour or 1 tablespoon starch
1 tsp italian seasoning
2 tsp very very finely diced green onions (opt)
Salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients except the bread in a wide bowl.
Heat your frying pan and a little bit of olive oil over
medium-high heat.

Dip the bread, coating each side and lay it down on the frying pan.
Cook on each side until a dark golden-brown.

While the toast is grilling mix up a sauce of:

3 parts ketchup
1 part mustard
1 part chili sauce
1 part apple cider

Top with sauce and sauteed veggies if you like!
Serve while still piping hot and make sure your coffee is decaf
at this hour!

Beet Bejeweled Risotto

2011-01-25T21:10:00.000-08:00

Since we had recently gone a little over the top with bread, we hit up
some standard burritos and tacos, and then I had to move on
to a different starch for my meals.

I’ve recently developed a love affair with risotto. There are so many
myths surrounding risotto, telling people it is too hard to make
unless you’ve got Gordon Ramsey screaming over your shoulder,
telling you what to do. I’m here to tell you that risotto is super easy.
If you can pour broth into a pan and stir rice around for a half
hour, you can make risotto.

Of course I like twisting the flavours around. You’ll usually see
some tomato and basil risottos-- anything you might find replicated
from a pasta recipe. Most of all I wanted to change the colour of
the actual dish, so what better than beets? The beets are steamed,
peeled, and chopped before hand so that they are ready to go when
you’re making the risotto.

Its perfect because I wanted to start up some themed dishes to get
you all ready and in the mood for St. Valentine’s Day.

Yes, I know a lot of people really hate St. Valentine’s Day.
Especially, if you’re single or sometimes with a really annoying person.
Well if St.Valentine’s Day is about love, what about loving yourself
a little? Love yourself with a special meal, some dark chocolate,
a glass of wine, and your favorite movie.

Or throw a little dinner party and then you won’t be alone. Maybe
invite all your single friends so no one feels alone out there in
the world of candle light couple events... I honest have never seen
St. Valentine’s as something corporate or designed to make you feel
bad for not having a significant other. I always used it as a day to
remember all the people I love. I’d make cards, cookies, or candy for
all my friends and family. Later on in life, I got little things here
and there from boys and that was nice too. But I wasn’t expecting it,
so it was even better.

Getting back to cooking.... If you are trying to multi-task while
making risotto, good luck. I mean forget it. You’ll probably end up
with some hard, sticky rice. You can hardy leave the pan alone for a
minute without it drying out.

So make sure everything else is set and ready to go. Feed the cats,
take out the dog, avoid interruptions. And enjoy~

Bejeweled Risotto

3 medium beets, cooked, peeled and chopped
1/2 large onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp earth balance or olive oil
1 cup vodka
6-8 cups of vegetable broth
or water with a few bouillon cubes dissolved
2 cups arborio rice
1/4 cup daiya moz cheese
black and white pepper
sea salt
sage, thyme, lemon zest

First heat the oil in a large frying pan or saute pan.
Add the onions and garlic and cooking in the oil for a few minutes
at a medium to low high heat.

Add the rice, coating well with oil. Cook for about two minutes,
stirring. Add the vodka, making sure that it is warm or room temp
to not shock the rice leaving it unable to cook properly.

Once the vodka is almost absorbed and the liquid looks sparse,
add a 1/2 cup of warm or room temp broth. You will continue to do
this. Add broth, stir, cooking it just at a light simmer until the
liquid is not quite gone, add more broth. Don’t let it get too dry.

Once it starts to look puffy and sticky, start testing it to see if
the center is cooked. Once it is near al dente, add the seasonings
and chopped beets. Continue to cook until the beets are hot and the
colour has distributed nicely. Add more broth still as needed.
Finally, add the daiya and stir until completely melted. Serves 4-6

I had mine with some garlic-chili grilled tofu! Yum!

International Vegan Pizza Day

2011-01-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

I new celebration on the rise is coming up the 29th of this month:
International Vegan Pizza Day, which sounds like a blast.
Or at least a perfect excuse to throw a party.

So for all you vegan pizza lovers out there, get busy and
make your plans. Check out what places around you serve
the best vegan pizza and help spread the word.

Or if you're like me and would rather stay in and do it all
yourself... Check out some of my awesome pizza recipes...

The TMNT Cowabunga Pizza
The BBQ Pizza
The Double-Decker Pizza
The Nutty Chipmunk Pizza
The Rastafarian Pizza
Strawberry Fields Pizza
Tostada Pizza (vegan CPK copycat)
El Diablo Pizza
And an apricot pizza

A great way to throw a pizza party is to have all the attendees
all bring a few of their favorite toppings, not a lot though.
Then everyone can help and design their own pizza or slices.

An easy basic crust goes like this...

1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp sweetener
2 tbsp oil
1 cup warm water
2 1/2-3 cups flour

Mix all but flour together and let it set for about five minutes.
Slowly add the flour, a half cup at a time. Once it begins to pull
away from the sides, tip onto a floured counter top and knead.
Add more flour as you knead-- if you NEED! ha ha

Once the dough is elastic and appears smooth, place into a bowl
with a tablespoon of oil and flip dough over, so it is greased.
Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled.

At this time you can store it away in the fridge or freezer until
you want to use it later or you can roll it out and use right away!

Other tips for your own vegan pizza party:

* Make sure to have enough and a variety of sauces.
red sauce is great, but what about a white sauce or a pesto?
* Add extra flavors to your dough(s)
what about sun dried tomatoes, black olives, a variety of herbs!
* What are you cooking your pizzas on?
A stone is ideal, but cookie sheets work well. If using a stone
remember to preheat it beforehand for 500 degrees then turn down
to 450 when you put the pizza in.
* Whats for dessert?
A sweet pizza is always fun with jam for sauce, topped with sliced
fruits, chocolate shavings or even drizzled with frosting.
* Have a few pizzas ready to go and planned in case you don't end up
with enough toppings or not enough variety. I usually have two
pizzas ready to go on stand-by just in case!
* Take lots of pictures and have fun!

Let me know what you're doing to spread the word or celebrate for
International Vegan Pizza Day!

Plethora of Panini: Polish Panini

2011-01-15T09:56:00.000-08:00

The original idea that we started out with was to do a 'meat'ball
sub. I wanted to make some seitan balls and it sounded good, but
then I realized we had nothing to make a red sauce.

I still made some seitan, but more in the shape of large patties.
I wanted to see if by adding beets you could get a different color
than the usual broth color of seitan.

I blended about a 1/2 cup of cooked beets, a can of soybeans, some
polish herbs/seasonings (or even just some sausag'y seasonings like
sage or rosemary), some vegetable bouillon, a few tablespoons of oil,
diced raw carrots, a few cloves of garlic (minced), sea salt and
lots of black pepper.

Then I added the wheat gluten, just enough to form a firm ball,
which I split up and steamed for over an hour. We sliced the patties
in to thirds and grilled to finish the cooking process. No, the color
didn't hold. It still ended up the usual light brown color.

To round out the paninis we added some dill pickles and sauteed
shredded cabbage and onion cooked with cumin seeds. But you can use
sauerkraut. I had to add veganaise for good measure and we were
happy campers.

Paninis are pretty easy goes or anything goes, really. It mainly
just knowing what theme you want to go with, pair spices and herbs,
having a good sauce/dressing, cooking the wetter vegetables before-
hand, and getting the hang of your own grilling technique.

I'm done with paninis for now, hankering for a burrito or some tacos.
I always said I could live on bread, but now I'm second guessing that.
Hope you enjoyed the ride!

Plethora of Panini: pairing and pearing

2011-01-14T09:49:00.000-08:00

I know when I've hit the tail end of a series. It is usually when I
really can't imagine eating that dish once more in a very long time.
I still have the last few paninis on the docket, but I am growing
very near to not being able to eat another for a while.

In fact I'm starting to crave chimichanga... If I can't grill
sandwiches, I'm gonna find something else to grill.

Since this Panini was so extraordinarily simple and not very
high in vegetable content, I had to pair it with another more
nutritious dish. Monkey-man has been complaining about wanting
soup because he doesn't want to get sick. So instead of arguing
that it isn't soup that will keep him from getting sick it is
a good load of vitamin heavy veggies, sleep and exercise--
I quietly made him some sweet potato stew and he was content.

The stew had sweet potatoes, russet potato, bell pepper, turnips,
onions, garlic, cabbage, and carrots. It was a simple base of broth,
soy milk, whole wheat flour, sage, paprika, bay, oregano, sea salt,
black and white peppers, and peanut butter. I don't usually pair stews
and sandwiches, I usually go with a bisque or blended soup.
But as long as you are sure to moderate with a smaller sandwich,
it is perfect.

The panini was stuffed with vegan rice pepper jack cheese, sliced
apples and pears, a sprinkling of garlic powder, and if you're
adventurous, some jalapenos! The sweetness of the fruit is perfectly
balanced with the spiciness of the 'cheese' and peppers.
I've also heard of pair peaches or apricots with brie, but
I'm not sure what vegan cheese I'd use for that. The vegan brie
we did make from The Uncheese Cookbook had much too much onion
powder in it and I cannot imagine that going with peaches...
I'll keep experimenting and get back to you on that one.

Get your fix with sweet, spicy, and savory all at once.
That's an order!

Plethora of Panini: Delhi or Deli?

2011-01-12T13:51:00.000-08:00

Although I find middle eastern and Indian food pretty delicious, I
do have to admit one qualm I have with it. Most of what I have tried
is-- overcooked-- for lack of a better word. I'm sure this is because I
haven't gotten to experience traveling in that region and haven't had
the advantage of befriending an outstanding traditional Indian chef.
Even with books, recipes, and restaurants most of what I've tried/seen
has been really heavily cooked dishes of (mainly) grains and legumes.
Not bad, but I always like to have something very raw and fresh with
my meals.

I know there are a lot of salads or cucumber dishes, but too often they
are submerged in dairy.

Another thing that I've found when using Indian recipes is needing to
really know the spices. That is usually the main draw of this region's
dishes-- the spices! So exotic and exciting, but if over done it gets
a heavy dusty taste. That is really the only way I can describe it.

If you don't agree with any of this, please feel free to call me on it.
I'm just describing my own experiences. When making an Indian
spiced Panini, I wanted the flavors you know and love with an added
freshness. This is into way traditional, just a delicious experiment.

When making Paninis I always try to consider what the sauce is going
to be. Sometimes it is a spread, a cheese (vegan please), or dressing.
It should be something that is still tasty when hot or melted, as you
will be grilling it. All that the sauce does is keeps the entire
sandwich from being super dry and crunchy. You want a hot, flavorful,
moist interior, with a crisp, crunchy crust.

You can do more than one. I used veganaise and mustard with the
balsamic vinegar panini for example. Sometimes the vegetables add
enough moisture on their own, but not always.

For this panini I did two. I had a hummus spread on one side and
vegan yogurt on the other. I added a little salt to the yogurt as
the Whole Soy brand, my brand of choice, is a little sweet sometimes.

For the vegetables I separated them and seasoned them differently, to
add variation and to avoid the over spiced taste that I spoke of earlier.

To the onions, garlic, peppers, and chilis I added some red chili
powder, cayenne, and black and white pepper. I sauteed them until the
onion was soft and tender. I just used water instead of oil whenever
they started to look dry. I added no more than 1/4-1 tsp of each spice.

It depends on how much you are making and how strong you want it.
I made enough for two sandwiches: 1/2 onion, 1/2 pepper, 3 cloves
garlic, 1 hot pepper with 1 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and
1/2 tsp of everything else.

Remove your veggies from the pan and get ready to cook the eggplant.
In a tablespoon of oil, quickly roast a tsp or so of cumin seeds. Add 1
tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp coriander, and 1/4 tsp ginger (opt). Cook briefly
and add about half an eggplant cut into 1/4 inch slices. These were
salted and rinsed beforehand to extract the bitterness. Cook each side
in the spices until the edges of the eggplant appear dark and soft.

Assemble the bread with all the ingredients so far... add some fresh
sliced tomatoes and some cilantro and grill! It may seem spicey, but
the coolness of the soygurt and fresh tomatoes balance it all out for
a perfect panini!

Plethora of Panini: Vinegar on the High Street

2011-01-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

Last night the paninis took an Italian twist. Usually adding
balsamic vinegar as the main flavor punch has me a bit worried
because it tends to make paninis very soggy. But I found a way to
keep the splashing to a minimum.

First saute the your desired veggies-- I did some peppers, onions,
garlic cloves in some Italian seasonings and light olive oil.
Then separately grilled slices of eggplant that I had salted and
rinsed to remove the bitterness. This is where you add the vinegar.
Dry grilling the eggplant burns up the moisture. Eaten straight
after would be dry and probably a little flavorless.

I put them in the pan with the other veggies and added some salt
and a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, which was quickly
absorbed by the thirsty eggplant.

On the bread I spread some veganaise, spicy mustard, a dash of
garlic salt and fresh shredded basil. I would have loved some pesto
though... Then I added some sliced field roast, fresh tomatoes, and
fresh spinach.

I layered it all together and added another little spoonful of
vinegar on to the field roast, which is absorbent as well.
Then we grilled it with a little bit of olive oil and opened
a bottle of Bordeaux. I know it's french, but who is telling?

Writing this I just realized I forgot to add the black olives...
Oh well, don't tell Monkey-man!

Plethora of Panini: Fajita Panini

2011-01-06T12:26:00.000-08:00

I'd like to say that the majority of our meals are planned, but that
would simply not be true. It is part of what I want to focus more of
my energy on this year-- planning ahead. But then life happens.

I was planning on doing a Middle Eastern Panini last night, but
Monkey-man ended up doing a quick fix of a Mexican seasoned panini
instead. Our plans were changed because on the way to the grocer,
we passed a small dog that had been hit and left.

At first I though he was dead because his legs were in the air as
if he was going through rigor mortis, but when we swung around I saw
him shaking. By the time I had him in the car and we had decided to
take him to our vet to see how bad it was he had relaxed and was much
more awake. Not sure if they clipped him or actually ran him over
because there were tire marks across his abdomen.

