January 2013
1 post
Apple cinnamon galette with rye-spelt crust
Apple cinnamon galette with flaky rye-spelt crust Rustic rye dough adapted from Good to the Grain, by Kim Boyce Filling adapted the teensiest bit from Oh, Ladycakes
This dough recipe makes enough for two 9-inch galettes; the filling is for just one.
Rustic Rye Dough
3/4 cup ice water
Dry Mix: 1 cup dark rye flour 1/2 cup dark spelt flour 1/2 cup light spelt flour 1 tablespoon sugar 1...
June 2012
6 posts
pineapple stir fry
My mumsie bought me a wok a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been making stir fry morning, noon and night.
This pineapple version is excellent for breakfast with hot tea, and even better for dinner with a bit of sake. Everything except the pineapple is local - vegetables from my garden/the farmers’ market, and N.C. rice from the co-op.
Make some - you won’t be disappointed.
...
5 tags
Cilantro lime coleslaw {vegan, gluten free, raw}
{dressing}
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (~1 1/2 large limes)
2 tablespoons cold-pressed e.v. olive oil
2 tablespoons raw agave
1/2 teaspoon fine grain salt
{slaw}
1/2 head medium green cabbage, shredded in 1” pieces
1/2 large red bell pepper, cut into 1” julienne
1/4 red onion, cut into 1” julienne/quarter moons
2-3 carrots, grated
1 handful cilantro,...
4 tags
what I like do with green garlic
Make a green garlic, kale and pumpkin seed pesto. Toss with steamed or sprouted quinoa. Top with sliced spring onions. Resist the urge to devour immediately, and savor: the hint of grass inherent to quinoa as it pops between your teeth, mingling with the subtle sweetness of the green garlic and the sharpness of the spring onions.
4 tags
Amaranth skillet flatbreads and mini pita pockets...
Amaranth is one of the easiest pseudograins to grind into flour; itty bitty seeds, even smaller than millet, are transformed into clouds of silky dust inside of 60 seconds with a standard burr grinder.
It has a rich, earthy aroma that reminds me of beets. I’ve been combining it with other flours to find a complimentary blend, and here’s the ratio I’ve settled on (by...
4 tags
The 1, 2, 3's of a vegan BLT salad
Local greens from the co-op + my garden, tomato from the farmers’ market, homemade vegan mayo and from-scratch vegan bacon made with local Tempeh Girl tempeh.
1. Wash, spin, chop greens and put into a large bowl.
2. Heat several slices of vegan bacon* in a lightly oiled skillet on high heat until cooked through and nicely crisped on both sides, then slice into bite-sized pieces and...
3 tags
tofu scramble, say hello to the Vegg
This is a great way to use up any leftover emulsified Vegg from another recipe. Or, just blend a bit up to keep at the ready if you make tofu scram often.
Mash up your tofu, drizzle with Vegg and mix it in really well, let it rest while you prep your veggies. Scramble your Vegg-dredged tofu on high heat, add your veggies and proceed as normal.
May 2012
3 posts
4 tags
Spaghetti alla carbonara *vegan, gluten free* + a...
Long before I went veg, I had a love-hate relationship with eggs. I loved a lot of foods that had eggs incorporated into them (egg noodles, brioche, creme brulee), but hated dishes made primarily out of eggs in any way, shape or form. The one exception was scrambled eggs, but only if they were dry as tinder and then loaded with veggies. I’ve since become a scrambled tofu expert, even...
5 tags
vegan parmesan *vegan, gluten free*
There are myriad vegan parmesan recipes floating around the ether, and I suspect many of them came into being as mine did — based on what was in the pantry. This is my contribution: simple, protein-packed, and quite satisfying.
Use this simple ratio and make as much - or as little - as you want.
1 part pine nuts : 2 parts hemp hearts : 2 parts nutritional yeast + 1 large pinch...
