Diet, Dessert and Dogs

For those of you who celebrated (and enjoyed a day off work), hope you all had a great Victoria Day weekend! 

Our little Chaser Doodle, unfortunately, did not enjoy the fireworks. . . . [NB: WE didn't set off any of the offending missiles. . . this was the reaction to the noise outside].

["Mum, all those loud cracks and popping noises are freaking me out. . . and what are all those flashing lights in the sky? I think I'll just stay here under this table until it's all over. . . "]

Even though this morning was the first day of my chocolate detox, that didn’t stop me from having a whale of a time at our (slightly postponed) Valentine’s Day Dinner last evening.  With the weather being as inclement as ever, the HH and I began prepping our meal around 3:30 PM, and just kept at it till the whole darn thing was ready and we could devour it.  I thought I’d provide a quick recap of my last evening of dining decadence for  a while.   (Thanks Sally, Jamie, Theresa and Johanna for your great suggestions!)

To commence the festivities, the HH poured each of us a glass of our favorite cut-rate bubbly, a Spanish cava that I think rivals true champagne.  Here’s the bottle next to one of our special-occasion glasses (purchased just before the turn of the century, in fact!).

Instead of my original appetizer idea for ”neat” balls in a sweet and sour sauce, I decided to try Johanna’s Nutroast from Green Gourmet Giraffe. I had planned to make it into balls, but when freshly blended, the mixture seemed too soft, and I was afraid it would fall apart simmering in a sauce. So I just baked it in a square pan, and we then cut it into appetizer-sized squares.  I made only minor adjustments to the recipe (miso for yeast extract, spelt breadcrumbs for regular), but otherwise followed Johanna’s excellent recipe exactly.

The planned sauce was one from my childhood, something my Boston cousin used to whip up all the time, in the spirit of “1980s suburban mom must have dinner for 5 on the table in 25 minutes.” The dish was called ”Chili and Grape Meatballs.”  Now, before you politely excuse yourself and dash from the room, I know it sounds rather, well, purple. Yet there was something very tempting about the combination of sweet, sour and spicy, with a modicum of ”barbecue” thrown in. 

In an attempt to channel that tangy, sugary spirit (and also to use up a bottle of chili sauce in our panty–from whence I have no idea, it’s that old), I created two dipping sauces for the nutroast.  Each contained an equal portion of the sauce (which, as far as I could tell from the ingredients, is basically just a spicy ketchup), and either marmalade or apple butter.  The apple butter-chili version was, hands down, the preferred one. 

But the nutroast?  All I can say is, “I love nutroast! Nutroast is King! LONG LIVE NUTROAST!!”  The HH was very fond of it, too.  In fact, I would have been satisfied with an entire dinner of just the nutroast, salad (Veganomicon’s Caesar, yet again) and that marvelous soup. (But then, insisted the HH, it wouldn’t have been a “real” meal.)  So we ended up having the pasta, too, but without the smoked tofu, as I just didn’t think I could bear something else heavy at that point (and I knew pie was coming later). I also took Jamie’s suggestion for chocolate-dipped fruit (strawberries), as I really couldn’t have an entire meal sans chocolate the very night before banning it from my diet entirely!

And so, without further ado, here’s the rest of our feast from the evening:

Cream of Olive Soup: 

This was simply spectacular (and yes, it was that grey-green color you see here).  As I mentioned in a previous post, this is a soup I recall eating in my twenties, and the creamy, silky memory has lingered this long.  I was determined to reproduce it. 

I began with a recipe that’s everywhere on the internet and adapted it to our tastes; I used half green and half black olives and held back about one quarter of these when I pureed the rest (and chopped those very fine, to then be returned to the soup).  Even substituting soymilk for the cream, the result was a smooth, salty, overflowing-with-olive sensation.  If you like olives, you will love this soup.

Pesto Pasta and Caesar Salad: 

The pasta does, I admit, appear very green here.  By omitting the tofu, we were left with just pesto pasta and sundried tomatoes, so we added edamame at the last minute.  While the combination was, indeed, pretty tasty, I think the pesto could have used more basil.

Next up, dessert!  By this point, we were so stuffed that we decided to take a break and tidy up a bit.  To say that we are “messy” cooks would not only be an understatement, it would actually be a compliment. You may, indeed, wonder how two fairly well educated, calm and rational people could create such a welter of utensils, pots, pans, spilled sauce, squirts of oil, miscellaneous soiled tea towels and other mayhem when cooking together (why, shame on you!  Of course all we were doing was cooking together!).  Me, too. But, hey, I’m not too proud to share it all–so here’s a pic of the post-apocalyptic kitchen:

Dessert: Banoffee Pie

My attempt at vegan Banoffee Pie was sincere, but less than successful, I’d say. While not a total failure, it didn’t quite hit the mark I’d intended.  First, I whipped up my “cream,” which did manage to hold together well:

After baking the pie crust and letting it cool, I sliced bananas and scattered them evenly over the bottom, then poured the caramel over top:

This base was then topped with the aforementioned cream:

 So far, so good, right?  Even though the caramel was rather thick and usually cools down to a solid state, some weird alchemy went on under that whipped cream.  By the time we finally cut into the pie several hours later, some of the caramel had dissolved, transforming it into caramel sauce that oozed out in dilatory rivulets from under each slice.  What to do? In the end, I used the “sauce” as a drizzle over the top of the pie, and we still enjoyed it immensely.  (I’ll still need to do a bit of refining before I’m ready to serve the pie to guests, I think).