But now he's upstairs in our bathroom, healing his broken pelvis.
Pretty sweet guy. So if anyone wants a dog! Ha ha, just let me know.
He is not micro-chipped and not fixed (for long...)

Needless to say our dinner was little late, but this is what Monkey-man
magically mixed up for us.

Fajita Panini!

Saute a bell pepper, onion, a bit of jalapenos and a few cloves of
sliced garlic with chili powder, salt, pepper, a little bit of lemon
juice and cumin. Add water as it drys out and then add some olive oil
and half a pack of sliced tofu. Flip to grill both sides.

While that is being cooked, heat up your grill.
On your chosen bread add vegan pepper jack (galaxy rice cheese),
avocados and fresh tomatoes. Add some hot sauce, salsa or bean spread
to make it a little more exciting-- Grill and enjoy!

Plethora of Panini: Beet on the Brat

2011-01-05T10:34:00.000-08:00

One of Monkey-man's Christmas presents was a cast-iron panini press
that I seriously had to hunt down. He's been ogling cast-iron pans
for awhile and next to pizza I am pretty sure sandwiches are his
favorite. Finding it was a hassle. I knew Macy's carried them and after
dealing with countless, stupid employees-- I found one at the Macy's
on Lake. Thank goodness my Monkey-man enjoys the more practical
gifts because this has certainly opened us up to a new series as we're
breaking in the ol' cast-iron.

Cast-Iron takes pampering. You should never wash it with soap, leave it
wet or use metal utensils on it. If you cook things on it that require
cleaning after-- something that sticks-- than clean it with very hot
water and a scrubber. Dry immediately afterward and oil to prevent
rusting. It may seem scary, but if you're cooking something like plain
toast, etc. you just brush it off, re-grease it and leave it. This
will age and season your pan.

I've seen people that cook meat just leave their pans with the fat, crap
and everything. Yeah, gross. Many argue that you should NEVER clean
your cast iron, but I do not agree. I say that you should try to never
use soap on it-- or at least don't use a lot and only when you really
need to. I believe in caring for your dishes properly, but I also
believe in not getting sick from bacteria festering on a pan.

Having said that, cast-iron is great because you can cook on the stove
and then stick it straight into the oven or actually use it as a baking
dish for things like corn bread or roasted vegetables. Our has ridges,
so it wouldn't be entirely ideal for that, but it is a possibility.

On to the food!
Panini, or Panino, is basically an Italian Sandwich. More accurately it
is a bread roll. A stuffed Panino is a roll stuffed with sandwich fixings.
This is derivative of the Italian word for bread: Pane. Often they are
served hot or grilled on ciabatta or focaccia. Americans refer to any
grilled sandwich as a panini, as being grilled is the deciding
characteristic. Whereas any sandwich is called a panini in Italy.

If you don't have a stove press you can use an electric one. Some
waffle makers double as panini presses. You can use a heavy pan and
a brick wrapped in foil. Just allow the brick to heat with the pan
before adding your prepped sandwich. Or you can just set a heavy pan
on top of your sandwich and plan on flipping it.

Part One: Beet on the Brat Panini

Ingredients

Beets or beet pulp (See Below)
2 cloves garlic, minced
vegan cream cheese
mustard
Miso
1/2 Red Onion
Vegan deli slices: ideally field roast, sliced seitain, or something
similar to yves roast slices. I'm sure Tofurky would be good too...
But stay away from the bologna style stuff.
Olive Oil or Earth Balance

When I make Borsht I blend the whole pot and push it through a mesh.
I usually end up with about two cups of beet pulp that I use to fill
dumplings, spread on sandwiches or mix into something else.

I had some left over beet-pulp from our postponed Christmas Dinner
that I still needed to use. You can steam beets and blend them with
a little broth, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Or you can just
steam a beet and slice it very very thin.

Heat your pan and saute the sliced onion until soft and caramelized.

I made two sandwiches here... spreading vegan cream cheese, mustard,
and light miso on one side of the bread and then sprinkled it with
diced, raw garlic.

Oil or grease the other side of the bread.
Arrange the deli slices on the side with the cream cheese.
Spread or arrange the beets on the other side of the sandwich and
top with the cooked onion. Squish the sandwich together and grill
according to the type of pan you are using.

Cut in half and serve!

Happy 2011

2011-01-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

Now that all the cookies are eaten and a New Year has arrived, I
suppose I should be making a resolution to burn all that off. But
I am no good at sticking to plans like that. If I get into the
habit of things, I'm fine. But nothing makes you feel worse than
failed promises to yourself.

I know a lot of people complain about New Years resolutions
because we shouldn't be only trying to make a change at the beginning
of the year or once a year. The same as how people are only nice
and giving at Christmas instead of all year 'round.

I see it more as a chance to remember what is important in our
behavior and actions. These times are an opportunity to try again
and keep track of our habits. No, this shouldn't be restricted to
one time of year, but it does serve as a good yearly reminder of
what we've done or not done. In fact, my going vegan started as a
New Years Resolution long ago.

Than yes, I'm going to try to get into a better exercise routine, I'm
gonna try to not eat so many goodies, and try to drink more green
smoothies-- or something like that.

Instead my resolutions are a little more general. I'm not worried about
strict pounds, inches or even dress sizes. My New Years Resolution
falls into the range of 'tivities' By that I mean productivity and
creativity. This year I will strive to allot more time to enhance my
productivity and creativity. Planning ahead and indulging in artistic
pastimes is my idea for 2011.

Last year I was resolved to become more sustainable and I did pretty
well. I've restricted my purchasing to products that have less
packaging, I eat out anymore, and produce only 1 gallon of trash every
six months. I've got my cats on a biodegradable litter. I shop at the
farmers market, locally owned shops, and go for organic whenever possible.

I'm starting to sew again and rarely buy anything new. To continue
building on my resolution for last year we are going to build a
container garden in the spring and I'll start doing tons of preserving
and canning.

The Holidays went by much quicker for me than ever before.
Our Christmas got postponed, so I've been playing mental catch-up
for over a week now. I'm back to school on Monday, which means lots
of last minute shopping, ordering of books, and back to riding my
bike late at night in the cold.

On a more positive note... Here is my second and more successful
attempt at the Stained Glass Window Cookies. I did the things I
noted for improvement and came out with a much better product!

The last batch of cookies I made were some fancy Thin Mint
Christmas trees. Very very tasty and cute to boot!

For Christmas I got Monkey-man a cast-iron Panini Press that
he has been coveting. To break it in, we are doing a Panini
series! So stay in touch for some lip-smackin grilled sandwichies!

Cookie Commotion: Folk Style Painted Cookies

2010-12-27T14:49:00.000-08:00

Finally I got the hang of the painted effect that I was
trying to do on my gingerflake cookies.

It is done by dipping the cookie in glaze and then using
a toothpick to spread colored glaze into pretty designs.

Separate a little bit of glaze to make the extra colors.
You won't need a lot, only a few drops of glaze for each.
Then add as much color as you need.

I added some orange extract for extra flavor and had some fun!

With each stroke you'll have to dip the toothpick to draw.
Its very easy and super pretty, check it out!

Don't let the glaze harden and dry before doing the color
or it won't work.

Cookie Commotion & a Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T15:14:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to everyone out there celebrating!
I haven't been able to get out here posting anything,
we had to take a last minute trip to Palm Springs to visit
with my Uncle who is not doing so well. So, our personal
Christmas is being postponed a couple of days until we
can get home and replenish our energy sources.

Since I'm a little backlogged I'm going to continue showing
off the cookies I've been making for my friends and family.
A lot of these ideas can be used through out the year for
different holidays or just if you feel like being fancy.

So here are my 'Cute as a Button Cookies'.
They are just some basic colored sugar cookies with a
decorating twist. I'm going to do these again in Easter
in a whole range of colors. The pastels are so cute and
they were perfect with just the little tiny bit of frosting.

First you cut out a basic round shape.

Then you use a lid to make a deep impression on the cut
out shape, to make the ridge of the button shape.
Add little holes for the button holes with a toothpick.

After they are baked you add a little bit of frosting
with a pastry bag to make the 'strings'.

You can of course flavor the frosting or the cookie dough
to match the colors. I was thinking of adding strawberry
or raspberry extract to the pink ones and lemon to the yellow.

I'll have more treats for you tomorrow. In the meantime,
have a beautiful holiday.

Christmas Card

2010-12-22T14:57:00.001-08:00

I forgot to give you the Christmas card of the day from this
years collection! Enjoy!

Christmas Cookie Commotion & Yuletide

2010-12-22T13:59:00.000-08:00

I was really excited for Monday as Winter Solstice aligned with
a lunar eclipse. However, we've been getting some nice rainfall
here in Los Angeles and I'm certainly the last one to complain about
rain. I know our water reserves needed it more than I needed to see
a lunar eclipse. Alas, our night was cloudy.

Yet, the rain certainly didn't stop me from making Buche De Noel:
A french sweet cake in the shape of a Yulelog. Otherwise known as a
chocolate heart attack! Traditional French versions are filled with
chocolate whipped cream and rolled with a egg-laden sponge cake.

I just used a basic vegan chocolate cake and made a special flavored
chocolate frosting for the filling.

My frosting is about 1 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, 3 tbsp cocoa powder,
3 tbsp earthbalance, a tbsp- 2 tbsp of soymilk and 1/2 tsp of raspberry
extract.

I went pretty overboard with the presentation and everything.
I frosted the middle (filling) and then frosted the log when it was
rolled up. Then I melted semi-sweet chocolate chips with a little
bit of soymilk to make a firm chocolate glaze. Usually it is just
chocolate frosting on the outside, scraped to look like a wooden
log. But I really like the glossy chic-ness of the glaze.
Very neo-traditional!

I melted some more chocolate chips by themselves and drizzled designs
on to wax paper, then froze them to make the twigs on the top.

Then I topped it with toasted almonds, some powdered sugar for snow
and some decorated truffle cookies.

Traditionally, the plate would be adorned with meringue mushrooms,
but I make sugar cookies filled with raspberry jam. I then glazed them
and painted them with coloring and vodka, like my snowflakes from
yesterday.

Here you can see the jam in the little pocket. I just shaped them
into little bowls, plopped in the jelly, then covered it up with
another piece of dough and rolled it gently before baking.

Monkey-man had to work late, so this was his surprise when
he came home. I love Buche de Noel and its much more eco-
friendly than burning a wooden log!

Christmas Cookie Commotion: Gingerflakes

2010-12-21T23:34:00.000-08:00

I don't know how many times I've mentioned it, but as I've probably
said at least once-- gingerbread is my absolute favorite
cookie. I love the depth and muskiness of molasses along with the
soft and chewy texture of the cookie itself. I could live off of them,
at least for a bit.

Instead of the typical gingerbread men and piped icing, I did some
glazing that was perfect in my head but came out a little bit weird.
I wanted to try the effect of glazing and spreading drops of color
with a toothpick, but I let it dry to much. So I came out with some
smeared bizarre looking flower-flakes.

So I pulled one of my favorite tricks that I learned from doing fondant
and cake decorating... Coloring and vodka. I mixed some blue coloring
with a tsp of straight vodka and painted on the patterns I had wanted
to do.

I used a clean new paint brush and gently tapped the brush into
the glaze, so it didn't drip and had a darker color.

Personally, I really like the result. But like I said yesterday,
I'm going to get a properly shaped snowflake next time.

Tomorrow I'll share my Yule pictures with you, in the meantime
here is one of the Christmas cards I made to send out this year!

Christmas Cookie Commotion!

2010-12-20T15:38:00.000-08:00

I originally saw these done in a non-vegan cook book and wanted to
try the idea out for myself, just to see how they would turn out.
The original is full of butter, eggs, and refined candy-- lifesavers
I think. I'm not so much concerned about the candy as I am about
the artificial food coloring that goes into those or jolly ranchers.

There is a lot of things that I will tweak on my second try,
but I'll tell you about that after. Overall this is a really awesome
idea and pretty fun, albeit time consuming. But if you've already
allotted a good amount of time to decorate cookies, there are no
worries there. The project?

Stained Glass Cookies

I have no doubt that you'll surprise your friends and family by gifting
these, as they are pretty stunning.

You start with a basic sugar cookie recipe, roll out, and cut out your
desired shapes...

From there, you cut out some small shapes from the cookies that will
serve as the windows.

Next you're going to select your hard candies.
I'm using Fox hard candies. They are colored from fruit and vegetable
sources and sweetened with juices. I believe they are from the UK,
judging from their vegetarian symbol on the back of the packet. I
got them from Cost Plus World Market for $2.99.

The original author says to put the candies into a plastic bag and
pound them with a hammer. But I just kept mine in the original wax
paper wrapper and hit them with my marble rolling pin.

Next fit the candies, whole or broken into the cut shapes.
This took the most experimentation because I was putting too
large or too small candies in the holes.

You'll be baking these on foil or parchment paper as to remove
them from the hot pan to cool. Also press down around the edges
of the hole so the candy does not leak down under the cookie while
they are baking.

Once they are baked, let them sit on the pan for one minute. Then
remove the paper/foil with the cookies on it and let that sit for
about 20 minutes, until the candy and cookie are completely cooled.

The things I would change:

I'd definitely not use whole wheat or even the white whole wheat
flour again, as it made for a much darker cookie. If doing a darker
cookie I'll make it a chocolate or gingerbread.

I'll be flavoring it with almond extract instead of vanilla, to keep
the colour of the dough lighter.

Get a better snowflake cookie cutter. Frankly, the snowflakes I made
looked pretty... 'special'. They looked like trippy hippy 60s flowers,
not snowflakes.

I'll go back to my go-to sugar cookie recipe. I used a veganized
version from the original recipe from the book and it was too dry
and the cookies cracked a little.

Stay in touch for my next cookie adventure!
Tonight I'll be doing my traditional Buche De Noel for a perfectly
Bewitching Yule, my true holiday celebration! But don't tell Monkey-
man-- It's a surprise!

In the meantime you can check out my other cookie recipes:

Pumpkin Gingerbread Fluffkins
Classic Gingerbread
Applesauce Oat Cookies
Snickery Doodle Cookies
or some Pumpkin Biscotti with Cranberries

Yule Blessings and enjoy the total Lunar Eclipse tonight!