9 tags
Asparagus & caramelized red onion pesto
Now that Nina grabs her own snacks and has been put in charge of mise en place for dinner prep, things get pushed to the inner depths of our refrigerator pretty often. Such was the case for this asparagus I picked up at the farmers’ market a couple of weeks ago. It had been carefully wrapped and was inhabiting the coldest corner of the crisper, which meant it had wilted, but not yet gone...
April 2012
1 post
7 tags
Pear sage sausage + mini meatballs *vegan, gluten...
Exactly one year ago this week, I very abruptly went gluten free. With an iron clad excuse to start grinding my own flours and keep at least a dozen on hand at any given time, I quickly tackled gluten free baking. My background in biochemistry reared its head and an obsession with hydrocolloids led to developing gluten free foods without the use of guar or xanthan gums. I dipped my toe into...
March 2012
2 posts
9 tags
Dessert crepes with caramelized plantains, toasted...
I’m so excited to finally be joining the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally! Folks, I’ve been waiting a long time to say that. After several months of missing every single rally recipe deadline by this much, I managed to get one in just under the wire. The theme this month is crêpes, and since I had a bunch of quickly ripening plantains begging me to use them up in a way that would justify my insistence on...
3 tags
a socca of sorts
Most vegans or gluten freebies have that one ingredient that never makes it off their Avoid at All Costs list. For me, that ingredient is besan. Try as I might to like besan – chickpea flour – it’s just not happening. And that’s okay – my intense aversion to this flour, which is in many pre-packaged all purpose gluten free flour mixes, forced me to explore other grains and experiment with flavor...
February 2012
2 posts
7 tags
Bibimbap
This is week thirteen of the 5th Annual Dark Days Challenge, a 4 1/2 month pledge by participants to eat one SOLE meal a week: a meal as Sustainable, Organic, Local and Ethical as possible. Weekly participant recaps are being rounded up by the good people at Not Dabbling in Normal.
My highly thorough analysis of this dish – conducted by ordering bibimbap at every Korean restaurant I came...
6 tags
Broccoli and roasted corn chowder
This is week twelve of the 5th Annual Dark Days Challenge, a 4 1/2 month pledge by participants to eat one SOLE meal a week: a meal as Sustainable, Organic, Local and Ethical as possible. Weekly participant recaps are being rounded up by the good people at Not Dabbling in Normal.
So … I haven’t posted a Dark Days meal in, erm, ten weeks? I hasn’t been for lack of local...
November 2011
2 posts
7 tags
Pumpkin multi-grain breakfast muffins *vegan,...
I may not be posting many recipes lately, but that doesn’t mean I’m not developing them left and right. I’m currently baking my way through seven (seven!) jars of roasted pumpkin puree, and seeing as butternut and kabocha squash season is in full swing, there is no immediate end in sight. The day after Thanksgiving I whipped these up, and after two additional batches I’m...
6 tags
Avocado-flecked banana muffins
These are by far the prettiest muffins I’ve ever made. Some of the tastiest, too. I have this problem of almost never buying avocados, and then when I do, of buying way too many of them. It usually takes forever and a day for them to ripen, and then all of a sudden - quick! use those avocados up before they turn! Which leads to guacamole overload, and then so much time passes before I want to...
September 2011
1 post
9 tags
Roasted tomatoes three ways
I pulled up my tomato plants last weekend, amended the soil and will let it rest for a few weeks before I lay a comforter compost bed for the winter. While walking my tomato rows one last time, I made a little end of summer harvest. You could just as easily make these recipes with a bag of grape tomatoes from the market, a comparable amount to what I used here. But I think the magic in these...
August 2011
2 posts
7 tags
Watermelon Sherbet
I’ve avoided posting a sherbet recipe because every time I think or type the word, I hear it mispronounced in my head and it drives me c-r-a-z-y. But what a silly reason not to post a sherbet recipe! So, I’m over it. Just please don’t let me hear you pronounce it as sherBERT or I will lose. my. mind. Sherbet is just sorbet with added fat. It smooths out the granular texture...