This morning, after waking up still stuffed from the meal, I was definitely ready to embark on the Week of Chocolate Asceticism (WOCA), which I’ll discuss more next time.  On the other hand, the HH wasn’t quite as fulfilled by yesterday’s all-vegan Valentine’s Day dinner. As he prepared his morning coffee, he casually remarked, “You know, that dinner was really good yesterday. But by nine o’clock, I was already hungry enough for another one.”  

Well, my beloved HH, I guess you’ll just have to wait until next year. 

 Do you love Valentine’s Day?  It seems to elicit one of two diametrically opposed reactions from most people: either sentimental, tug-at-your-heartstrings devotion, or else complete, unmitigated disdain.  (I must admit I’m closer to the former).  But whether you love or hate it, wouldn’t it be fun to be a fly on the wall at someone else’s V-Day? 

Well, this year, I’m suggesting we both be flies on the wall (I know, technically that’s an incorrect grammatical construction, since I am only one fly and “you” constitute at least two others, so it should actually read, ‘I’m suggesting that we all be flies on the wall,’ but that just sounded stupid). 

I’ll be the little fly I remember so vividly from my childhood, the one in the original 1950s The Fly movie, who is trapped at the end in the evil, inescapable spider’s web and calls out pitifully in a tiny, wailing voice, “Help me.  Help meeeee. . . . “ 

And you can be the fly on my Valentine’s Day Dinner wall.  Or should I say, “Please be the fly on my Valentine’s Day Dinner Wall.”  What do I mean  by that, you ask?

Well, so far, my HH and I have spent 10 Valentine’s Days together.  Each year, we’ve gone out for a fancy dinner in a restaurant.  (For three of those years, I couldn’t drink wine or eat most of what was on the menu, but I’ve found that if the restaurant is expensive enough, they’ll accommodate almost anything.)

This year, with finances a little tight, we decided to do something different and entirely novel.  We’re going to stay home and cook a romantic dinner together. This is highly significant for two main reasons:  (1) my HH generally doesn’t cook. (I may have mentioned before his past record of two years in an apartment without using the stove once.) And (2) my HH has agreed that this particular romantic soiree will feature an entirely vegan meal!!

Whoo-hoo, I say.  Again, a monumental concession on his part.  In the past, by eating at restaurants, we’ve been able to accommodate his motto that “a meal without animal protein just isn’t a meal.”  (Wine fits the motto, too, if you add the word “special” before “meal.”)  This time, though, he’s happily going along for the ride as I leaf through my scores of cookbooks and attempt to choose some spectacular dishes for the meal. 

And here’s where you come in. I have a few okay ideas, but for this ground-breaking dinner, I would really, really, REALLY love some new ones.  

And so I am entreating YOU, dear reader, to please serve up some suggestions!  Now’s your chance–if you’ve been a silent reader in the past, here’s a perfect opportunity to speak up! (Truly.  It would just be too humiliating if there were not ONE single comment left here after this impassioned plea. I would be forced to make up some of my own. And believe me, that would not be pretty.)  

Here’s what I’m considering for the menu so far (some of which I’ll actually have to make up myself, as I can’t seem to find a great recipe):

Appetizer

Sweet and Sour “Neat” Balls (appetizer size)–I could use a better appetizer;

First Course

Caesar Salad (I’ve fallen in love with the Veganomicon one, but would love to try something I haven’t had before);

Second Course

Cream of Olive Soup (writing about it the other day got me hankering for this soup–and I must get myself some, even if I have to create the recipe myself!);

Main Course

Pasta with Pesto, Sundried Tomatoes, and Smoked Tofu–I’d REALLY like a better suggestion for the main course!

Dessert

Banoffee Pie (I’m partway toward a fabulous vegan whipped cream recipe, but not sure I’ll pull it off by then–so other suggestions for wheat-free sweets would be much appreciated.)

Now, the HH and I have also made another unorthodox decision regarding this Big Day.  Unlike the rest of the civilized world, we are going to celebrate on Saturday–February 16th.  (Who said the 14th has to have a monopoly on love?).  Since Saturday is the weekend, we’ll both have the day off to cook in a leisurely fashion, perhaps even stretching the loving vibe throughout the afternoon. I’ll have time to set up the candles and bring out the bubble machine (well, the bubble wand, anyway).  And besides, all the Valentine’s Day chocolate will be on sale by then (fitting perfectly into our more frugal approach to the holiday this year).

So if you have an idea for a main dish that’s fabulous, romantic, tried-and-true, or an all time favorite, I’d love to hear about it.  If there’s a great appetizer you sampled at a party and would love to share, go for it.  If you’ve been blown away by a (wheat-free-dairy-free-egg-free-sugar-free) dessert in the past and know the recipe, send it on over! And if you’ve already blogged about your recipe, let me know and I’ll gladly add a link (I was going to say, “I’ll even invite you for dinner,” but I don’t think the HH would appreciate that on V-Day.)

Here’s your chance to spread the love around on Valentine’s Day! (And just think, this way, years from now, you’ll be able to say you were a driving force in encouraging the HH to finally cook something! How cool is that?)