The Holidays are here!

2010-12-18T10:31:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe how fast these past two weeks have gone by!
I've been feeling a little under the weather and am getting
back on my feet again just in time for lots of rain.

We are getting ready for all the winder parties by making
our treat packs for friends and family. Of course I'll be
sharing most of my creations with you in time for your Holiday
frivolities.

This one is good to keep on book because it is not particular
to holidays, but is delicious all year round. In fact you may
not have gotten one of these in a while if you're vegan.

They are pretty easy to make, but a little time consuming as
they do take some care with handling. They are good for your
gluten-intolerant giftees and sweet to boot! Yes, I'm talking
about Vegan Peanut Butter cups.

Most people make them in little paper cups, which is easier
because you don't need to worry about molds, the candy cracking,
or it being as pretty. But I of course like to go a little
above and beyond to make something special.

So I used an IKEA flower shaped ice tray. I've been collecting
some different shaped silicone ice trays for a while now. I've
also got hearts, mini cupcake shapes, and leaves. I've also seen
stars, fish and other shapes out there.

You can clearly see that this tray reads 'for water only'.
Who knows why. So I filled it with chocolate anyway.

You start by melting about 1/4 cup of vegan chocolate chips
over medium heat, taking care not to burn it. With a clean
new paint brush, spread a layer of chocolate into the molds.

Then stick it in the freezer for about 5 minutes and add
another layer if you can see any color of the tray through
the chocolate. It is important that this layer of chocolate
is thick enough to hold up to being pushed out of the tray later.

While the chocolate is chilling, mix together 1/2 cup
chunky, salted peanut butter with 1/4 cup powdered sugar and
1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

Scoop little teaspoons of the peanut butter and roll into
tiny balls. Gently press into the chocolate covered molds.
Make sure it is pressed in fully and smooth. If there are
any pockets, the candies will crack and split when you try
to remove them from the tray.

Chill for a few more minutes in the freezer.

With the remaining melted chocolate, if you need more
melt some, you are going to brush dollops over the peanut
butter. You are spreading or smearing more than painting
this time, being careful not to mix the peanut butter with
the chocolate.

Chill again for another five or so minutes.
Finally you are going to gently bend and stretch the tray.
Be careful to not crack or crunch the chocolate. Gently
push the piece of candy out. The first one is always the
hardest so don't worry if you crack it a little.

Make sure that they stay cold as you do this. If the
chocolate starts to warm they will melt into the tray and
come out as blobs.

I don't mind if there are a few mess ups, I mean I need to
test them to make sure they are not poison! Hee hee.
Just make sure you're not mushing the on purpose-- the more
for me!!!

Holiday Cooking Demo, Thanks to COK

2010-12-12T14:57:00.000-08:00

I thought you all might like to see the results and deliciousness of
the COK Holiday Cooking Demonstration that I did recently.

I am certainly rushing to get ready for Yule and Christmas.
Lots of last minute shopping, sewing, and planning.
I'm going to start my treat making soon, so stay tuned for a
seriously sweet cookie serious that will help you all (hopefully)
hit the ground running if you're gifting, hosting, or just looking
for a new and tasty way to celebrate.

Without further ado, here is a quick snapshot of the fun we had!

our 'stage'

our set-up

laying out some chocolate-orange truffles with cranberries

Our center dish, Pumpkin Risotto

Savory Marmite Twists

Our lovely spread: Savory twists, stuffed dates, Citrus Twisted
Cranberry Sauce, Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions,
Pumpkin Risotto, Crispy Seitan, and chocolate truffles~
All Vegan of course!

If you want to see the whole album, check it out on my facebook
fan page: www.facebook.com/pages/Miss-Kitchen-Witch
We hope to do this again in the future for other holiday celebrations.
In the meantime, I'm gonna go do some sit-ups for all the cookies
I'm going to be making!

Holiday Cooking Demonstration with Compassion Over Killing

2010-11-29T15:39:00.000-08:00

For all you that live in LA or will be here this Saturday (the 4th)
I will be doing a Holiday Feast Cooking Demonstration for
Compassion Over Killing.

This demo will help those who are already great vegan cooks,
beginners or those who are interested in veganism or just a healthy
holiday. I will show you how to make two appetizers, two side dishes,
one main dish and one dessert including a Pumpkin Risotto with
Seitan and Wintry Chocolate Truffles!

This demo is really affordable compared to others out in this area--
The $20 admission fee includes the cooking demo, food samples,
and a goody bag containing recipes, COK note cards, coupons, and
product samples. Plus, all the proceeds benefit COK!

Buy your tickets today!

The demo goes from 12-2 and you will have a chance to mingle,
throw some questions at me, and enjoy the wonderful spread you
see made.

It is located at Arjay Plaza 23211 Hawthorne Blvd., 3rd Floor Ste 200
in Torrance on the corner of Hawthorne and Lomita.

***
Compassion Over Killing is a nonprofit animal protection organization
based in Washington, D.C. Since 1995, COK has worked to end the
abuse of animals in agriculture and encourage vegetarian eating
as a way to build a kinder world for all of us, both human and nonhuman.
***

Pumpkin Patch Part Seven: Hogwarts Pumpkin Juice

2010-11-26T11:55:00.000-08:00

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 1 has been out now for one
week. We went and saw it opening day with all the 16-year old girls
dressed in their Gryffindor best. As big Harry Potter fans, we had a
good time and it was actually one of the first times we didn't go to
the midnight showing the night before...

But to tie up the pumpkin patch series and as an homage to Harry
Potter I made some Hogwarts Pumpkin Juice.

I've never had raw pumpkin juice and it reminded me of carrot juice in
a way. First I tried peeling the pumpkin before shoving it through my
juicer, but it didn't seem to make a difference so I just cut the stem
parts off, scooped the seeds out and pushed it through.

It is not something you can drink straight-- well, at least I cannot.
Instead I made it a juice blend. You can either juice these with it or
add them in after.

I used a smaller pumpkin or about 3-4 cups chopped raw pumpkin
1 cup of fresh apple juice or apple cider
1/2 cup fresh orange juice or 2 table spoons of orange juice concentrate

Over my Christmas break I am going to try to re-read all the books
because I nearly forgot everything that happened!

If pumpkin juice really isn't your thing, no fears I'll be working
on a butter beer recipe soon!

P.S. I hope you had a beautiful, loving, and compassionate Holiday!

Pumpkin Patch Part Six: Pumpkin Gingerbread Fluffkins

2010-11-18T09:58:00.001-08:00

I have to confess I am more of a cookie dough person than a
cookie person-- that is with the exception of gingerbread.
During the holidays I can practically live off of gingerbread
I almost did when I was a teenager.

I used to work in retail and during the holidays we would have
to start work at 3:30 in the morning. So I certainly wasn't
hungry enough for breakfast, but I had to eat something for
some energy... So, I'd eat a gingerbread man. Then another one
on my break. By then I was off at noon and I could go home and
eat some real food, but I was so wiped I wasn't really hungry.
Yeah, so I'd eat another gingerbread.

Bad of me, I know.

But combining pumpkin and gingerbread was such a natural idea
to me. Two of my all time favorite things combined into one
delicious morsel. I've seen a lot of pumpkin gingerbread
before, but in loaves-- not cookies. I like the rolled gingerbread
more, but these are still pretty tasty.

The rolled gingerbread comes out with either a little crunch or
snap or kinda chewy. I like the chewy kind. Drop gingerbread
comes out soft and fluffy-- like these! That is why I called them
fluffkins!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Fluffkins (about 2 batches)

1 cup cooked pumpkin, pureéd
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1/4 cup earth balance
1/4 cup molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger or 1 tbsp fresh grated
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking powder

Cream together the pumpkin, sugar, and earthbalance. Next add
the molasses and vanilla and set aside.

Sift together the flour and other dry ingredients. Add this
slowly to the wet and mix until just combined.

On a greased cookie sheet drop a large tablespoon of dough.
These don't spread that much, so an inch and a half apart is fine.

Bake at 375F for about 12-15 minutes. Allow to cool briefly and
then remove. Enjoy with some rice or soynog! Yum!

Pumpkin Patch Part Five: Pumpkin Tomato Soup

2010-11-15T22:14:00.000-08:00

Whenever it starts getting a little chilly or if I start getting sick,
I insist on tomato soup for dinner. Thankfully I am not ill, but we
have had some crisp autumn evenings as of late.

Tomato soup has to be one of the easiest soups you can just about
make... Actually, now that I think of it-- it IS the easiest soup
you could make.

We'd get tomato soup and saltines as children when we were sick.
I don't know if my Mom made it or bought it, but it made me feel
better. If Dad was home we got miso, which I was not a fan of at the
time. When I got older and my Mom got sick, I made some tomato soup
for her. Except she is so picky I couldn't use garlic or onions and
she wanted it to taste just like traditional canned soup.

Well, I snuck some onions in anyway and managed to skip the heavy
cream with soymilk and she didn't complain. Yet, I found that it
did lose some of the richness it had before. The way to gain that
real creaminess is with cashews!

And adding Pumpkin is such an amazing twist. You get a lovely
orange colour instead of the light redish-pink and a very slight
tinge of squash. I hope you like it!

Pumpkin Tomato Soup

4 cups chopped, skinned tomatoes
1 cup chopped pumpkin, I used cooked but you can start with raw
1 med onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bouillon cube
1/2 tsp sage
1/3-1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours
1 tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions and garlic in a stock pot in a few tbsp of
water or mild oil until the onions appear translucent and the
garlic is fragrant.

Add the tomatoes, bouillon, sage, and pumpkin (if raw only).
Add some water if you are using fresh tomatoes.
Cook covered for about 15-20 minutes on med-low heat, adding water
if it appears to need it. Add the pumpkin and heat through for
about five minutes. Add the cashews, sugar, and seasonings.

Remove from heat and transfer to a blender. Blend in small
batches, minding the heat. Move back to the stockpot over the
heat until ready to serve. If the soup appears too thick, you
can thin it out a bit with some veg broth or non-dairy milk.
Make sure the seasoning is adjusted and enjoy!

Monkey-man whipped up some garlicy pumpkin seed crackers, which
we sprinkled on top!

I then heated some soymilk in smallpan, just for a minute or so
and frothed it in my french press. I've got to get the hang of
soup designs with cream...

Pumpkin Patch Part Four: Pumpkin Chili

2010-11-14T10:06:00.001-08:00

I'm pretty bummed that last week I made an awesome pumpkin curry
for a potluck and totally forgot to take a picture for you all.

That's why there was a gap of a couple days. However, last night
we made a version of Monkey-man's favorite meal ever-- or one of
them anyway! Chili with roasted potatoes and the best-est cheese
sauce!

Usually I like summer squash or zucchini in my chili, but instead
I used pumpkin. And we got these amazing vitelotte potatoes at our
local grocer. The skins were almost black, but the inside was a
rich, beautiful violet. At first I thought they were going to
taste like the purple sweet potatoes that I used to get in Hawaii,
but these were wonderful. They had the same texture as your run
of the mill potatoes, but had a deeper, earthier, rustic flavour.
Apparently they are native to Peru and Bolivia. Usually I think
of Europe and Ireland when I think of potatoes, but supposedly
Peru is the birthplace of more than 90% of potato varieties we
eat and love today.

I'm sorry, this wasn't meant to be a post about potatoes!
This is a post about pumpkin in Chili! So here you go!

Pumpkin Chili

2-3 cups fresh pumpkin, chopped largely
1 can or 4 large diced tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup of corn
2 cups of beans, cooked (any kind you like)
1 small pepper
1/2 cup TSP or TVP (opt)
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 vegetable bouillon cube
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions and garlic for about five minutes in a large
pot over medium heat in a few tablespoons of water or oil.

Add the pumpkin and a little bit more water an cover, cook for a
few minutes then add the tomato and seasonings. Cover and cook,
adding water if needed and cook until the pumpkin is starting to
get a little bit tender, but is not completely cooked-- about 10
minutes max.

Add the pepper, corn tvp and beans and cook/heat through. You may
need to add a little extra water or veg broth for the tvp. By the
time the tvp is plumped the pumpkin should be cooked through, but
not mushy.

Serve over roasted potatoes and topped with your favorite cheese or
cheese sauce. Monkey-man added daiya moz just for good measure.
If this isn't hot enough for you, throw in a diced hot pepper like
a habenero or some hot sauce if you're kinda lazy and don't want
to deal with chopping hot peppers...

Pumpkin Patch Part Three: Pumpkin Tacos

2010-11-11T12:20:00.000-08:00

At the same time that we're trying pop pumpkin into meals you
wouldn't normally find it, we are also trying to cut back on how
much bread we're scarfing. Well, at least I am, I can't speak for
Monkey-man.

Just to mix it up a little I picked up some of the blue-corn
tortillas from TJ's. Plus, I thought they'd look striking against
some nice orange pumpkin. And oh my gosh were these ever delish!
And Oh so simple!

Pumpkin Taco Filling

2-2 1/2 cups chopped pumpkin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tbsp chili powder (mild)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
Hot chili powder to taste
dash of cinnamon

saute the onion and garlic in a little bit of water or a tablespoon
of oil until a little tender and fragrant.

Add the pumpkin and seasonings and cover. Continue to cook for about
10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally until soft, but still
firm and held together. Overcooking the pumpkin will turn it to mush.

We topped them with fresh lettuce, tomato, raw sweet corn, sliced
black olives, and some cheddar daiya. I also like using soygurt
instead of sour cream, but they were wonderful without. Or can even
add a little bit of cilantro on top for an extra bite!

Pumpkin Patch Part Two: Pumpkin Spice Soy Latte

2010-11-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

During Autumn Pumpkin flavored items are abound, even at chain
restaurants. I saw posters for Jamba Juice's Pumpkin smoothie
and Starbucks has it's ever popular Pumpkin Latte out again.

Why waste the +$5.00 when you can make it at home?
Not nearly as sickly sweet as the commercial versions you
can buy, but you can always add more sweetener if you like.
Plus, it's vegan, unlike the Starbucks version which supposedly
Has condensed milk or some such nonsense in it.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Ingredients

2 tbsp agave or maple agave blend
1/2 cup apple juice or cider
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup cooked pumpkin
1/2 cup vegan sugar

1/2-1 cup nondairy milk

Coffee drink of your choice

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until completely
smooth! No lumps allowed!

