41 posts tagged “vegetarian”
It was supposed to be a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving dinner. My first cheesecake for A, who's never had one because they are usually made with eggs. Inspired by the fatfreevegan recipe.
We canceled the dinner due to an emergency. I went to hunt for canned pumpkin on Black Friday and found nothing. Nada. All the grocery stores in town had run out of canned pumpkin.
Enter, the sweet potato. The savior of our weekend.
2 cups graham cracker crumbs ( I will use 1.5 cups next time- the crust was a bit too thick )
4 tbsp butter/margarine, melted
1/4 tsp nutmeg, powdered
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp sugar
- Mix together all ingredients and press down in a springform pan/ cake tin. I used a pie dish. Bake in a 350 degree oven for ten minutes. Cool.
Ingredients for filling:
8 oz cream cheese (Use tofutti for a a vegan version)
1 block (12 oz) firm silken tofu
1 cup sweet potato, roasted, peeled, mashed ( or 1 cup pumpkin puree)
1/2 cup agave nectar/honey/maple syrup
2 tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp vanilla
- Blend all ingredients really well in a food processor/blender. Pour into the crust and spread out evenly with a spatula. Bake in the 350 degree oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle does not come out wet. Remove and cool on a wire rack for an hour. Add topping if desired. Chill in the fridge for at least three hours before slicing.
Topping: optional.
1 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp maple syrup
A handful of toasted, slivered almonds
- Mix the first five ingredients together and gently bring to a simmer in a nonstick pan. Stir continuously until the chocolate dissolves and mixture thickens to pudding consistency. Cool and pour over the cheesecake. Spread with a spatula and sprinkle almonds on top.
This was good. Really good. It did not quite have the tang of a real cheesecake, though. Next time, I'll try to use the standard brand of cream cheese and maybe add a tbsp of lemon juice.
There's a certain je ne sais quoi about dumplings. I'm fascinated by dumplings of all cultures, shapes, and forms. From matzoh balls to pierogi, from momos to gnocchi, they are the perfect comfort food.
The fact that they are usually a hundred percent carbohydrate is completely irrelevant.
I always though gnocchi were made with eggs, so the discovery that they don't have to be came as a pleasant surprise. In fact, some traditionalists say that eggs make for a chewier gnocchi, and that is not good. Three large sweet potatoes in the CSA box, some sturdy sage from the herb pot, and we're all set!
What you need:
2 lbs sweet potatoes, roasted (45 minutes in a 450 degree oven), peeled, mashed well
2/3 cup ricotta cheese (throw it in a fine sieve to allow water to drain out, a couple of hours or so)
1.5 cups or more of all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
The idea is to make a dough out of the above, using as little flour as possible. To make that possible, use the firmest variety of sweet potatoes you can find. Roast them in the oven instead of boiling. Dust all surfaces with generous amounts of flour and keep dusting.
Bring a huge pot of water to a boil.
Mix together the mashed sweet potatoes, ricotta, flour, salt and pepper. Don't overwork the dough. All you want is for it to stay together and not stick to your hands. Divide the dough into six pieces (a dough separator/scraper comes in very handy.)
Roll each piece out into a half-inch thick string and cut into gnocchi a bit larger than your thumbnail. Then press a floured fork into the back of the gnocchi to create grooves for sauce. Go here for a technique video.
Cook the gnocchi in three batches. Simply add them to the boiling water and fish out with a slotted spoon as soon as they start to float. Place in a platter.
At this point, you can spread them on a sheet, freeze, then store the frozen pieces in a ziplock bag. Or you can saute them in a sauce of your choosing. I melted a couple of tbsp of butter, fried ten sage leaves in it and added 2 tbsp of maple syrup, before giving the gnocchi a quick saute. Delicious.
To be perfectly honest, its not that painful. I'm full most of the time, and have even managed to keep the binging-when-I'm-alone thing at bay. Maybe because I'm so busy cooking all this 'diet' food.
Toss together in a large bowl:
5 oz broiled tofu ( I used miso-rubbed tofu, broiled for about 7 minutes on each side.)
4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup diced tomato
2 tbsp lite Italian dressing
1/2 cup boiled pinto beans
2 tsp taco seasoning (I used a mix of chilli powder, toasted ground cumin, dried oregano)
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 scallions, chopped
Top with 2 tbsp of light sour cream (I skipped that) and 1 tbsp of Parmesan cheese.