[This week’s Lucky Comestible is sweet potatoes; here’s part 4 in the series. ]

Finding recipes that use familiar ingredients in new ways is almost as much fun for me as finding completely new ingredients.  For instance, I loved it when I started to bake with all kinds of veggies in cakes, cookies, or other desserts (I’ll be writing more about that on Monday).  The first time I tasted sweet cashew cream (a vegan substitute for dairy cream), I was immediately enraptured (I mean, a cream redolent of cashews and maple syrup? Talk about a no-brainer!).  And don’t even get me started on olive soup.

So when I discovered that sweet potatoes made an excellent base for a salad (true, I was a little late coming to that realization; I’ve always been somewhat of a late bloomer), I was thrilled to be able to use one of my favorite vegetables at room temperature as well as in cooked foods and soups. 

I’m already a great fan of a Sweet Potato-Ginger Salad recipe that I found in Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food.  Then, by chance the other day as I avoided marking browsed some blogs, I came upon an intriguing recipe for Sweet Potato-Cranberry Hash from new blogger Karen at Test Drive Kitchen.  With the post title, “My Favorite Side Dish of All Time,”  how could I resist?

The recipe looked easy to make, and, as Karen mentions, contained gorgeous, brilliant autumnal colors courtesy of sweet potatoes, cranberries, and glossy green onions (and–bonus!–I got to use up the cranberries I had from yesterday’s scones). 

I set about baking the potatoes only to realize I had no green onions in the house, so I used a regular onion and sauteed it along with the cubed apple.  To compensate for the lack of green, I added some chopped parsley at the last minute.  The result was an equally brilliant palette of colors.

The hash/salad turned out yummy, though my personal preference would be for more spice.  And I do think it would have been better with the original green onions, which would have added a flavor kick that was lacking in sauteed one. 

Sweet Potato and Cranberry Hash (adapted from Test Drive Kitchen)

This is an easy-to-prepare, visually stunning dish that tastes great.  It’s a wonderful side dish for any holiday meal, or, in our house, a main course on its own.

3 orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (about 2 lb./1 kg.)

2 Tbsp. (45 ml.) organic coconut oil

1 large apple (I used Gala), cored and cut into cubes

1/2 cup (125 ml.) chopped onion

1 cup (250 ml.) cranberries, coarsely chopped (I’m guessing dried would be fine, too)

1/2 tsp. (or more, to taste) cinnamon

pinch ground allspice

1/4 tsp. sea salt or more, to taste

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).  Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake until tender, about an hour.  Remove and cool completely; then skin and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) chunks.

In a nonstick frypan over medium-high heat, melt the coconut oil.  Add the apple cubes and onion, and saute, stirring occasionally, until the apples begin to caramelize and are slightly browned, 5-10 minutes.

Add the cranberries and cook until they begin to wrinkle and pip, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cinnamon, allspice, and sweet potatoes, and cook, stirring frequently, until they are heated through (about 4 minutes).  As Karen mentioned, they may break up somewhat, but try not to disturb them too much. Add salt and pepper to taste, then top with parsley.

Transfer to a serving dish.  Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature (we had ours at room temperature, and it was delicious that way, too).  This made about 6 servings.

Other posts in this series:

•  Lucky Comestible I: Mini Sweet Potato and Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Sweet Potato and Carrot Casserole
• Lucky Comestible I(2): Sweet Potato “Fries” Three Ways and Miso Gravy
• Lucky Comestible I(3): Sweet Potato-Cranberry Scones
• Lucky Comestible I(5): Sweet Potato Pancakes

As the year winds its way to a close, I’ve decided to reflect back on my 2-month long participation in the world o’ blogging and what I’ve learned thus far. So: not resolutions, exactly; just a recap.  This will also likely be my final true post of the year (not counting the pre-dated, automated post that will appear tomorrow), since we are heading to my friend Gemini I’s cottage for New Year’s Eve and I have no idea what kind of Internet access (if any) they have there.

Like so many new bloggers, I’ve been chomped on by the blogging bug (try saying THAT quickly 5 times) and have been irrevocably drawn in to this quirky and captivating world.  The month of December, posting daily to Holidailies, has been a real kick and an incredible learning experience as well, though, as someone who’s kept a paper diary virtually since I could write, I found the quotidian rhythm of regular posting to be both comforting and familiar. I doubt I’ll continue to write here every day in January, but know I will still post regularly. 

I’ve definitely experienced a crash course in how the whole blogosphere operates, as well as the social conventions of the blogging community.  At first, compulsively checking one’s statistics can feel validating, as the numbers go up and there appear strange links or pingbacks to one’s posts.  I was initially thrilled to see those digits inch upward, only to discover upon checking the URLs that the phrases “chocolate tofu pudding” and “eating out of both sides of my mouth” were somehow both irresistible to porno sites (okay, if I stretch, I can understand the connection in the latter, but the former?? Vegan pudding orgies? what???). 