Transfer into a small saucepan and cook for a few minutes on high.
This will cook off some of the extra liquid and also start to cook
and start to caramelize the sugar. Remove when it starts to thicken
slightly.

Go ahead and brew a strong bit of coffee, espresso, or (my new
favorite) Teeccino!

Heat about 1/2-1 cup of soymilk just until warmish-hot. It will
start to form a little bit of foam on the edge of the pan. To
froth you can either use a french press like me, the steamer on
an espresso machine, or use one of those little battery operated
frothers that look like tiny metal whisks.

I've even seen it done by shaking a jar with the soymilk inside
or by being really good with a hand whisk.

Once you've got the soymilk to a thick enough level, pour your
coffee into your mugs and add 1-2 tbsp of your pumpkin spice mix
and stir. Pour in the soymilk and enjoy!

Pumpkin Patch Part One: Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

2010-11-04T22:24:00.000-07:00

In honor of my favorite time of year I've decided to do a series of
the most famous autumn fare (and my personal favorite): Pumpkin!

I love squash because of the wonderful colours, shapes, variety and
simple versatility. It is amazing in savory and sweet dishes alike.
Therefore, I thought I'd start off with something you might do a
double take at... Pumpkin Pasta Sauce!

Also because I wanted to use the adorable animal shaped pasta I
recently got. I bought it for mac and cheese, but I had a lot leftover.
The shaped pasta like this really captures the sauce well.

We ate it with some sauteed zucchini and some garlic bread--
But now I have a craving for spiced apple cider!

Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

2 cups of cooked pumpkin
1 cup soymilk or cashew cream
1 vegetable bouillon
5 fresh sage leaves, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp salt
black and white pepper to taste
nutmeg to taste

1/2 tvp
1 tsp oil
salt and pepper to taste
vegetable broth

nutritional yeast

Brown the tvp in a pan over medium heat in the oil. Once the tvp
begins to reach a golden brown and start to toast, turn down and
continually add vegetable broth, while cooking. Once the tvp has
plumped up, is no longer dry on the inside and any excess liquid
is cooked off remove it from the heat. Set aside.

Blend or process your cooked pumpkin with the ‘milk’/cream until
smooth. Over medium heat saute the onion in a few tablespoons of
water. After about two minutes, add the garlic and then the sage.
Cook, adding more water if needed, until the onion appears
translucent and tender.

Add the bouillon, pumpkin mix, tvp, 1/4 cup water/broth and
remaining seasonings. Turn down to medium-low heat and cook for
about more 15 minutes.

Serve over your favorite cooked pasta and top with some nutritional
yeast or mix about a 1/4 cup in right before serving.

Makes enough sauce for 3-4 servings.

Taste of Aloha Part Seven: SCAM Musubi

2010-11-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

This is the reason this series took me so darn long. I've been working
on this recipe for two freakin' weeks. Every time I was going to post it,
it didn't work out quite right or I didn't have time-- so I put up a
different recipe.

The idea to do a vegan spam was a reader request, but it is also one of
the true stereotypes about Hawaii. Yes they love their SPAM. I guess
some people do make the SPAM and eggs thing, but even more
popular is SPAM Musubi. It is basically SPAM wrapped with white
rice and nori. Yup that's it. The rice is not flavoured either.

Sound tasty right?

Well, I had no idea what SPAM even tasted like so I started googling
for a description of the taste. According to the majority of people on
q&a sites SPAM tastes like salty dog food. OK, so I needed to veganize
salty dog food.

Dude, how am I supposed to know what dog food tastes like?

So, I'm sticking with the salty part. Apparently, it is not just a little
salty--- but veeery salty. I'm thinking a really salty lunch meat.
Now if you've had SPAM in the past, you can try this and tell me
what you think. My main goal was to not make something unpleasant,
but make something that is comparable. It doesn't need to be
blindfold test the same, but just be a good substitute for people
craving salty dog food.

I started with vegan dad's original process of making lunch meat.
Here they talk about making vegan SPAM, but they really had no
intention of it tasting, ect like SPAM. I tried using soybeans, but
it wasn't that great. I instead switched to red beans and tomato paste.

Here is what I came up with...

Vegan SCAM (Salted Canned Artificial Meat)

1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of tomato paste
1 cup of cooked oatmeal
2 cups of vegetable broth
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp soy sauce/braggs/miso (opt can add more salt instead)
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 1/2-3 cups vital wheat gluten

Blend all ingredients (except the gluten) until smooth.
Pour into a bowl and slowly add just enough 'flour' to form
a wet sticky lump. You want it to still be moist so your end
product isn't completely dry.

Form into two thick logs and wrap with foil. Steam for 40 minutes.
Remove from steamer and check to make sure that all parts of the
scam are still covered with foil.

Place in a dish or on a pan and bake for 40-50 minutes at 350F.
Remove and allow to cool completely. No matter what shape you may
have formed it in pre-steaming, it will have swollen into a
roundish log. I tried making it into a rectangle, but it doesn't work.

Cut the edges to make into a rectangle and then slice into 1/4" slices
like a loaf of bread.

Sushi Rice

White/Med Grain rice cooked (1 cup rice to 2 cups water)
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Fold the rice, as opposed to mixing it or else you will squish it
and end up with a bunch of mush.

Slice a sheet of nori into desired widths.
Wet your hands and shape about a 1/4-1/2 sized scoop of rice into a
rectangle to fit onto your slices of SCAM. Set the SCAM and rice onto
the end of a piece of cut nori. Roll up and allow to rest on the side
where the nori ends. The moisture of the sushi will seal the nori.

Love it or hate- You just made vegan spam musubi.
There are no wrong or right ways to shape your musubi, so google it
and check out some other pictures. Some use twice as much rice,
so it is on both sides of the spam, but I didn't want that much.

That concludes the Taste of Aloha series, I hope you enjoy it!

Taste of Aloha Part Six: Guava Jelly for da belly

2010-10-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

I encountered an amazing amount of luck when I stumbled upon a
vendor at the Sunday Claremont Farmer's Market...

We hit it up at the tail end when vendors where packing up and stuff
was getting marked down left and right. I grabbed some heirloom
tomatoes, onions, green beans, and squash-- Monkey-man got his rye
bread.

On our way out I noticed someone had a bucket of small greenish-
yellow fruits. As I got closer, the smell was unmistakable. Certain
parts of the year these trees with be laden with fruit, most of it
falling to the ground and rotting.

Guava has a smell that I cannot compare to anything else. Slightly
citrus-y, alcoholic, shampoo, tropical... Strawberry guava is an
invasive species, but near to impossible to control. We had a few
in our yard that kept coming back no matter what you did.

They would grow so incredibly high that it was dangerous if left alone.
After cutting some down in our yard, we'd pour vinegar onto the
stumps and still they'd come back.

Guava is extremely pungent. I bought a pound and while we only
had them out for a day, you could smell them everywhere in the house.
The skin is edible, similar to that of a fresh fig. The seeds are also
edible, but kind of crunchy so some people will spit them out.

They are delicious blended up into smoothies and juices, but just
be sure to strain them before drinking or you'll get seeds. The taste,
like the smell, is unlike anything else. I think of it as close to the
strawberry candy flavour with a tropical citrus twist.

Pretty much every where you go to shop in Hawaii you will find
some type of Guava or strawberry Guava jelly or butter.
Here I make both...

Guava Jelly for yo' belly

1 lb of guavas- I used a mixture of pink and white
3/4 cup raw sugar

Cut of the ends of the guava and quarter. Pulse through a processor
until the skins are blended. Push the pulp through a strainer with a
spoon or squeeze through a cheesecloth to remove the seeds. You will
get something that looks like melted ice cream.

Pour into a medium sauce pan and add the sugar. Heat over
medium-high, stirring constantly. Cook for about 15-minutes to cook
off some of the liquid and thicken the sugar.

Once it looks to be about the consistency of preserves or a thick
sauce, remove from the heat and either can and process or allow to
cool.

This makes enough for a 1 pint jar

First we allowed it to cool and ate it over toast and tofutti better-
than-cream-cheese.

But for breakfast I made it into a Guava Butter spread. I only made
enough for breakfast because its not the ideal health food if you
know what I mean.

It is basically 2 parts guava jelly and 1 part earthbalance. Melt
the earthbalance and stir in the jelly. Pour into a small dish and
chill or freeze until it re-solidifies.

I would try your local farmers market and ask around for where to
possibly find some guava. Better yet, if you have a mexican market
near by, they are almost bound to have guava!

Taste of Aloha Part Five: Hawaiian French Toast

2010-10-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

The best sweet breakfast item you can fix for a local Hawaiian themed
morning, is by far the Sweet Bread French Toast. I helped you through
a vegan sweet bread, the rest is easy from there.

You can mix up a french toast batter with a few simple ingredients

1 cup of soymilk
1 cup applesauce
a few tablespoons flour
1 tsp cinnamon

macadamia nuts (opt)-- I used walnuts here because they are pretty
hard to find or usually expensive unless you're lucky!

You slice the bread nice and thick and soak in the batter flipping
to make sure each side is coated, than dip it in the chopped nuts
before dropping on to a heated/greased pan over medium-high heat.

The non-vegan sweet bread comes in huge long rectangular loaves,
but I had some abnormal shapes to use up here.

We also added some sliced pineapple to the pan to serve grilled over
the french toast.

Now if only we had some coconut syrup to top it all off...

Taste of Aloha Part Four: Kona Coffee Kahlua

2010-10-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

If you're lucky enough to have been in my social circle in the last
couple months, you would know how I went absolutely nuts with
making my own alcohols. Now I was not planning on talking about
boozin' it up, but Kahlua is a standard in our house. This is a recent
thing. I got a bottle in a basket at Christmas and since Monkey-man
had a taste, there was no stopping it.

Only problem with Kahlua is that it can be damn expensive, so I
started making my own. Yet -- I will only make it with Kona coffee.

I first learned to make Kahlua from my Aunt Carole, who told me a
story about the first time she made Kahlua for her friends, co-workers,
and clients at a party. Apparently, some of the guests started
complimenting her on the hot cinnamon-like zing that followed the
sweet mellow flavour of coffee. At first my Aunt was baffled, but
come to find out the sweet sugary liqueur was bombarded by fire ants
and that was what was burning people!! I keep mine ant-free.

So back to Kona Coffee. Kona is located on the West side of the Big
Island and famous for their coffee bean plantations. As an avid drinker
of the joe, I've even gone and roasted my own coffee on the Kona side.
Hands down, the best coffee I have ever tasted was the peaberry at
Kope Lani on the main strip, Alii Drive.

The street is a famous tourist shopping area and their store front
sits right across from the breaking waves with an outdoor patio.
The coffee is smooth, dark and rich. A hot little sip of heaven.
Perfect for a little potion making.

Most Kahlua recipes you'll find require instant coffee--- lets not
go there. Other recipes require it to sit for at least a couple of
weeks. This recipe is ready to drink as soon as it is cooled and
strained.

Kona Coffee Kahlua

2 cups water
1 1/3 cups evaporated cane sugar
3 tbsp Freshly Ground Coffee
2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups vodka

Combine the water, sugar and coffee in a medium saucepan and
bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Using a
strainer lined with a coffee filter, strain the coffee syrup
you've just made.

Pour into a sterilized bottle and add the vodka and vanilla.

soymilk white russian

**NOTE** Since this recipe uses vodka, please note that the alcohol
percentage is higher than your average store bought Kahlua.

Taste of Aloha Part Three: Island Burger

2010-10-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

Not too often we'll splurge on some faux meet and this time we
decided to go for some garden burgers, but I can't be satisfied
with just a plain garden burger.

So I took a tropical twist it this time.
Layered with some grilled bell peppers, fresh sweet pineapple and
topped with a delicious thousand island dressing it could not be
more satisfying. The pineapple and sauce play perfectly together!

Vegan Thousand-Island Dressing

1/4 cup vegenaise
1/4 cup ketchup
1 small diced pickle
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp soysauce
1/2 tsp tobasco
1-2 tsp agave
salt and pepper

add all to a tight fitting jar and shake and pour!

Miss Kitchen Witch at Animal Acres

2010-10-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

Recently I did some catering for Compassion Over Killing's Vegan
School Outreach at Animal Acres in Acton. It was my first trip up
there, so I was excited to meet all the beautiful animals and explore
the facilities. It is about 45 minutes to an hour up out of Los Angeles.

I was a bit beat after cooking the whole night and morning before
we left. I also forgot how hot and dry it is up there. I haven't been up
that way since I was a teenie-bopper. Thank goodness it wasn't too
hot, it was just a perfect day to get outside and meet some rescued
farmed animals.

We started off on the tour and got to interact with the cows, bulls,
and donkeys. But we quickly had to get back and set the food up.
We did sneak a quick peek at the piggies that were passed out in
their cool hay.

I think this was Harley

He likes to nibble when he thinks you have treats

Honkey Tonk the sweetie pie

Bruno

Mr. Ed

tired piggies

prepping the watermelon

a little bit of everything

We made two types of Pinwheel Pizzas (Red sauce and tofurky and
Pesto), Roasted Potatoes, Spaghetti Squash Parm. with tomatoes
and basil, Italian style GreenBeans, and Traditional Italian
Chocolate Cream Cake. Everything was vegan and cruelty-free

Everyone digging in

Even the chickens want some

After the food we went and got to spend some quality time with
all the goaty-goats and sheep. I love goats, they are so blunt
and happy. No non-sense friends.

"ummm excuse me, pet me instead"

"no seriously, pet me instead!"

Sundance really liked getting scratchums

Almost as much as Cassidy

lil Squirt

Mike handing out the watermelon rinds as treats

We then went over and visited with the chickens and Turkeys
who all just wandered where ever they pleased. Unfortunately
we didn't get to see the ducks, geese or Emus. Next time!

We had such a blast and all the food went over really well.
I can't wait to come back and cook for everyone again!