8 tags
Icebox Peanut Butter Cream Pie: for Mikey, and his...
As many of you know, Jennifer Perillo’s husband Mikey died suddenly and unexpectedly just eight days ago. He loved creamy peanut butter pie, and her request to everyone who kept her and their daughters in their thoughts, hearts and prayers was to make Mikey’s pie and share it with someone they love. For Mikey, Jennie, and their two precious girls. I’m a firm believer that food heals mind, body and...
June 2011
4 posts
7 tags
Double Oat Double Fruit Breakfast Strata *vegan,...
Yet another recipe inspired by Heidi Swanson. Surprised? I’m not; her photos always make me want to eat everything right off the page. (This is also one of the recipes I tested for her book Super Natural Every Day, so I’ve had over a year to tweak it.) Try as I might, I couldn’t figure out how to get the title of this recipe to reflect that it’s really (yet another) vehicle...
8 tags
Raspberry fridge jam *vegan, gluten free*
One of the cool things about living in the country is the opportunity to farm-sit. I’m presently farm-sitting for Laughing Spirit Farm, which also happens to be the farm I’m modeling our subsistence (and maybe someday market) farm after. One of my farm-sitting duties this week is to get any and all ripe raspberries off the bushes before they start to spoil. A couple of nights ago I thought I might...
6 tags
Not your usual pilaf
Big and Little Chew are both voracious eaters of almost anything I put in front of them. Naturally, they tend to gravitate towards empty carbohydrates (it it weren’t for my hypertriglyceredemia, I would too). In an effort to keep their constant grazing as healthy as possible, BC and I have made an effort to phase out easy access to foods with little to no nutritive value: primarily, pasta,...
9 tags
Cherry pie. Or tart. Too close to call. *vegan,...
This must be where pies go when they die. - Agent Cooper
Pie. Tart. It all lies in the eye of the beholder - and the depth of the outer crust. Big Chew and I happily debated which camp this dessert falls into while devouring it piece…by piece…by piece. Oh, the things we do in the name of science! (And out of nostalgia for Twin Peaks.)
Why is this piece of pie glowing? Magic.
...
May 2011
3 posts
6 tags
Cocoa-kissed granola *vegan, gluten free*
My go-to granola recipe for the past year has been Heidi Swanson’s coconut and orange zest-kissed version that appears in her latest cookbook, Super Natural Every Day. I’ve made this recipe so many times I have it memorized. Better yet, I make it often enough that I know what to tweak and what to let be. I’ve been dying to do an orange-cocoa version, but alas, I was out of...
4 tags
Almost horchata plant milk
Alt milks - they all follow the same basic format, more or less. It’s like a mantra. All together now! Soak Blend Strain Repeat. My daughter calls this particular milk (or mylk, for all you freaky people who like to misspell vegan alt labels) horchata. Could there be any higher compliment from a four-year old who has an alarming addiction to store bought rice milk? I think not. 1/2 cup...
7 tags
Blackstrap molasses crisped brown rice treats...
I’ve been eating high raw for a few weeks now, but every once in a while - as in about every 28 days,ahem - I really crave something sweet, carbohydrate-laden, and not raw. For the sake of my family, I indulge this particular craving when it hits! I’ve been putting blackstrap molasses in my smoothies lately, so it was a no-brainer that I try and incorporate it into a dessert. ...
April 2011
1 post
6 tags
Lemon thyme olive oil tea cake *vegan, gluten...
People, you don’t know how jazzed I am about this recipe. I made a tea cake last weekend that was vegan, but not gluten free (posted here). I immediately knew that I needed to develop a version that was not only gluten free, but also retained the springy crumb and moistness of the original cake. After only two tries, I got exactly the results I was looking for. Even better is that I...