Similarly, like most new bloggers, I was thrilled to receive my first bona fide comments which initiated some terrific dialogues with other bloggers.  I loved discovering others with similar interests or senses of humor, and the many fabulous women I wish lived closer to where I am. (And there were the hard lessons about tacit rules and restrictions, too: early on, in my zeal to become “one” with the blogging world, I left a particularly effusive comment on the site of a blogger whose writing I  admired. I returned a few days later to find that my comment had been deleted!  The horror!  I skulked away feeling like a cyber stalker, and haven’t been back since.)

Finally, I’ve been spending far too many hours–first thing upon waking, last thing before sleep ( “Come to bed, already!”, my HH whines, as The Girls snore at my feet), and any spare minutes in between–reading other people’s blogs, relishing the writing, gawking at the photos, giggling at the turns of phrase, energized by the originality and creativity that’s out there, again and again.  You may not know what you’ll find when you embark on this journey, but once those doors swing open, boy, what a trip it is.

I’ve also discovered that, as in Hollywood, there exists a hierarchy among bloggers. 

Of course, we are all familiar with the A-List–the Brad and Angelinas–of the blogging world (I’m focused on the food writers, but this applies to all types, I’d say).  They are the  superstars whose blogs we read like clockwork and whom we can only gape at from afar.  With legions of fans who follow their blogs, these blogging glitterati attract hundreds, if not thousands, of hits a day. Their blogs all display professional-quality photos worthy of Martha Stewart Living, they regularly provide enough eloquent, evocative linguistic showpieces to stain anyone’s eyes green, they’ve probably secured a recent book deal (or just published a book), they very likely got married within the past twelve months, and they’re all friends with each other. I certainly don’t need to shine more spotlights in their direction, but let’s just say that with these folks, I could enjoy one fine cup of tea and gluten-free  zucchini bread (possibly fat free) on a Wednesday before being smitten with oranges in Paris where I might nosh on 101 Dalmatians 101 bottles of beer 101 blog entries–oh, I can’t remember, 101 something or others.  

And just like the A-list movie stars, these bloggers reside in a stratosphere so far above the rest of us that we can only admire them from a safe distance and stare, goggle-eyed, at their accomplishments, aspiring one day to maybe be just a teensy bit like them. 

And the rest of us?  Well, at first, I felt overwhelmed by the plethora of talent out there, and, as is my wont, my own comparative shortcomings.  But then it hit me: why not be a soap star of the blogging world?  In Hollywood, new actors will routinely opt for B-level (or C- or even D-level–viz, Kathy Griffin) jobs as a way to break into the business.  Landing a gig on a soap opera is often the starting point, not the goal, for actors, as it’s considered a concession, a lower-level job, but a steady one, and one that pays the bills. Yet why shouldn’t they aspire to be a soap star as a goal in itself? To me, that would represent a stellar achievement.

True, fans adore the Brad and Angelinas, both because of their unsurpassed beauty and their well-honed talent.  The same goes for those A-list bloggers. 

But it’s the soap stars who act “in the trenches,” so to speak, the ones we can actually relate to as real human beings, because we recognize so much of ourselves in what they project. Like the worker bees, they are the ones who actually show up every day, deliver their lines on a regular basis, and all without the attendant fanfare that naturally trails the big names. 

Without benefit of lengthy rehearsal time, without the bevy of makeup people or assistants or handlers, these soap opera actors are often given only a single take in which to get it right, whether or not they’ve had time to polish their delivery; one camera shot–no multiple angles with best lighting, no retouching or editing, no fourteen hours of prep to film only one scene–and they do so good-naturedly, day in and day out. Five days a week.  Fifty two weeks a year (okay, well, I think they get Christmas off).

It’s these soap stars I love the most.  Awestruck fans may worship George Clooney and Nicole Kidman on the screen, but it’s the soap actors who draw enormous crowds–in person–to shopping malls in all kinds of weather, who elicit feelings of protectiveness and empathy, who feel like kin because they’ve been coming in to our homes every day for the past 35 years, and we’ve been following their storylines religiously. 

And are the soap stars any less talented than the Julia Robertses of the world? (Well, okay, bad choice, of course they’re more talented than Julia Roberts; who isn’t?).  No, the soap actors are every bit as talented, as creative, as worthy, as those others; it’s just that they might not have the same resources (agents, studio funding, exposure, etc.) backing them.  And just so you know, many actors who began as soap stars did later scale that top tier and eventually garner the same fame and adulation as other A-listers: Michelle Pfeiffer, Anne Heche, Morgan Freeman, Julianne Moore, Meg Ryan, Laurence Fishburn, Ryan Phillipe, Robin Wright-Penn (love her!), and even The Venerable Mr. Pitt himself–among many, many others–all got their start in soaps.

So, as 2007 prepares to bid us adieu and we look toward the new year, I will, of course, continue to read those blogs at the apex of their genre because they are beautiful, they provide an example of what can be achieved, and it’s a joy being exposed to masterfully crafted prose and aesthetically perfect pictures. But I will equally eagerly pursue all the other blogs I’ve come to love even if they haven’t been awarded those same kudos just yet, because of their own unique talents, their heart and their wit and their personality–plus some mighty cool photos to boot.

This New Year’s Eve, I think we should all raise a glass to the bloggers out there who diligently slog away at it every day, and continue to do so, even without the public recognition or accolades. They write to express their creativity, their quirky humor, or simply because they love doing it; because they have something of import to say, because blogging fulfills a deep and irrepressible need to share parts of their inner selves, or because of all the myriad other reasons why people choose to create something and release it to the intangible masses of readers and widgets and RSS feeds and screen shots and tags and comments and online events and amazing, anonymous, uniquely expressive bloggers who take the time to share in this strange and most magical of habits. 