These animals can live out their lives in peace and happiness,
unlike their captive counterparts who are caged away and tortured
until they are no longer productive by industry standards or fat
enough to be brutally murdered for vile consumption. It gives me
hope when I see wonderful places like this, protecting and rescuing
these beautiful and innocent souls from the horror and suffering
that is our food system.

Taste of Aloha Part Two: Manapua

2010-09-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a popular snack you'll find in pretty much any Hawaiian
convenience store.

Manapua are a large steamed bun derived from Chinese cha siu baau.
I believe they were sucked into the local cuisine via the merging
of peoples in the plantation culture.

The traditional buns are made with lard filled with shredded
flesh and bbq sauce, etc. But there are popular vegetarian versions
that are either filled with purple sweet potatoes or red beans.

The red bean versions always reminded me of the Japanese Taiyaki
(red bean filled cakes in the shape of fish) that I used to get
in Little Tokyo or at Sumo tournaments. However those are made
with more of a waffle batter, where as Manapua have a light, sticky
steamed exterior.

These are easy to make and very very filling.
They will also puff up quite a bit when steaming, so don't be
surprised when you lift up that steamer lid.

Vegan Red Bean Manapua

2 cups of cooked azuki, red beans
2-3 tbsp agave syrup
2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsps powdered sugar
2 tbsps earthbalance or vegetable shortening
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Mash the cooked red beans with the agave syrup until it reaches
desired sweetness and is mostly smooth.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, add the sugar and mix.
Add 2 tbsp earthbalance, cutting in until evenly distributed.

Add just enough water until it comes forms a firm mass.
Roll it into a ball. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Cut into 10-12 small pieces and flatten in to discs.
Put a spoonful of bean paste onto rolled out dough.
Pull the sides around the filling and pinch together.

You can place on a piece of parchment paper in your steamer
which will make it easier to handle, but it is not entirely necessary.

Brush the tops with vegetable oil.
Then steam the buns for about 15-20 minutes.
Immediately after removing dip tops into a scattering of sesame seeds.

These can even be frozen and reheated later for a nice snack!

Goodbye Summer, Hello 7 Days of Aloha

2010-09-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

I am officially back from my summer break and about to start
school in a few days. Back to the world of administrative studies
and writing about policy! But also back to the lovely world of
writing about food and making for all of you.

Over the summer I spent sometime in the California mountains
with my Grandparents testing, writing, and drawing. It gave
me a chance to test out some key recipes on some very willing
omnivores.

The view from my Grandparents' mountain house

Then I took off to Hawaii to stay with my parents and younger
brother for three weeks. It was absolutely gorgeous, as usual
and I got quite a tan. There I got to throw somethings a my
brother who is pretty picky just to see what a picky kid would
think of some of the cookbook recipes. Thank goodness it went
over well and I got some good ideas from all of my ventures...

Our new favorite 'secret' beach

I didn’t blog most of this because of spotty internet, busy
schedules and sometimes downright laziness. Yet now I am
switching in to high gear and taking on some new projects.
I’m doing some light catering again, which is always fun. Yet,
I’m entering the larger stages of the cookbook project and
illustrating is going to be intense.

This past weekend I picked up another catering gig and did a
job for Compassion Over Killing’s Vegan Outreach at Animal
Acres. I will post pictures of that later as I am still unpacking
at my house and haven’t uncovered my camera yet from all
my luggage.

Before I left I promised to do a series on Hawaiian cuisine,
so I thought I would celebrate my return with just that.
Plus, why not start with something everyone loves...

In Hawaii everyone knows and loves this light, sweet, fluffy
bread. Sometimes it is called Hawaiian sweet bread, sometimes
Portuguese sweet bread... I’ve had it in all different flavours as
well; Taro, Mango, Guava (Passionfruit).

However, these tastings were all in my pre-vegan days as the
traditional recipe is packed with eggs and butter. They are both
yeast and egg leavened, but my adaptation was better if I do say
so myself. The only thing different was the colour from no egg
yolk.

French toast from this sweet bread is very popular. I like encrusting
it with macadamia nuts and serving it with guava butter!

Hawaiian Sweet Bread

Ingredients

1 tbsp instant dry yeast
2 tbsp warm water
3-4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp flax meal beat with 6 tbsp water
1/2 cup coconut milk
3 tbsp earthbalance
2/3 cup vegan white sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Soymilk for brushing (opt)

Make a paste with the yeast, salt and water and set aside.
Warm the earthbalance and coconut milk over very low heat,
but do not cook or get it ‘hot’. Add the sugar and flax to the
coconut mix, then pour over the yeast paste.

Add the flour a half cup at a time until it forms a ball and turn
out on to a clean, floured counter top. Knead in some flour if
it is too soft to knead. Knead for about 10 minutes.

Place in a mixing bowl with the vegetable oil and roll the dough
around to ensure it is greased. This prevents your bread dough
from cracking and becoming hard while rising. Cover the bowl
with a towel and place in a warm spot.

Let it rise for about an hour and a half or until it has doubled in
size. Remove from the bowl and using a pastry knife or something
similar cut small balls about the size of plum. Fold the piece of
dough under a couple times to make a nice smooth roll.

Place onto a greased sheet as you go. After all the rolls are shaped
allow them to rise again for about 30-40 minutes. Brush the tops
with a little soymilk if you want before baking at 350F for 25-30
minutes until the tops are golden brown. This may differ a little
as I originally baked these at a high altitude and adjusted the
recipe after the fact.

PPPB&J

2010-07-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

When we stopped by the library the other day, I started flipping
through a cookbook that was entitled something like exotic
sandwiches, or unusual sandwiches-- I can't remember. But the first
thing I opened the book to was a pickle and peanut butter sandwich.
The name was much less memorable than the sandwich, obviously.

My title? Babysitter’s Nightmare, what else is so fitting?

I don’t ever ever ever eat potato chips, but my family had some and
I just had to replicate this recipe. So I pulled out some of the
pickles I made and my apricot jam and sat down for a very strange
lunch.

whole wheat bread
peanut butter
sliced dill pickles
apricot jam or preserves
plain potato chips
a very open mind

The verdict? Not really sure. It was ok, not bad. Strange.
Some bites were kind of like I bit into something smelly, but
overall it was decent. I probably won’t make it again very soon,
but I just had to try it to say that I've eaten a peanut butter
and pickle sandwich. I don't think I'll ever get to the mayo and
banana, but I can live with that.

Living Free Animal Sanctuary

2010-07-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we indeed hit up the Idyllwild Lemon Lily Festival, but I
was disappointed that there were no flowers to been seen. As I found
out the flower is actually near extinction and this event acts as a
fundraiser to try and reintroduce these flowers that are completely
unique to the area. To actually see the flowers we would have had to
drive all the way to the far far end of town, up the mountain, hike
up to the area and pay like $15 or something to get to the space.
So we passed. It was hot, too far and my family was doubtful they
could comfortably go with me and were not inclined to hike.

At the festival they naturally had a ‘petting zoo’ with the usual
miniature horse, goats, sheep, duck, piggy, a giant rabbit, and a
turtle. Someone told me they had baby doll sheep, so I went to go
see. If you haven’t seen a baby doll sheep, google them. Adorable.
But they did not. I think ‘petting zoos’ are pretty screwed up, I
felt horrible for all those poor guys out in that heat. The
miniature horse was snuffling me from inside the ring, but when I
offered my hand to snuffle he tried to bite off my finger. Guess I
taste good.

After that we went down to a companion animal sanctuary called
Living Free. It is basically the Farm Sanctuary of cats and dogs.
We went to ask about trying to find a home for one of my kittens
and then took a tour of the catteries.

Living Free Animal Sanctuary Entrance

The Cattery
The sanctuary is set up on a huge acreage with a great view.
They operate entirely on donations and rescue animals from
different pounds etc at which they would have been euthanized.
So all the animals there are basically last chancers that were
not adopted and going to be put down. They offer adoptions for
all the animals, so they can either have another chance getting
a home or can live their lives out in happiness or dignity there.

The Cattery is comprised of three large rooms with large outdoor
cages attached to each. The cats may come and go as they please
by way of open windows or little kitty doors cut into the walls.
As you can see the rooms are amazing and any cat’s dream.
Carpeted trees, blankets, beds, nooks, crannies, baskets,
shelves, toys...

The entire place was extremely clean and you wouldn’t believe
that that many cats lived there as it wasn’t stinky at all.
(Why are my cats so stinky!?)

The Lookout
And none of these cats missed being adopted before they came
here because of their own faults. All of the cats were
extremely friendly and affectionate. They were all shapes,
shades, and sizes and they seemed to get along just fine. I
guess they must adapt pretty quickly because if they don’t
like other cats they don’t have much of a choice.

The First Greeter

Everyone was cozy

This old baldy calico reminds me of our 'Rags'

One-eyed Pirate Kitty

All the walls were lined with shelves to sleep on

Enjoying the outdoor houses

Adorable Scottish Fold

Super Cute Fatty

A Handsome Fellow

Uninterested?

One of the biggest boys I've ever seen

Muppet Kitty with Owl Eyes

Cranky Butt

Such amazing faces...

Overall the place was amazing and so heartening. Its wonderful to
see that there are places like this out there, I only wish there
were more. If I lived in this area I would for sure volunteer.
I’ve seen other no-kill shelters, but the had nothing on this place.
I see it due more to better management than of more resources though.
The other no-kills I’ve seen had cats and dogs running loose, the
spaces were a mish mash of cages tied together, they were dirty and
stinky and a huge pity. The cats here were so mellow and content,
I’ll let them be the judges...

sweaty summer

2010-07-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

No recipes to post today, just a couple shots of stuff that will soon
be going up on my tester blog. I'm going to be getting up early
tomorrow to catch up on some cooking projects. We've been running
all over the place running errands etc, so I've had very little time
to do some serious experimenting.

Tomorrow I will also be going to the Lemon Lily Festival in town,
so I should be able to catch some awesome photos!

Here are my tester dishes for the book...

Van Helsing's Alfredo

Holiday Citrus Green Beans

Vegan Garb

2010-07-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

It is important to remember that veganism isn't just a diet or all about
food. It also incorporates everything we put on our bodies. I've never
worn leather, I don't think I've ever owned anything silk. Although I
did have some wool when I was a kid.

There were some changes when I became vegan and I did a good purge.
I had some jewelry with shell and even a pair of earrings with feathers...
Yeah, gross.

I must say that it is pretty hard to find a pair of shoes I like.
Usually I just go with a good pair of chuck taylors and I even own a
pair of crocs. Last winter I was desperately trying to find a decent
pair of boots. First I started trying to find some wellies and then
I just wanted any boots period.

My place gets super muddy when it rains and the streets flood.
I definitely needed something waterproof and now I'm super jazzed.

Check out these thick padded, water proof boots I found at goodwill!
I usually avoid faux fur like the plague, but this was so entirely
plastic I knew it was cool. If anything had to give its skin it was
probably a teddy bear. They are down-free too.

The second pair I found are so rad! They are like converse meets
Pocahontas! I just need to find some laces...

But quite a score if I do say so myself.

Pleasing with Paninis

2010-07-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

I really think that if you're cooking to tempt omnis, sandwiches and
paninis are definitely one of the best things you can make. Honestly
everybody likes sandwiches and you can pack in so much flavor with
veggie patties, spreads and marinades that you snag people with the
familiar.

I marinaded a pack of extra firm tofu in this marinade, but
added a 1/3-1/2 cup of red wine.

For bread, I made a single batch of whole wheat focaccia.
While that was baking I briefly sauteed 2 sliced yellow squash,
1 zucchini, and 1 green bell pepper. I caramalized a sliced onion
in the remaining marinade that was left over from the tofu. (I used
most of the remaining marinade to actually cook the tofu in).

Once the focaccia was cooked I cut it into 3x6 pieces. I used
guacamole and veganaise on one half and hummus on the other.
Usually when I make paninis I add a splash of balsamic vinegar
or a good slather of pesto. But these spreads were flavourful
enough to enhance the flavour of the veggies.

When assembling put the smaller stuff on the spread so it sticks
and doesn't fall out when you're grilling the sandwiches. I also
added some raw tomatoes and some moz daiya when stacking on the
squash, onions, peppers and tofu. When grilling the paninis you
need to either be using a press or lay something heavy on top of
them. I use another pan with a heavy mixing bowl set inside of it.
Monkey man says to pull a Martha Stewart and use bricks covered
with foil.

Grill each side on med-hi heat for 3-5 minutes with a bit of
olive oil or earthbalance.

I served mine with some oven-baked garlicy frenchy fries.
I ended up with about 8 paninis and some left over veggies.

Cool Summer Pasta

2010-07-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

When it is hot, it takes a lot to get cooking. Sometimes you
don't even want to eat, but you can get all the veggies you
need by keeping it cool. I certainly needed a break from all
the bread I've been baking, but I still wanted my carbs.

I whipped up some simple summer pasta for a warm day that
really hit the spot. You can even shred some raw squash instead
of pasta. I briefly sautéed some zucchini and yellow squash just
enough to get rid of that raw flavor and add a little bit of
moisture. Other than that, all I had to do was cook some spaghetti.

Throwing in some chopped green beans, asparagus or even some
tofu-feta would be a nice touch too.

By adding some red chili you can get a little bit of a sweat
going, which is perfect for a hot day. Getting your body to
sweat will tell your body to cool down. Plus the dish itself is
chilled, so you get the meal to cool your mind too.

Chilled Summer Pasta

1 package of spaghetti or angel hair
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 zucchinis, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
1/2 can artichoke hearts
1 1/2 cups garbanzo beans
3 cloves garlic, minced
a few green olives sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
juice from half a lemon
1 tsp salt
Red Chili Flakes to taste
black pepper

Cook the squash and zucchini over medium heat with a few
tablespoons of water for only a couple of minutes. Toss
together everything and chill for about an hour before
cooking (opt).

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

2010-07-11T20:16:00.000-07:00

Whenever I don't really feel up to cooking or I'm worried abut
time, I make soup. It was one of those 'what needs to be used
in the fridge' days. I didn't have a lot of open kitchen time
and had a ton of broccoli that needed to be used, so cream of
broccoli soup it was.

I like adding potatoes because it adds a heartiness and
thickness that is so yummy. You can either use a variety of
vegetables or keep it simple with some foundation onions and
garlic then add a dash of nutmeg!