March 2011
1 post
3 tags
Mirepoix: my kitchen superhero
Francophiles and Julia Child devotees have often used the word mirepoix as a secret handshake of sorts. Not to sound pretentious (although it is a lot of fun to say), but because there really isn’t any synonym in English. The Italians say soffrito, and it’s sofrito in Spain. But here in the U.S., we’ve blazed a trail for ourselves, culinarily speaking, by *not* following the...
February 2011
1 post
5 tags
Deconstructed sushi bowl with nori-infused salt...
I’ve been craving sushi lately, but Little Chew has yet to acquire a taste for seaweed. She likes the ‘idea’ of sushi – what kid doesn’t like food that’s rolled up and intended to be eaten with your hands? But she just can’t get past that distinctive seaweed smell. I’ve found that the more I get her involved in food prep, the more likely she is to eventually try something. LC really loves...
January 2011
2 posts
7 tags
Marinated radishes
It’s the middle of January, so when my husband came home from our neighbor’s house with a bunch of radishes a couple of days ago I wasn’t exactly sure what to do with them. Salad greens are so plentiful most of the year around here that I try not to ever buy them. But the greens in my garden are slim pickings right now, which ruled out salad. I’m not really a raw radish...
4 tags
mason jar oatmeal brekkie
I am the world’s biggest proselytizer about starting the day with a good breakfast. I am also probably one of the worst offenders about actually doing it. Make that used to be one of the worst offenders. As summer wound down and I had a few extra mason jars knocking around my pantry, I finally had a eureka breakfast moment. I’m not sure if it was the 1/4 cup increment...
December 2010
1 post
6 tags
Grilled Brussels sprouts
Little Chew is addicted to Brussels sprouts. How crazy is that? She has had them every. single. night. for the past six days - grilled, steamed, roasted - as long as they are left intact so she can skewer them on the end of her fork, she’s happy. Gone, gone, gone are the days when I would shred them before adding to a pilaf or spring rolls. I suspect someday I’ll find myself...
November 2010
6 posts
3 tags
Grinding quinoa (or other grain) flours *how to*
If you need to keep this flour nut free, be sure NOT to use a grinder that’s ever been used to grind up nuts. Ever. Fill your grinder up halfway with dry (uncooked) quinoa. Grind for about 1 minute, stopping thirty seconds in to give the grinder a good shake. Sift into a container with a tight-fitting lid and store in the freezer indefinitely.
3 tags
Gluten Free (Chickpea Free!!) Chocolate Cupcakes
Cupcakes that don’t taste like chickpeas, that don’t come pre-packaged and cost a small fortune, and that are made up of ingredients I actually have on hand at all times - these brought tears of joy to my eyes. And pangs of guilt over how many I ate in one sitting - but totally worth it. It was also wicked fun grinding up my own quinoa flour - I’ll do just about anything to get...
5 tags
Instant mac & cheese mix *vegan, gluten free*
Most vegan folks I know have at least a couple of things they miss from their omni days - and those things usually involve cheese. For me, there are four cheesy things that I miss most: smoked Gouda, baked brie, stuffed Chicago-style pizza, and good ol’ Kraft Mac. For both health and palatability reasons, it’s been very easy for me to eschew the first three items. But that little...
3 tags
Almond Milk (and Pulp!)
Well, since I mentioned almond pulp and milk in last evening’s recipe, I should probably give you the quick and dirty on how I make mine. Making alt (alternative) milk is so easy. I mean, embarrassingly easy. Here’s how you do it: Pre-soak your nuts. Drain and rinse. Combine with water, vanilla and maple syrup. Blend the bezeezus out of everything. Strain. Shake. Enjoy! See? ...
3 tags
Almond pulp oatmeal cookies *vegan*
One of my favorite things about making my own alt milk is the leftover pulp. Most of the time, we use it up as an add-in to our oatmeal or cold breakfast cereal by the time a new batch is made. If I find myself with a bit of extra pulp on the weekend, I usually have the inclination to throw it into a batch of granola. I always intend to use it as a raw tart crust, but … if you have a kid,...