Have a great 2008, everyone.  It’s been wonderful getting to know you all, and I can’t wait to see what next year brings!

 I’m still quite new to blogging, and I certainly proved it last evening.  At my house was a group of six amazing women–three whom I met at my nutrition school, one from a long-ago volunteer gig, and the last as a participant in one of my (now defunct) cooking classes–and each brought at least one fantastic, high-saliva inciting food to the table.  And I?  Yes, I, too contributed to the culinary canvas.  In fact, I added not two, not three, but four delectable dishes to the cornucopia.  But did I remember to take a photo of said table, overflowing with the bounty of our kitchens?  Uh, no.  I was so engrossed in the captivating conversation, so distracted by the eye-catching textures and colours, interesting ingredient combinations and seductively wafting aromas that I, like everyone else, simply dug in and enjoyed. 

By the time I remembered this blog and the fact that I was supposed to chronicle the evening in photos (and post it to Holidailies), it was too late.  By then, only a few solitary dregs of each food lay wilted and soggy in the bottoms of platters, bowls, and casserole dishes, far too sparse and too exhausted to submit to a photo op.  And for that, I hang my blogging head in shame.

As an attempt to make amends for my lack of forethought when it came to the buffet table, I will here recreate the menu for you, and even supply recipes!  I did, thankfully, take a couple of photos of my own contributions before the crowd arrived, so you can have a glimpse of those.

First, the menu.  What a great bunch of gals–this is the Vegan assortment they (and I) co-created:

Appetizers:

• * Garlicky Black Bean Dip
• * Chickpea-mint Spread
• * Mushroom and Walnut Pate (from Veganomicon), photo left
• * Assortment of wheat-free crackers
• * Homemade Veggie Spring Rolls with Asian Cranberry Dipping sauce (to die for–will definitely see if I can cadge the recipe)

Salads/Sides:

• Caesar Salad (from Veganomicon, with a twist–see below)
• Edamame-Cabbage and Sesame Slaw
• Stir-fried Mixed Veggies

Mains:

• Smoked Tofu and Veggie-Lentil Stir-Fry with Zucchini “Pasta”
• Mushroom, Potato and Tempeh Stew (a twist on recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance)

Desserts:

• Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (my recipe–to be posted at a later date)
• Hazelnut Mocha Cookies

• * Vegan Tiramisu (recipe follows!)
• * Mostly Raw Chocolate Truffles
• * Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Loaves
• * Chocolate-Cashew Bark (homemade and easy–see below)

Doesn’t everything sound amazing?  And with people just coming off all that holiday excess, this healthy yet delicious meal seemed almost ascetic.  Well, except the tiramisu, of course.

After the initial squeals of joy at seeing each other again, and the introductions (the nutrition crowd wasn’t yet familiar with the other two), we settled in to some wine or mineral water and the appetizers.  Since I’d promised at least one main and one dessert, I hadn’t planned to contribute to this particular course. But I had a surfeit of mushrooms after preparing the stew, so decided to browse my new copy of Veganomicon and came up with the Walnut Mushroom Pate.  I followed the recipe verbatim and was thrilled with the result–smooth, savory, and very rich tasting.  I seem to recall a similar reicpe from my childhood, when my mother experimented with ”Mock Chopped Liver” (see, I told you she was an unwitting vegetarian). 

The other dip and spread, a chunky, minty chickpea mash and a smooth, slightly sweet black bean spread, were both delicious, but I think all the other appetizers were trumped by the absolutely mouth watering veggie spring rolls with Asian cranberry dipping sauce.  A succulent mix of veggies in a filo crust, baked to flaky perfection, then dipped in a slightly spicy, tart sauce brimming with cranberries–it was divine. 

By the time we’d cleared the buffet table of appetizers and moved to the main course,  we were all anticipating the treasures this group had brought to the table.  We began with a zingy vegan Caesar, also from Veganomicon (getting a lot of press in this post!).  I made just one adjustment to the already more or less perfect dressing recipe, mostly to accommodate my own peccadilloes and because I felt it would taste more authentically Italian this way:  I substituted roasted pine nuts for the almonds in the recipe.  Like the almonds, the pine nuts offered a slight graininess to the otherwise perfectly creamy dressing, approximating the texture of grated parmesan.  I loved, loved, loved the garlicky creaminess of the dressing, though I must admit it was a bit too pungent for most of the crowd, and that was with only 3 of the 4 recommended cloves! 

Guests also provided some sensational stir-fried veggies and Smoked Tofu mixture with veggies, lentils, and zucchini “pasta.”  The raw “pasta” is actually zucchini that’s been cut into long thin spaghetti-like threads using a Spiral Slicer.  You can approximate this idea by repeatedly grating the zucchini along its length with a carrot peeler (as if you were peeling the zucchini–but keep going even once the peel is gone).