Monkey-man likes his soup with all the big vegetable chunks,
but if I'm cooking for guests and such or if I used some funky
or odd shaped veg I'll blend the whole batch. It is also good
if I want to hide a certain vegetable from my picky Mom. Even
blending half is good and gives you the best of both worlds.

I served these with some baked potato cakes. They are super light
fluffy biscuits. I also added a little bit of kale to keep the super green
color. It is important to try and chop everything around the same size
so that it cooks evenly.

Simple Broccoli Vegetable Soup

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
2 medium potatoes, cubed
2 small crowns broccoli, chopped
1 cup shredded cabbage
2 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 leaves of kale, shredded
1 bouillon cube
1 1/2-2 cups unsweetened soymilk or nondairy milk
2 tbsp braggs
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp sage
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste
water

Saute the garlic and onion briefly with water, until tender
and fragrant. Add the remaining vegetables (except kale) with
about a cup of water and cover. Continue to cook, stirring
occasionally until potatoes are almost soft. Add the kale and
cook for about 5 more minutes.

Either add to a blender and add soymilk slowly until you get
your own desired thickness or just add the soymilk and
nutritional yeast if you're not blending. Keep on low-med heat
to heat added soymilk, but do not boil.

If blended, add nutritional yeast last. It adds a nice subtle
cheesy taste that rings of old cream of broccoli.

Peachy-Keen Bars

2010-07-09T18:11:00.000-07:00

I recently nabbed a vegetarian cookbook at a thrift store:
The American Vegetarian Cookbook by Marilyn Diamond. It would
be vegan if not for the honey factor. So far it seems like an awesome
book and huge to boot (over 400 pages).

It was published in 1990, so I'm thankful there are no photos.
Older cookbooks have the most ugly, dated looking food pics. I'm not
sure what it is, but everything looks orange and fresh out of a
microwave.

Flipping through it I saw a recipe that looked pretty good, but I
wanted to twist it to my own immediate dessert needs. Here is the
resulting experiment. The original called for 1 egg replacer, honey
and carob. I veganized it with raw sugar and had some peaches I
needed to use. I also added a drizzle of brandy to make the flavor
of the peaches pop.

And then I got a little fancy...

Peachy-Keen Bars

1/3 cup vegetable oil or earthbalance
1/3 cup raw sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 pack of silken tofu
1/3 cup agave
1 tsp arrowroot or cornstarch
3 peaches sliced
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp brandy

In a food processor first process the oil/earthbalance, sugar,
ginger and flour until crumbly. Press half off flour mixture
into a 9x9 tray. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.

Next process the tofu with the remaining ingredients, except for
the peaches and brandy.

After the bottom crust is cooled, pour the tofu
over baked crust. Arrange sliced peaches on top of that layer
and sprinkle remaining flour mix over peaches.

On top of that I arranged some roses out of super thinly sliced
peaches...

Finally, sprinkle alcohol over everything and bake for 20 more
minutes at 350F. Slice and serve alone or with whipped soycream
or vanilla nondairy ice cream.

Preserving Some Summer

2010-07-07T09:57:00.000-07:00

I wrote before on how much I love preserving the tastes of the seasons.
While Monkey-man is into pickling, his assignment while I'm gone is
pickling 1 lb of jalapenos and maui onions for me. Before I had to
whip up the rest of our apricot yield.

When it comes to apricot jams and such, I prefer mine as preserves.
Not only are you using much less sugar, but I love that chunky type
of jam where it is more reminiscent of real fruit. The lemon juice
acts as a natural pectin to help thicken along with the cooking redux.

Absolutely perfect! You can just as easily substitute peaches or
nectarines, but I love me some apricots. You don't need to worry
about peeling the apricots because the skins break down with cooking
and the peel also contains natural pectin that assists in thickening.

Apricot Preserves

4-5 cups of halved, pitted apricots
3/4 cup raw sugar
juice of one lemon
1 cinnamon stick

In a medium-large sauce pan over medium heat, melt sugar.

Add in your apricots, juice and cinnamon and slightly turn up
the heat. Continue to cook just short of a good boil for about
20 minutes or until it visibly looks thickened.

Don't worry, it will thicken a little more after cooling.
Once it looks thick enough, remove from heat and spoon carefully
in to sterilized jars. After that you can either process or just
allow to cool before refrigerating. It will keep for a couple
weeks in your fridge, but it probably won't last that long because
its sooo yummy!

I love mine on some 'buttered' toast for breakfast.
It's also my favorite fruit spread for some nut butter sandwiches
right up there with my famous pumpkin butter!

Tater Scramble

2010-07-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

I guess we were on a roasted mexican potato kick. But I especially liked
this because it was one of my favorite meals... tofu scramble.
However, not the way we normally serve it up. Instead we used our
marinating tofu feta from the uncheese book to jazz to twist it around
as a tater scramble with tofu instead of a tofu scramble with a side
of taters.

We went by the same seasonings of chili powder, cumin, salt, and
pepper but also threw in some jalapenos and bell peppers. The tofu
feta cooks up nicely, gets a little puffy, but crunchy.

We loved it on pizza and it was just as good with potatoes.

We always have our scrambles with earthbalanced toast, but also had
some yummy avocados on hand! The avocados on the 'buttered' toast
perfectly balanced the spiciness of the peppered scramble.

Independence Day: Freedom from flesh

2010-07-04T19:22:00.000-07:00

The fourth of July has never been on my favorite's list, but if I'm
heading up the party it can be. When we get invited to summer bbqs
and the parties of non-vegan friends, I am usually very tentative
to attend. Not that our friends and family are not good at providing
some vegan options.

I get physically ill at the smell of cooking flesh, so if there is
to be alot of animal grilling I would rather not go at all.
On the other hand...
I love being 'the vegan in the room'. The best way to positively
impact people is to offer excellent, delicious vegan grub.
This Fourth of July I certainly did that.

I started with some marinated veggie/tofu kabobs....
First remember to soak your skewers so they don't catch fire!

Marinate your veg before skewering them.

I used some green bell peppers, onions, zucchini, tofu, tomatoes,
and some mushy-roomie-rooms.

Veggie Kabob marinade

1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp agave
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp basil
3 cloves chopped garlic cloves
1 tsp mustard

Marinade overnight or at least a couple hours. Brush the skewered
kabobs before grilling. Grill for about 5-10 minutes to perfection!
Plus stick to firm or extra firm tofu. Tempeh would be just as
yummy though.

Here are our cooked Kabobs. Mine atop a slice of pineapple
destined for my veggie burger. I had a boca burger. Not really
loyal to any kind of packaged veggie burger. I prefer to make my
own. You guys know that! But once in a while these things come up.

My evil little homemade bun is dastardly awaiting his burger.

Daiya Deluge

2010-06-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

Monkey-man wanted me to post our recent winnings that has raked in
5lbs of Daiya and a copy of Tal Ronnen's The Conscious Cook.
I dig this cookbook. I would rank it among those best for high end
entertaining or creating a truly impressive meal for special occasions.
Not that it is all hoity toity recipes, but many are quite rich and not
for light eating. Its amazing just for the photos. His training and
experience really shine through. It is what professional cooking should
be. It separates the home-cooks and the real chefs.

I avoid most of the vegan cookbooks out there, but lots of (I'm sure
your favorite authors) the more popular vegan 'chefs'. I avoid them
for mainly two reasons... 1. anyone can think up a recipe like this
and don't need a book to tell me that or 2. the author(s) have no
training and no palate. I've gone through a lot of vegan cookbooks and
used their recipes straight off the page and cannot imagine what they
smoking that made that taste good? Ok, I better stop there or I will go
on a never ending rant! Sorry guys.

The contest we won was for our pizza photo, that you can see here.
It is also what sparked my recent Pizza Pizzaz Series.
We froze most of the cheese and I'll be taking some back with me on
my summer adventures. But we don't eat alot of cheese, so I think it
should last a good while. Imagine my excitement when a cooler arrived
from Canada filled with vegan cheese!

If you haven't had daiya, I strongly suggest you try get some.
If you had it once and didn't like it, try it again in a different form.
Honestly, (sorry daiyafoods) I didn't like it the first time I tried it.
But neither did I like the follow my heart cheese. I may have been
stuck in the dairy cheese mentality and that was all I was expecting.

I really think this holds way too many people back from being vegan.
They push away vegan products because they don't taste identical to
the cow titty based products. You have to be open minded and enjoy
everything for itself, not for what you want it to be.

I compare it to an experience I had as a kid. I was playing in my
room with a friend (probably around 10yrs old) and my Mom calls me
into the kitchen, asking if I want some candy. Hellz yes, I wants
candy. So she offers me some 'chocolate covered raisins', which in
fact turn out to be chocolate covered espresso beans. Not cool Mom.

Now I love coffee, at points in my life I've loved coffee too much.
And I may have liked it then if I had not been expecting a raisin.
Basically we set our minds up to want a specific experience, flavor
or texture and that in turn shoots us in the foot when the experience
at hand does not match our expectations. It may even be better than
what you had wanted but its not identical and that is what puts
us off.

We first had daiya at Z Pizza. It was too much. Too oily and too wet.
So we avoided it for a bit and then had it again at Purgatory Pizza.
Our minds were quickly changed. You just need to know how to use it.
Don't let one bad meal change how you feel about a food.

Quesadilla!!

On that note... I'll still be here, still posting away. But I'll
be leaving LA for about a month and going up to stay with family in
the mountains and write my cookbook. I'm already planning some
more series to focus on, as well as filling those requests that have
been sent out to me. (Shall I call them requests or challenges?)

I may come back down for a weekend to beach bum it up or hit up
some Knott's Berry Farm, but other than that... consider me exiled!

Mexican Roasted Taters

2010-06-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

I looove me some roasted potatoes. Any seasonings... My favorite has
to be rosemary and sage. But these mexican seasoned potatoes were
pretty darn good too.

We had some left-over taco filling and beans from the tamales I made
the night before and we didn't want get overloaded with corn tortillas
or fattened up with chips.

You roast them at 450F, tossed in a little bit of olive oil with your
seasonings. Cook for about 10-15 minutes on one side and flip cooking
for about 5-8 minutes more. They get all crispy and soft in the middle.

I used some sea salt, chili powder, a wee bit of cayenne, pepper and
some lemon juice. We had some black beans, sweet corn, steamed
cauliflower, our taco mix, some sweet chillies and a nice salad.

Strawberry-Beet Jam

2010-06-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

I love experimenting with jellies and jams. Especially because it lets me
pack away a little bit of every season for the rest of the year.
I always make this crazy good pumpkin butter around thanksgiving and
a ginger jelly in the summer to have all year round.

Since I've been getting such great strawberries from a local vendor at
my farmers market I wanted to test out a jelly and if it came out well
I'd get a whole flat and do a big batch.

This is a simple recipe without pectin. I need to go and pick up some
more pectin because I don't like my jellies so sweet. This was pretty
darn good though. I've been spreading it on my toast, puttin' it on
my pancakes, even adding a spoon of the syrup to my cocktails...

Strawberry-Beet Jelly

3 cups strawberries, rinsed-hulled-halved
1 steamed beet, peel and sliced into super thin pieces
1 1/2 cup raw sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 inch chunk of raw ginger, grated

Combine all the ingredients in to a heavy saucepan over low heat.
After the sugar is dissolved and starts to cook, add your strawberries.
Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Cook for about 10 minutes. It
will show signs of thickening. You can drop into a small dish of ice
water and see if it gels or use a candy thermometer (220F).

Transfer to sterile jars, allowing for some headspace. Process if it
is to be shelved or cool and refrigerate if it is to be eaten soon!

Overwhelmed by Apricots

2010-06-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

The apricot tree in my backyard has gone crazy! Last fall it was
majorly trimmed back, leaving only the larger of the main branches.
I always worry when they cut the trees that short and amazed when
they spring back into full bloom again. And full bloom is right.

This smaller tree of ours is covered in apricots. Thankfully they
are ripening in waves, so I can use them in a variety of ways.
I froze a whole pack last night, plan to make jelly today, and eat
them at almost every meal and snack. I really wish I had a dehydrator
so I could dry a bunch... I've been wanting to build a solar
dehydrator for a while, I think it may be time to get on that before
all the apricots disappear.

I love apricots, more than peaches or nectarines. They are so little and
cute! And super tasty if you get them from the farmers market. I
wouldn't trust super market apricots for a second. I've had too many
mealy, dry, tasteless apricots from super markets. Plus they are so
much more delicate than peaches and nectarines, they need extra care
to harvest.

Here is my apricot oatmeal... mixed in are some raisins, walnuts,
flax and a tad of brown sugar.

And our thin, rustic styled apricot pizza. It sports onions, garlic,
peppers, and apricots (obviously) all topped with some mixed daiya.

I was thinking of making apricot bread again or even apricot liqueur,
but I figured those are best for using dried apricots.

How do you best like apricots?

Vegan Jello Shots

2010-06-21T11:10:00.000-07:00

**NOTE** This post is intended for responsible adults of legal
drinking age. Please be sensible whenever consuming intoxicants.

I know I promised this a long long time ago and its taken me
nearly three months to post. I'm not sure why that is, but please
forgive me!

This takes carefully planning, a clever palate, and experience with
mixology certainly doesn't hurt. Its good to mix a little bit of
the flavors you chose beforehand to test the taste. Plus its
always fun to drink a little while you're experimenting.

I made these for Monkey-man's Bday party and went through about
three different versions. The first was too hard from too much
agar agar. The second version tasted like medicine. And the third?
Well, lets just say we had a good night.

As far as flavors go, I'd stay away from cherry and strawberry
vodkas because they will yield something reminiscent of cough syrup.
Don't use pineapple juice because it will not set because the high
acid content affects the jelling properties of the agar.

You of course can switch out different alcohols or juices.
I can't stomach rum for some reason, but many like it for it's milder
taste. You can also try some schnapps. I plan to try this with some
orange curacao, but haven't had an excuse to do so.

The photo here is from my blue raspberry lemonade batch that was too
firm, but I wanted to show off the cool silicone cups I used.
These are the cupcake cups I got at Cost Plus. They make great
reusable vegan jello shooters!