4 tags
sage-infused pear crumble *vegan, gluten free*
So this past summer, I canned and froze well over fifty pounds of pears. Once I hit fifty pounds, I just stopped weighing them and bravely soldiered on. Because Oh. My. Effing. God. It was a lot of pears. At some point I made a slew of spicy sage pear butter, which tasted so good that I decided to spike the simple syrup I was using to freeze - you guessed it! - more pears. I adapted the apple...
September 2010
1 post
5 tags
Baked apple cider doughnuts *vegan*
Until exactly two days ago, I had been getting up at 4:30 to study every morning. I finally shifted my studying to the evening, which freed up my mornings considerably. (Coincidence that I’ve been eager to jump out of bed and read The Hunger Games at 5:30 in the morning? I think so.) I’m naturally an early riser, so even after sleeping in an extra hour these past couple of days...
July 2010
1 post
4 tags
Peach ice cream *vegan, gluten free*
So long, little peach! It was nice knowing ya.
The same day Little Chew and I came home with three pounds of fresh, just-picked local peaches from the farmers’ market, I sat down to clear out my feed reader’s recipe folder and noticed that David Lebovitz had posted yet another ice cream recipe. Great, I thought. Last summer I tried adapting several recipes from his book The...
June 2010
2 posts
4 tags
Garlic scape soup *vegan, gluten free*
The first time I ever laid eyes on a garlic scape was when I opened up my CSA box to find several green tendrils snaking their way through the rest of my veggies. As I unwound one of the coils from a cucumber and slowly, tentatively lifted it up for my co-box owner’s inspection, she broke out into a happy dance right there, on some stranger’s porch, for all the world to see. Before...
3 tags
Caramelized corn with fresh mint
Last November I was compiling recipes for Thanksgiving dinner with my family when I stumbled across the most amazing little gem on the Wednesday Chef. It was mainly a gem because the main ingredient also happens to be my favorite food. Even better, though, is that it only has three ingredients! The original recipe has a fourth ingredient - butter. Oil or margarine can easily be swapped in for...
April 2010
1 post
3 tags
Simple Altamura pea soup *vegan, gluten free*
Little Chew has taken a real interest in cooking for herself lately, and I try not to discourage her. But it’s one thing to let my three-year old get out the sun butter and preserves and quietly watch her wield a butter knife. Quite another to see her lug out my favorite dutch oven and reach up to turn on the range. After a couple of near-freakouts on my part, we’ve come to a...
March 2010
1 post
3 tags
My favorite lentil soup
1 glug olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 medium carrot, grated
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves minced
1 14.5 can fire-roasted tomatoes, crushed or diced (your preference)
4-8 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups filtered water
1 cup dried red lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 leaves lacinato kale, chopped into small, bite-sized pieces
...
October 2009
1 post
3 tags
sofrito
Sofrito is good stuff; it’s the base for a lot of my recipes, that secret ingredient that adds some oomph! to an otherwise ordinary dish. It also saves on time and clean up. Take guacamole, for instance. It’s easy enough to make, but all that dicing can take awhile, not to mention make a huge mess. But if you have some sofrito on hand, all you have to do is throw some avocado,...
February 2009
1 post
3 tags
Colcannon *vegan, gluten free*
This is one of my favorite seasonal dishes, something I make as soon as I can following the first frost of the year (kale tastes better after a frost). Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish, something that could be made from basic staple ingredients when food was scarce. It’s also very similar to the British dish bubble and squeak, which I’ll post about later. A couple of things to...
October 2008
1 post
3 tags
Split pea soup with roasted garlic & rosemary...
Split Pea Soup with Roasted Garlic & Rosemary Serves 4 people In a large stock or soup pot, bring to a boil:
3 cups water
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 1/2 cups split peas (either green or yellow will work)
4 cloves roasted garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
Once this begins to boil, reduce to a simmer and partially cover. Stir frequently, until split peas are nice and soft,...