My own addition to the menu was the savory Tempeh Stew, a variation on Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Tofu, Mushroom and Potato stew from her first cookbook, Vegan with a Vengeance.   I won’t repeat the entire recipe here, but I will tell you the changes I made:  first, instead of using exclusively cremini mushrooms (which looked a little drab and tired at my local grocer’s), I used half portobello mushrooms, for their meaty flavor and texture, and half regular button mushrooms.  This is a quick pic of the mushies after they’d been sauteed.

The combination seemed to work pretty well, allowing for a substantial chewiness along with an earthy flavor.  I also substituted tempeh for the tofu, as we were having quite a lot of tofu in other dishes and tempeh is my preference in any case.  I steamed the tempeh first in a mixture of vegetable broth and a splash of Bragg’s aminos (like soy sauce) before adding it, chunked, to the pot. 

The resulting mixture, right before it was covered for the final simmer, looked like this:

Simmering for an additional 30 or so minutes allowed the tempeh to absorb much of the flavor, and the potatoes to soften and soak up much of the sauce.  The final product was a thickly sauced, rich tasting and lip-smacking stew that I served with some whole spelt biscuits I whipped up at the last minute–great for sloshing in the gravy.

[Later insert:  This is what it looked like, reheated the following day for lunch--mmmnn!]:

We reveled in both the feast and the confabulation for about an hour before venturing to dessert–itself enough to fill the table with platters and bowls! 

Absolute bedlam ensued at one point while Barb recounted a visit to an alternative energy worker, the methods of whom were new to most of us (Barb included).  While treating us to her vocal imitation of the healing chant she’d heard (somewhat like the scene in When Harry Met Sally, now that I think of it), she became so animated that The Girls, who’d been sleeping peacefully in opposite corners of the living room, immediately leapt to their feet, hackles up and tails erect,  snapping and growling as they dashed to the front door to see who was there.  Much like the prophet Elijah at Passover, the poltergeist evaded their detection, and they circled the room, roused and disoriented, until we gave them each a treat to calm down, poor things.  (”It was pretty startling, you know, Mum.  She did sound rather distressed.  And we just wanted to protect you all in case someone was trying to steal the food, that’s all.”)

My friend Michelle graciously brought two treats, a container of the Mocha Hazelnut cookies I previously posted on this site, as well as some delicious Mini Pumpkin Chocolate Chip loaves, another recipe of mine that I will post here anon. 

I provided a variety of the Mostly Raw Chocolate Truffles from an earlier post as well as a dish I’d created for a customer’s Christmas party last year–Vegan Tiramisu.  I got the idea from an old recipe in Dreena Burton’s Vive le Vegan, and adapted it with my own cake and filling.  I’ll explain what I did differently from Dreena’s recipe, so you can recreate it yourself if you wish.

Dessert brought more sharing of stories and howls of laughter before everyone dispersed around 11:30 (on a school night!).  It was the most fun I’ve had in ages.  Thanks, ladies, for a great evening, filled with your talented culinary creations, thoroughly delightful conversation, and generous spirits. 

Vegan Tiramisu

This is a dish I created for a customer last Christmas, and I’ve used it many times since.  It may be vegan, but it is definitely not virtuous.  A very rich, very luscious and velvety cream filling oozes between layers of light vanilla cake drizzled with spiked coffee. The entire affair is topped off with a light whipped “cream” and then sprinkled with chocolate curls.  My HH practically swooned over this one (and let me tell you, the last time he swooned over anything I did probably dates back to the Paleozoic era, just to give you a yardstick on that).

Ingredients:

• one baked and cooled 9 x9 inch single-layer vanilla cake (I used my own recipe for a spelt and agave-based cake, but I think the agave cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World would work well if baked in a square pan as well).
• Filling (recipe follows)
• Whipped “cream” (I use a double recipe of the soymilk-based whipped “cream” from How It All Vegan, with the following changes:  I use 1 Tbsp. Sucanat instead of dry sweetener, and add 1 Tbsp. light agave nectar.  The texture is very light and quite irresistible.)
• Chocolate curls (made by melting dairy-free chocolate chips, spreading on a plate lined with plastic wrap, and allowing to cool; then use a carrot peeler to grate along the side and the chocolate will form little curls, as you see in the photo).
• about 1/2 to 2/3 cup cold, very strong coffee or coffee substitute, mixed with an equal amount liqueur (either coffee liquer, creme de cacao, or, as we did last evening, hazelnut liqueur (Frangelico).

Filling: I altered Dreena’s original filling recipe in the following way.  My version is really a combination of a cooked “pudding” blended with silken tofu. 

2 packages extra-firm silken tofu (aseptically packaged, such as Mori-Nu)

1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup pure maple syrup

1 cup Sucanat

1/4 cup soymilk (either vanilla or plain)

1/8 tsp. sea salt

1/4 cup organic cornstarch

In the bowl of a food processor, whir together the tofu and vanilla until perfectly smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.

In a medium pot, combine the maple syrup, Sucanat, soymilk, salt and cornstarch, and whisk to blend.  Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to boil softly.  Continue to stir or whisk constantly, cooking for one minute. 

Pour the hot mixture into the food processor along with the tofu and blend again until perfectly mixed and smooth.  Pour into a large bowl and place in refrigerator until cool, at least two hours. 