Vegan Jello Shots Galore

1 1/2 tbsp agar agar flakes or 1 1/2 tsp agar powder
1 cup mango juice
1 cup lime vodka
2 tbsp raw sugar
food coloring (opt)

Bring the juice, sugar, and agar to a boil and simmer over low-medium
heat until the agar is fully dissolved. Add the coloring, then the
alcohol and stir quickly with a whisk.

Pour into desired cups and chill before serving.
I will yield 15+ shots.

Right after I made these we found boxes of vegan jello at a local
indian market. Go figure. We tried using the mango flavoured box
and it came out just as good. You just split the liquid half juice
half alcohol. It definitely sets up quicker.

Lastly remember that these are pretty alcoholic, so don't be
expecting sweet jello-y goodness when you go to shoot one.
Remember you are taking a shot!! Besides that, have fun and always
be responsible!

Bold Native at TreePeople

2010-06-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

Last night we hit up one of our last few vegan events before I leave
town for a little while. I'd been looking forward to this event for
a while and it was briefly threatened when it looked like Monkey-man's
car might give out. But all was well and we traversed up to Clearwater
Canyon to the TreePeople amphitheater to watch the screening of
Bold Native.

An amazing film, I highly recommend it to anyone that gets a chance to
see it. Check out the website because I know they have screenings
coming up in Portland and Seattle.

It was a beautiful mesh of documentary film bits, drama, humor all
played out on the foundation of a well written story.
The editing style was more of a modern fast cut style, influence by the
fake-reality-tv-like shows (The Office). It was very powerful
and presented many different aspects of the animal rights movement
and the underlying principles, but focused mainly on the Animal
Liberation Front. It was moving, informative, and poignant.

The space was awesome too, even the blow up screen! It was filled
up pretty early. Awesome people, awesome weather, awesome space,
awesome show!

I really want to see if I can pull some strings to get a showing
in Hawaii if I'm there at the end of the year.

The audience in awe during the film...

Here is the cast and film makers during the Q&A that followed the film,
headed by director Denis Henry Hennelly.

Just a quick mention too...

The frankenstand was there selling vegan hot dogs and sausages!
It was our first encounter with the vegan hot dog cart (finally!)

I got the witch, a tofurky beer brat...

He got the wolf, which was a chipotle dog.
You can't see it though because he smothered it with toppings.
I think it looked like a little face.

Chocolate Beans, Baked Mochi, and more

2010-06-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd drop a couple pics that I posted to my testers
blog... Give you guys a visual taste of what I'm working on for
my book this summer. Or maybe its to prove that I actually am
doing something!

I'm organizing and categorizing mostly. Planning before I launch
into all out kitchen craziness. Also, picking what stories I want
to relate, what I want to illustrate and so on and so forth.

So here is some food porn for ya'll!
Some of these will be familiar if you are already on the facebook
fan page...

"Usagi no Tsuki" (Bunny's Moon)
Baked mochi topped with a sweet red bean paste, berry-beet sauce and
fresh strawberries.

"Chocolate Bean Sliders"
A new take on 'beans on toast' or 'boston-baked beans'

"Zombie Pizza"
A violent mixture of sweet, savory, and salty for the best pizza you'll
ever taste.

"Teddy Beary Choco Mousse"
A fluffy, rich, berry mousse that will leave your non-vegan friends
weeping for more.

So... two plugs here! First, obviously if you are interested in
becoming a tester or know someone who is... please let me know and
I will be opening the tester blog soon with invitations!

Secondly, if you haven't found me on facebook yet... be sure to
become a fan of the page!
There are a lot more pictures on the fan page, as well as sneak peeks
of posts to come.

Hot Diggity Dog!

2010-06-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

I once read that in a study, 100% of women and only 70% of men
admitted to experiencing specific food cravings. I can definitely
account for my own sex, but really guys. 30% of you don't have
any kind of specific food cravings whatsoever?

You don't ever think... "Hey a pizza would be really good right now"
or maybe a coffee... Come one! A cold beer? Stereotypes!

I think guys just associate food cravings with women and are
weirded out by admitting that they get them once in a while too.
Or-- they just don't realize that what they are experiencing is a
food craving. Not all cravings are the female pregnancy level...
"I need pickles, ketchup, and hashbrowns right now or I'm gonna die!"

Obviously I get food cravings all the time and honestly I give in
pretty much every time. Not because I'm pregnant! And food cravings
don't have to be a bad thing My body has readjusted to a healthy
food grid. (well pretty much)

Basically, by eating a good range of healthy and wholesome foods,
I don't crave crap anymore. It was only when I was consistently
eating crap that I was craving crap. A total addiction.

Now I crave things like curry, toast with marmite, bananas, or
even dried fruits. I'll totally get hankerings for trail mix.
Dude! Salty raisins? What the hell, I'll pick those out of trail
mix like they're crack!

The last stand that still taunts me from non-vegan land is the
deadly 'little debbie cake'. Once in a blue moon I'll be stuck
with a bizarre wave of longing for those awful waxy cakes.
Who knows why, but if I must I'll grab a cookie or a chocolate
soymilk and wait it out.

So on this path of feeding my cravings I had to pick up a
pack of smart doggies. We rarely eat faux meats, so it was a
treat for me completing my 1st grad year.

I made some sesame seed hot doggie buns for the occasion.

Monkey-man made some sweet potato fries. Except he confused me
instructing him to use paprika with using cayenne. So, they
were a little 'flamin'!

To cut down on the amount we ate I made the buns on the small
side and we cut the doggies in half! Kind of like using smaller
dinner plates and tricking your mind!

I used to just eat cheese and ketchup on my hot doggies, but
I'll add a little bit of mustard like here and had a little of
Monkey-man's homemade pickle relish. Yummy! Of course he had to
have raw onions on his-- not so yummy to me.

Pizza Pizzaz Part Nine: Cowabunga Pizza

2010-06-12T16:33:00.000-07:00

If you are a child of the 80s like me,
into the wave of retro movies going on,
or have just seen a lot of the pop
culture churned out in 1987 you are
probably at least slightly familiar with
the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
movie. I started with the comics, but we're not here to talk
about what a geek I am...

Not many will remember this among all the pizza talk of the TMNT movies,
but somehow I did and decided to try it myself.

At some point in the movie the turtles are talking about organics
and gardening and then they throw out the idea of organic marshmallows
on their pizza. Well, organic maybe not. Vegan? Yes.

Hence the 'Cowabunga Pizza' in honor of one of my childhood faves.

Starting with some Dandies (which they now carry at our whole foods)...

I tore them in half since the actual pizza was not that large and I
didn't want too many. I used a mix of moz and cheddar daiya.

Other than that nothing special. A nice red sauce and a plain crust.

I don't know why I was surprised, but they completely exploded.
For some reason I was thinking they'd turn all golden and crispy
like on a camp fire, but no. This was a 450F oven and they completely
blew up and spread across the whole pizza.

Honestly, I think that Dandies needs to start looking into making
vegan cheese because this pizza looks like the perfect, classic
cheese pizza.

It was not as sweet as I as expecting either. Monkey-Man,
I have to say, was not down for this. I'm sure he was bracing himself
to vomit. But it was pretty good believe it or not.

It reminded me of one of those little kid packs of make your own cold
cheese pizzas... Although, I cannot imagine when I ever had one.
I think because processed food already has so much more sweetener in
every ingredient that with extra sugar on top, that is what it started
to taste similar to-- something more commercial.

I think we all need to have more fun with our food and not get so
caught up in our own expectations. Cowabunga, dudes.

Pizza Pizzaz Part Eight: BBQT Pizza

2010-06-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

Finally, summer has begun for me. I can breathe freely for a few
months without the impending doom of 30-page papers, a thesis, or
massive exams hanging over me. Instead I have crying kittens, a messy
house and a big deadline for my cookbook.

First I have to set my place up to incorporate a more creative flow.
So I'm spending my day cleaning and rearranging my little place.

Beside that I want to start off my summer showing you another awesome
pizza. Summer is the time of bbqs and outdoor parties. But not all
of it has to include dead flesh or a grill. You can get the amazing
flavor and familiar sensations all with a little imagination.

Experimenting with different sauces got me to whipping up this pizza.
I wanted to do one with my delicious barbecue sauce (which will be in
the book) and also bring in the use of some baked/grilled tofu.

With a smaller, thickly rolled crust you have your favorite
barbecue sauce topped with sweet bell peppers, walnuts, roasted garlic,
baked beggin' tofu, olives, and some chedder daiya. I should have
added some sliced tomatoes.... I used to use this recipe for
'bacon', but now I use a marinade of more maple syrup, less water,
braggs instead of soy sauce, a little bit of salt, smoked paprika,
and a wee bit of garlic powder. Marinate at least a couple hours
before using.

This pizza is a little sweet, very savory, and its got a little kick
from some hot spice in the sauce. Its good to balance the sauce by a
thick crust and lots of toppings or else all you're going to be tasting
is bqq bqq bqq.

So now its officially summer for me I will be posting and updating
much more. You'll be seeing more of my book and getting lots of juicy
photos. If you're interested my tester site will be completed soon and
is invite only. I will be needing testers for book recipes, so I hope
to generate some help and interest. Happy eating!

Pizza Pizzaz Part Seven: Double the Yum

2010-06-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

Getting back on track here... Heading into finals week for my
first completed year of grad school, go me! Half way done with
my masters... or there abouts!

Plus these kittens have been a real time vacuum of cuteness.

I have had some posts to share with you, but on top of everything
our internet/phone was out for over a week. In fact they had to
come and entirely replace the telephone pole in front of our
house to get things back online!

But here is one that I've been really wanting to share with you.
The general idea was Monkey-man's, but I whipped it up and
it really surprised us. I don't think I've ever made a pizza
that tasted so much like a digiorno. Now, I don't know if you've
ever had one of these frozen pizzas or if you hate them...

But I want to pin it on the strange anomaly of their crust or
really the crust of any mainstream frozen pizza. The recipe itself
is nothing special, just my go to foundation ratio for pizza
crust. It usually makes two crusts that fit on our stone, but this
time I stacked them on top of each other.

This caused the crusts to be much softer and just short of doughy.
In a really good way!

For future reference my pizza dough consists of ....

1 tsp yeast
1 tbsp raw sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp oil
1 cup warm water
2 1/2- 3 cups flour

I like to switch it up with different flours, sweeteners and oils
or adding things like olives, rosemary, garlic, or a little more
sweetener for a dessert pizza.

Pizza is so easy and quick if you have the crust made ahead of time.
It is insane that more people don't eat it homemade. I cannot
understand those who will spend $20+ on a generic pizza when they
actually cost a fraction of that at home. If you have the dough
ready, you can have your dinner ready in the time it takes to
preheat your oven and out 10 minutes later.

Double Decker Pizza

Start out with your preheated stone or baking sheet.
Lay down the first layer of crust and spread on the tomato sauce and
nutritional yeast.

Then your next layer and toppings... Yes it's that simple.

Unbaked and baked overview... Yes my crusts are wonky shaped.

And my slice! Nom Nom Nom.
It seems like a normal sized pizza, but it goes twice as far,
so we had to seriously watch how much we were eating!

Pizza Pizzaz Part Six: Chipmunk Pizza

2010-05-31T11:44:00.000-07:00

Going through this series we had a list of white pizzas that we wanted
to give a shot. Now I love cashews on pizza (especially with broccoli)
but I wanted to turn up the nuttiness up to eleven.

First I started with adjusting the crust. When adding the flour to my
yeast, sugar, oil, salt, water mix I also tossed in about three tbsps
of flax meal. I like the flecked effect it gives, plus the added
nutritional boost. Monkey-man needs his omega-six!

For the Sauce I mixed up a white wine sauce with a earthbalance roux
base. I thinned it out with soymilk, but any nondairy milk would be
fine. Added some garlic and a dash of nutmeg, just to give it a twist.
Of course salt and pepper and cooked enough to burn off the majority
of the alcohol.

For toppings I went all out, not stopping with cashews. I also threw
on sun flower seeds and toasted Brazil nuts, roasted garlic, diced
tomatoes, and black olives. I considered almonds and peanuts, having
both on hand... but almonds are too sweet and I thought peanuts would
be too overpowering.

Lastly I topped it with a dusting of daiya moz cheese.

Again I baked it at 450F for about 12 minutes until browned.
It was incredibly rich and good with a nice salad or leafy green.

I can think of a few other nuts that might have been good... like
macadamia nuts, walnuts, or pistachios-- go nuts!

Pizza Pizzaz Part Five: Rastafarian Pizza

2010-05-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

You don't need dreadlocks or any smoke around da house to enjoy
something rasta, you need to just be jammin this pizza!

I wanted to mix it way up. This is an amazing dish to contrast a deep
natural sweetness with a light brush of spice. Yeah, I know I've already
used beans on another pizza in this series, but I had to go back for
one more version.

This time I used a black bean mix instead of the pintos. And here is
the break down of some basic Jamaican Black Beans...

3 cloves garlic
1/2 onion, minced
1/4 cup Orange Juice
1 can black beans
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp parsley
1 tsp red chili flakes
salt and pepper

First cook the onions and garlic over medium heat with a few
tablespoons of water until they appear slightly translucent.
Add the black beans and seasonings and continue to cook for
about 10 minutes, but be sure to keep adding water or more
orange juice if it appears that the beans are drying out.

Preheat the oven at 450F and roll out your prepared crust.

On the crust, spread out the black beans evenly. It is important
to make sure they pretty moist because they will lose a lot of
that moisture during the bake in the oven.

I topped with fresh sliced tomatoes, sliced green and yellow
bell peppers, black olives, and bananas. I originally though pineapple
because I wanted to add something sweet. But pineapple is tricky on
pizzas and can be very over powering. So bananas it was. They were
perfect. Soft, sweet, and yellow! Perfect for my colour scheme!

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the crust starts to turn
gold. I loved assembling it because it looks like a mandala!
Enjoy with some Marley, or be super naughty and pair it
up with some Sublime...

Pizza Pizzaz Part Four: Strawberry Fields Forever

2010-05-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

Cooking is easy with minds closed, boring foods are all you see.
It's getting hard to be different, but it all works out.
It really matters much to me...