 To Assemble the Tiramisu:

In a large decorative bowl, spoon some of the filling and swirl to coat the bottom of the bowl.  Cut or tear the cake into thin strips or squares and lay down in a single layer over the filling.  Drizzle with about 1/3 of the coffee/booze mixture.  Cover with about 1/3 of the filling, and repeat with more cake, drizzle, filling, cake, drizzle and filling again, until all the filling, liquid, and cake are used up (you should have about 3 layers of each, and end with a layer of filling). 

Top the last layer with a thin coating of the whipped “cream,” ensuring no filling peeks through.  Sprinkle with chocolate curls.  Refrigerate at least 6 hours to allow cake to absorb the liquid and for flavors to meld. 

To serve, spoon into individual serving bowls, or– just to use them and because they look pretty–pull out that old set of martini glasses and use those for a decorative presentation.  Makes at least 10 servings, more if your crowd is able to exercise restraint.

Well, I’m behind schedule, as usual, and I’m hosting a pot luck dinner tonight to which the guests will be arriving soon.  Of course, neither sleet nor snow nor tardiness nor potlucks will keep me from posting to Holidailies, so this will be a short post.

All the recent talk of veggies got me thinking about our veggie dishes at our Christmas dinner, and the amazing brussels sprouts that were beloved by all.  Now, I know that brussels sprouts, unlike something like, say, potatoes or corn, are not considered the A-list of veggie celebrities.  Nevertheless, these really were delicious–mostly, I’m told, because the essential “brussels-sproutness” was more or less masked by the glaze in which they’re baked.

 The recipe is also ridiculously easy–I didn’t even measure anything–and foolproof. 

So, for those of us already enamored of the little globular greens, and for the rest of you who really should give this a try, here’s the recipe.

Tomorrow, I’ll post the menu/recipes of the potluck–tempeh stew is simmering as I write!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts in Balsamic Glaze

about a pound of brussels sprouts, trimmed and washed

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1-2 Tbsp. dijon mustard

3-4 Tbsp. good quality balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Grease a casserole dish with olive oil, or spray with nonstick spray.

Steam the brussels sprouts until just tender and still bright green. 

Meanwhile, in a frypan, saute the onion and garlic in oil until onion is soft and translucent.  Turn heat to very low, and stir in the mustard, vinegar, and salt and pepper.  Stir to combine well.  Add the brussels sprouts and stir to coat.

Pour the mixture into a greased casserole dish.  Bake, uncovered, about 25-30 minutes, until the glaze is thick and sticks to the sprouts, which should be soft.  Serve and enjoy!  Makes about 4 servings.

There’s nothing better than celebrating a special holiday with balance.  A bounty of food and alcohol may abound, but the best approach is to simply eat well, eat with a level head, and enjoy the abundance without going overboard.  Wake up the next day feeling great, ready to take on the day as if the previous night’s festivities never happened.  Hmmm. . . too bad I wasn’t able to accomplish that this year.

I’m guessing it will likely take a few days before my body feels like itself again.  Despite the best of intentions, I must have taken the wrong cue from The Girls, eating as if I might never again have the opportunity to fill up on any of this stuff (and really, some of it wasn’t even worth having again!  “Dump Cake“??  Whatever possessed me to acquiesce to my HH’s wishes for that thing?  And then–eating two portions of it?  Even if I did buy organic cake mix in a meager attempt to convert it to something a smidgen more salubrious. . . Gak.)

(”But Mum! Everything was wonderful–we just loved Christmas!  And what’s wrong with eating something special once in a while?  Or on every occasion you can get it? Turkey, Mum–Turkey.  We. want. turkey.”)

The ideal experience at a holiday feast, for me, would be to enjoy a moderate portion of everything, including dessert, and possess the innate ability to simply stop when I’d had enough.  (Forgot to use the small plate/two item trick at my own holiday dinner–did that have something to do with it?).  Instead, yesterday, I found myself drawn to the least healthy elements of the meal–repeatedly. Today, I don’t feel so hot.

Perhaps that’s a good thing, though.  For “normal” eaters, the “STOP EATING” switch goes off much faster than it does for those of us with a propensity to overindulge.  But I can honestly say that, finally, my own switch has tripped, and I am craving–seriously, craving–vegetables.  It may have taken me a lot longer than it took my honey, but I got there.  In the old days, I might have gone on a binge for days, finishing up the dessert leftovers in one afternoon. Today, I’m at the point where all I’d like to do with that Dump Cake is dump it in the garbage can.

One of the principles that keeps coming to mind is Newton’s Law, that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  Since the law applies to everything governed by the laws of physics, it would, of course, also include the way we eat and how our bodies react to the way we eat.  In other words, overdo it one way, and your body will subtly suggest that you underdo it the next.  This is a principle that my friend Karen, in her book Secrets of Skinny Chicks, documented well. As her subjects told her, when slim women pig out at a special occasion, they always compensate the following day, either by eating less or exercising more.  I suppose this is a variation of the approach I adopted when I skipped dinner after overdoing the Halloween chocolates.  And today? Treadmill, here I come.  (Oh, and my Holidailies entry, of course).

Another facet of this principle is one perfectly summed up by Sally in her great blog, Aprovechar.  In her post, Sally compared the patterns of eating/overeating to the financial principle of opportunity cost.  In other words, every opportunity brings with it a certain cost, and if you assess the cost beforehand, it can help you decide whether or not to take the opportunity.  I knew that last night’s dinner would cost me today (perhaps not quite as much as it seems to be doing, what with the backflips in my stomach, but still), and I made a conscious choice to eat anyway.  For me, true progress will be achieved once I learn to make a better choice, with a lesser cost.

Still, today’s craving for veggies is progress of a sort.  And while it may be difficult to find something positive in overeating, I am determined to let my body learn what it can and cannot comfortably do when it comes to food.  The initial mistake was allowing the unhealthy food into the house in the first place, but the ultimate goal remains the same: being able to enjoy a variety of foods (including dessert) at a multi-course meal, and naturally stopping when comfortably full.  That kind of action will signal a huge milestone in the way I approach food.

In the meantime, I’m off to raid the fridge for some broccoli and carrots.  And  I’ll just glance away as my HH polishes off that Dump Cake. (”Did you say carrots, Mum?  Because we love those.  Especially with turkey.”)

Whether you’ve just woken up to find the Big Guy has already arrived, or whether you’re spending your day in some other way, here’s wishing you a day filled with fun, happiness, and the love of friends and family.

If you celebrate Christmas, I hope it’s wonderful. 

If not, enjoy the nearly empty movie theatres today.

Talk about under the wire.  Here it is, the LAST DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and I’m still experimenting with baking cookies (and still posting to Holidailies).  And guess what?  I think I’ve hit on something.

I’ve been wanting to do a Christmas sugar cookie for years.  Ever since I had to alter my diet and cut out wheat and refined sugars, it’s been a bit difficult to bake traditional treats (though there are so many great cookbooks out there, not to mention a whole lot of blogs using all-natural ingredients, which makes it easier and easier). 

 After baking with agave nectar for the past few years, I felt pretty good about that.  But a sugar cookie?  Wouldn’t it be kind of heretical to take the sugar out of it?  (And what would I call it, anyway–”agave cookie cutouts”?). 

But recently, I also started baking with Salba.  Salba is actually made of chia seeds (yes, those selfsame seeds that used to grow into little animals in pottery shapes for kids), only edible.  One could say that “Salba is the new flax,” since it contains the same healthful Omega 3 fatty acids, only more so than flax.  Further, Salba is lighter in color and texture–perfect for a creamy white, snowy “sugar” cookie.

Sugar cookies are also, traditionally, rolled and cut.  When baking with agave, however, the cookie dough is more often soft and most suitable for scooping or smoothing into pans, to be cut later into bars (since agave is a liquid sweetener, after all).  So what to do?  I decided that the combination of coconut butter instead of butter (since it’s also solid at room temperature), and salba as an egg substitute would work best, since the salba would absorb some of the excess moisture in the agave. That way, I would be able to use almost the same ratio of flour to sweetener in a “regular” sugar cookie.

I’m happy to report that the dough came out beautiful!  It was a teeny bit softer than expected when first mixed, so I split it in two parts, and scooped the first half (at room temperature).  These cookies came out just barely golden on the bottoms, uniform in shape, with a beautiful, tender crumb and delicate flavor.  Truly, they were delicious–a great plain all-occasion cookie that’s not too sweet. 

I put the second half of the dough into the fridge to sit for an hour or two and firm up.  I’m going to roll it out later, cut it into shapes (should be interesting, as we haven’t yet unpacked all my baking supplies, and I’ve got neither a rolling pin nor my cookie cutters), and bake it that way; I’ll post those photos as soon as they’re ready. [Later addition: The dough was perfect once chilled--firm and easy to roll.  I rolled it quite thin and cut it into decorative shapes, which I've posted in the next blog post.]

In the meantime, I’ll share this recipe for those of you who may want to play around for next Christmas!

Ricki’s Sugar Agave Cookies

6 Tbsp. (140 g.) light agave nectar

1 Tbsp. ground Salba

2 Tbsp. unflavored soymilk

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. pure lemon flavoring

2 cups (300 g.) spelt flour

1-1/2 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder

1/8 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cup (110 g.) organic coconut butter (I use Omega Nutrition)

Preheat oven to 325 F.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray.

In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine the agave nectar, Salba, soymilk, and flavorings.  Mix well and allow to sit while you prepare the dry ingredients, or at least two minutes.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the coconut butter and pinch the mixture repeatedly between your thumb and fingers until all the coconut butter is blendedin, no little lumps remain, and the mixture is crumbly.  (It should hold together when you squeeze it in your palm).  This should NOT be the same consistency as when mixing pie dough; you want all of the coconut butter to “melt into” the flour, with NO pea-sized bits of butter visible.

Pour the wet mixture over the flour mixture and stir until well blended.  You should have a soft and slightly sticky dough, but one that holds together. 

For drop cookies, you may use the dough immediately.  Drop from a teaspoon or small scoop onto a cookie sheet about one inch (2 cm) apart.  Flatten slightly with the back of a glass or the palm of your hand. 

For rolled cookies, gather the dough together and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate about an hour, until firm.  Roll out to about 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thickness on a lightly floured board.  Cut into desired shapes and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, until edges are just golden.  Cool before removing from sheets and decorating as desired.  Makes 24-30 cookies.  May be frozen.

(”Agave is also low-glycemic, Mum, so it should be just fine for dogs.  How about some agave biscuits for us?”)