Let me take you down cuz we're going to Strawberry Fields.
I promise it's real. Not thing to get weird about.
Strawberry Fields Forever.

It still strawberry season here in California and I've been
hitting up the local vendors every week now. We've been having a
lot of strawberry smoothies and I've been adding them to my
cereal for weeks now. I plan to make some preserves too, but need
to find all my jars. But somewhere along the way I figured, why
not pizza?

Why not indeed. We put all sorts of sweet stuff on our pizzas right?
Well, some of us do. Pears, pineapple... ok thats all that really
comes to mind right now, but we need to try more sweet stuff. I'm
not saying throw gummi bears on your pizza, but more naturally
sweet stuff.

That's where this pizza comes in.
Its topped with a delicious red sauce, kale (although, I'd sub out
chard instead), grilled strawberries, pecans, and tofu feta.
Seriously, that is it.

We used the Tofu Feta from Jo Stepaniak's The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook.
It was good. Better baked than raw, but tasted a little too much of
miso when you think about it. I'll try the recipe again without so
much miso, while looking around for better recipes that I can incorporate.

Baked at 450F for about 10-15 minutes we served it topped with
balsamic vinegar-- very important! Come on! Get out there and try
something new for god's sake!

Feline Inturptions

2010-05-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

I've amended this series to be in parts instead of days because this
week as been so hectic for me, I have not been able to post everyday.
I had a big presentation/paper for a class, but came home to no
internet on Sunday (Still not fixed). So I retreated to campus and
now Monkey-man's place to work.

The presentation and paper went fine and I was looking forward to a
productive Wednesday... and rest of the week... starting in the ol'
garden. As I was replanting some herbs and stuff I heard some
rustling on the other side of my fence. The neighbors have a huge
holly tree behind their house. Tons of branches have broken off and
fallen atop a pile of old tires. I heard the rustling for a while
and then the mewing started.

"oh no...." I thought, knowing exactly what it was.

So I jumped the fence, knowing full well that my neighbors definitely
wouldn't do anything about it. I gingerly lifted up a few branches,
careful not to poke myself with the holly or uncover any swarms of
black widows... and out crawls a kitten.

I carry her back over and start to clean her up. She obviously has
an upper respiratory infection because her eyes are pretty nasty.
I went and got a bottle and formula as she looks about three weeks
old and not yet weaned. Not skinny and I've seen the Mom around,
but with an infection like this she probably wouldn't last over a
couple days.

After setting it up with some bedding and planning on taking it
to the vet the next day, I get back to gardening.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
"Crap!"

I jump the fence again and out comes a little black guy.
I reach down to pick him up and look up to see the Mom peering
at me from inside the tire. I start tumbling through a moral
dilemma and then see that this kitten is in much worse shape
than the first. It's eyes are completely stuck shut and look
so bad I fear it may be blind.

So I go ahead and grab him and go to lift up the tire. The Mom
of course takes off, but it reveals another kitten underneath.
There goes my free time...

I cleaned them and set them up in a cage and Thursday Monkey-man
and I take them to the Vet. Who repeats back to me everything I
already knew. (Sigh* If only I could buy kitty medicine over the
counter and not have to pay for all this)
Severe upper respiratory, horrible fleas, infection not in the
lungs yet, and in need of eye drops. So I get the meds and get
home to give them a bath.

The bath alone took three hours as I picked all the fleas off.
One is still not taking to the bottle or drinking out of the dish
like the others. Next I'll try soaking crunchy food. But the
medicine has already made a huge difference. I hope to find them
proper homes or a no-kill shelter in a couple weeks.

Trixie and Pandamonium, my Kitties, are super pissed off and not
having anything to do with them. I'm hoping I don't come home to
a surprise on my bedsheets if you know what I mean. Maybe I can
bring them around with lots of cookies...

Anyone want a kitten?

Pizza Pizzaz Part Three: Getting Saucy

2010-05-26T08:00:00.001-07:00

I have encountered two spiritual junctures in my life thus far.
The first was when I discovered kitchen witchery and the craft
as a teenager. It strongly affected my creativity, sense of self,
and overall attitude of action.

The second was when I found garlic.
It felt like finding my soul-mate. In my parent's home, garlic is
not allowed. If my Mom smells it she will squirm and squeal and
run to find the huge loud air filter, topped up with tea tree oil.

I remember when I was little and my Mom forced my Dad to agree to
forgo garlic from then on. Since he stopped bringing it home, he
lost the taste for it too. Not entirely. He doesn't hate it, but
its way more powerful tasting.

My first affair with garlic began with the pesto pizza.
The green colour, the penetrating flavour all topped with luscious
tomatoes was too good to be true. Retrospectively, it was way too
much oil to handle. I can't believe how much fat was in those
pizzas I would order at the local joint.

I use a fraction of the oil in my current version of pesto, adding
tomatoes instead. I also use walnuts instead of pine nuts, because
I don't fancy spending $20/lb on them. Nutritional yeast has easily
replaced parmesan hands down-- Way better nutritional value without
the fat and nastiness of cheese.

I still love it topped with a vegan moz cheese and tomatoes. Other
toppings come and go...

I also suggest experimenting with cilantro pesto. Now, I'm not a
huge fan of cilantro and I know it turns alot of people off. Try it
anyway. The cilantro doesn't come through in the same way for some
reason and its dreamy on pizza. Basically, if you haven't experienced
a pesto pizza yet... Do it. Now. Or I'll never forgive you.

Pizza Pizzaz Part Two: Twisting the Tostada

2010-05-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

When I was a teen the only way I would get to see a decent concert
was to fly to Honolulu from the Big Island. One time when I was on
Oahu to see The Ataris (when they were cool and before the age of
emo) we all hit up California Pizza Kitchen. It was before the
restaurants were really that big, so it was pretty exciting at the
time.

Ok, I'm done dating myself.

When we were there I got a vegetarian tostada pizza that really
kicked butt, but then was struck with the karma of eating cheese
and got a headache. Years down the road I realize that the majority
of my headaches came from eating cheese. Go figure.

Looking back though, it was a good pizza. And I especially liked
it because of how unusual it was. I love going out and trying things
that haven't dawned on me to make at home.

So, during my pizza making adventures I decided to pick my memories
and try to replicate it. First thing to go was their crappy lettuce.
I will never understand what the appeal of iceburg lettuce is to
people. Oh yeah, its cheap.

Next I used pinto beans instead of black and baked it with the
cheese, whereas they just throw it on cold. I used the chedder daiya,
but Follow My Heart pepperjack would be good too.

First you mash about a cup or more of beans with some garlic, 1 tbsp
chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, and a dash of cayenne. Roll the prepared
crust out nice and thin and spread the bean mash on top. Sprinkle
with cheese.

If you're using a pizza stone like we have here, make sure you
preheat it in the oven first at 500F and then turn it down to
450F when you actually bake your pizza.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the crust starts to brown nicely.
Before baked, prep your toppings.

Think of what you like on your tostadas... We had lettuce, salsa,
and corn tortillas. Then you're going to top it with some ranch
dressing.

Combine a couple tablespoons of veganaise and mustard, thinned out
with a little bit of non-dairy milk. Add garlic powder, onion powder,
a squirt of lemon juice, salt, pepper, and some italian seasonings.

Slice your pizza and top accordingly. Consensus? Awesome.
CPK, kiss mah butt.

Pizza Pizzaz Part One: El Diablo

2010-05-23T23:35:00.000-07:00

Today is 'day-one' of my pizza week series!
This is exciting! I've been reading a lot of ideas and suggestions
for special toppings and have will have a hard time cutting it down
to seven. But I'm gonna start off with something really simple.

Granted this may be comprised of mostly left-overs, but let me tell
you that left-overs can make a damn good pizza. That is where I start
this series. I think we all need to open our minds a little and
start experimenting with pizza more. Is anyone else tired of the
plain 'cheese' pizza with basil and tomatoes? Ok, it is pretty good
I grant you, but I want something different. And I rarely make the
same thing twice. I want something out there, something that will
take me by surprise. Something with pizazz, pizza pizazz.

So last night we had tacos and I had made a neo-traditional spicy tvp
taco filling. It then got thrown in with some tomatoes, jalapenos,
fresh spinach, purple onions, all topped with the chedder daiya cheese.

The spice gets pumped from ground chili from our mexican market.
Not the typical chili powder that you get from vons, etc. Plus a
splash of cayenne. If you like, use habeneros instead of jalapenos
or sprinkle the whole thing with some tabasco/hot sauce.

The daiya cooled it down a little, but only so much.
The thin crust compliments the whole dish, without weighing it
down with breadiness. We had to keep it a little mild in the
long run though, 'cause I don't think Monkey-man can take the
heat-- I like my food to make me sweat!

Mushy-roomie-rooms

2010-05-21T10:22:00.000-07:00

Not sure if I've ever mentioned my distaste for mushrooms, but...
I have a weird sort of gag reflex with them. I think I like them,
but every time I try to eat them the texture and the taste hit
me in such a weird way that I start to gag like I'm gonna puke.

I hated mushrooms a lot when I was a kid. The smell of them
cooking puts me off so much. My parents used to try and sneak
them to me in food by telling me they were olives, which I would
eat by the bucket full. I can taste mushrooms from a mile away,
there is no hiding them from me!

Yet, since I learned to cook and such it has become kind of the
last stand with foods. I got over a lot of things I thought I
did not like. I still get a little put off by too much cilantro,
onions, or celery. I still don't like baby corn.

The thing is I want to like mushrooms.
So I continue to eat them when I feel like pushing it in order to
get over this. Someday I will. I got over my coconut allergy,
which in turn probably saved my life. Maybe someday mushrooms
will do the same. Now the reflex is no bad, just a little gag.

On the other hand, Monkey-man Loves mushy-roomie-rooms.
So for our outing day to Knotts, I made portobello sandwiches.

Grill for about a half hour with a basting mixture of white
wine, red wine vinegar, italian seasoning, braggs, olive oil,
garlic powder, black pepper, and sea salt. (Keep covered)

I added some slices of zucchini and a little water to keep it
from sticking. Also, make sure to spoon some of the basting
liquid into the cup of the mushroom as well.

After cooking I sliced the mushrooms thinner to even distributed
across the bread. We had made whole-wheat bread with millet the
night before, so it was perfect.

To cut down on the mushroom taste, I usually make hummus. It is
my way of easing in to enjoying the flavor without being overwhelmed.
(Ha ha, I can't believe I'm writing about enjoying food and
gagging in the same post, but really I love portobello burgers!!)
Instead of hummus, I made a spicy black bean spread, added
some veganaise and tomatoes to the sandwiches and we were
ready to go.

We had our lunch break in the parking lot and I shared my
crust with these awesome little guys!

Green with Envy

2010-05-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

From my endless reading of foodie lit, cookbooks, and online food
postings I've been reading more and more about the holy green
smoothie. Now I'm a little green to this pure green smoothie fad,
but I'm no stranger to adding veggies to my fruity blends.

I must admit that I am the ultimate smoothie master. I conquered
the secret recipes of jamba juice and have gotten people addicted
to my concoctions.

I talked to my Mom on the phone a couple days ago and she said that
my little brother was begging everyone to make him smoothie like I
used to do for him all the time. My Mom told him that she didn't
know how to make a good smoothie and he told her that it's easy,
"you just have to put bananas in the blender".

I was putting some veggies in with the fruit when I was on a
liquid diet last year after getting all four of my wisdom teeth
surgically extracted in one go. Don't worry, I'm still a wise guy.
I remember drinking gallons of smoothies and a lot of carrot soup.
For some reason, none of my smoothies never had even a slight
green tint. I guess I wasn't adding enough X.

So I gave it another whirl.

First shot....

4 leaves of kale, 2 bananas, a handful of ice cubes and about 6
strawberries- thinned out with some OJ

Second shot...

4 leaves of kale, 2 bananas, a handful of ice cubes and 1 small
mango- again thinned out with OJ.

The second was definitely more 'green' tasting. I like almost always
using bananas because it helps retain that thickness and prevents
a lot of the separation that you get in some smoothies. If you're
at all adverse to eating your greens this really is a great trick.
The colour may be a bit... unusual, but you really cannot taste
the veg at all. It tastes pretty much like a really bitchin' fruit
smoothie.

Now they do look pretty similar, but the second was a much richer
green and probably could have been blended longer. That is one thing
to remember! Blend longer than you think you should or else you'll
get a little bit of stringy fiber. We were in a hurry this morning
though, like the usual Monday morning rush.

My only qualm was that I should have frozen the bananas, mango and
berries beforehand, that way I wouldn't have had to add the ice.
For me, a smoothie being cold is essential. Warm smoothies make
me wanna hurl.

Ideally, I'd like to keep up having a smoothie, preferably green if
I can mix it up enough to not get bored, every morning as a new
routine. My next try is going to include avocado, so stay tuned.

Churro Chips

2010-05-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

This has not been the best week for me. I had two midterms (neither of
which I did very well on) and I got sick. Tuesday night after my first
exam, I came down with a massive fever, freaked my boyfriend out, and
still have the symptoms of some sort of sinus infection...

Needless to say, my Cinco De Mayo was not very fun. I had planned on
making margaritas and some spicy tacos, but my body was having none
of that. Wanting something even a little celebratory, I had a sudden
idea.

At the same time that I had been craving doughnuts, I had also been
craving churros. Now I don't think I've had a churro for a good 12
years (probably at disneyland of all places). Now I know that
churros are incredibly difficult to make, but all that oil can just
get nasty.

My solution? No dough/batter, no vats of oil, no stress.

Cha Cha Cha Churro Chips

6 corn tortillas
1/4 cup raw sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
dash sea salt

a few tablespoons vegetable oil

Grill the tortillas on a small pan with as little oil as you can
without having the tortillas become dry. The oil will make the
sugar and spice stick when its done.

Put the sugar, cinnamon and salt onto a plate. Flap the tortilla
down on the sugar straight off the pan. Flip and Transfer to a
warm oven, until they are all cooked.

Cut into pie shapes and serve!
Honest to goodness, tastes just like a churro!
And that's what I've got for a very late cinco de mayo, folks.