One serving has about 300 calories, a whopping 30 gm protein, 5 gram fat, 30 gm carbs and 8 grams of fiber. Its delicious, especially when followed by a 'sugar free gelatin dessert'.
Unfortunately, the authors consider eggs, fish and gelatin to be vegetarian. So I had to take matters into my own hands and create a sugar free, calorie free, jelly dessert that is Vegan!
Agar desserts don't wiggle like real Jello, but they are delicious and gelatin-free. I was quite happy with the end result.
Update: I need to go shopping for smaller clothes. :)
I wonder who came up with the idea of clover leaf rolls? A playful young hausfrau, rolling little balls of dough and dropping them into muffin tins? A busy baker, snipping off a roll of dough with scissors? No matter how they came by, clover leaf rolls are as fun to make as they are to eat!
Adapted from this fabulous recipe over at Jugalbandi. You can make this recipe without a sourdough starter, too. I skipped the garlic and the sundried tomatoes, and added a generous handful of fresh chopped sage and oregano from my tiny herb garden. Half the recipe makes 6 average sized rolls.
Herbed sourdough rolls go to the Wild Yeast blog for the weekly YeastSpotting.
A peasant salad from Tuscany, made with stale leftover bread. Add tomatoes, basil, olive oil, let the flavors seep in to the bread, and devour. Simple food at its best.
Recipe adapted from that bacon lovin' geek, Alton Brown. :)
Ingredients:
- 4 cups bread, left out overnight, cut into cubes (try to use a dense bread that won't turn to mush when it touches liquid- sourdoughs work well)
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups chopped heirloom tomatoes
- 2 cups chopped cucumber (peel and remove seeds if using big fat ones)
- 1 tbsp finely minced red onion
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- a handful of torn basil leaves
Toast the bread lightly on a griddle. Sear the halved grape tomatoes in 1 tablespoon of oil, cut side down, until caramelized.
Combine red wine vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl, slowly whisk in 2 tbsp olive oil in a thin stream until emulsified.
Combine all tomatoes, bread, onion and cucumber and dress with vinaigrette, toss well, garnish with basil and serve.
The best part in this salad is undoubtedly the bread- it soaks up all the sweet-sour-tomato flavor and becomes juicy and luscious and fabulous. My last advice- use lots of bread. :D
A twitter friend, who just happens to be a fabulous quilter, sent me a lovely quilted tablecloth recently. The quilt smells and looks and feels so good, I've been using it as a throw instead, keeping my feet warm when I do my couch potato impersonations.
I want to send her something I made, but I have no idea what she likes. This is where online friendships suck. You may know a lot about one aspect of someone's life and nothing about the other.
Playing it safe, I decided to make these spring saffron shortbread cookies which I found on Mango Power Girl's blog. The cookies are lightly flavored with saffron, cardamom and nuts, making them Indian enough to satisfy me and American enough to please her (I hope!).
I mostly followed the original recipe, cutting back the butter to 1.5 sticks and skipping the icing, adding the cardamom to the cookie dough itself. I also used walnuts instead of pistachios coz I love them in cookies!
Only after making the cookies did I think about packaging. How do you mail crumbly shortbread cookies? After much trolling of the local megamart, I settled for a tin of peanuts, emptied, washed and re-papered. The packing took much more time than the actual making of cookies- there is a lesson in here somewhere. :)
Adapted from the wonderfully named CheapHealthyGood blog, who adapted it from Nick at Serious Eats who adapted it from Epicurious.
Yeah, its that good.
What you need:
1 cup nonfat evaporated milk
3 cups light vegetable stock
1 cup polenta
1 teaspoon oil
4 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste
- Add the evaporated milk, stock, polenta, salt and pepper to a large pot over medium heat. (Be careful with the salt, the stock and the parmesan will both have salt as well.) Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick and creamy.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a minute or so. Add the kale, garlic, and saute until the kale turns bright green and wilts. Turn off the heat and add the thyme and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the butter and parmesan to the pot with the polenta. Stir until combined. Spoon some of the polenta onto a plate and then top with the mushroom and kale. Serve warm.
Even though we made it on a Saturday, this is a great weeknight recipe. Easy and soul satisfying. The writers at CheapHealthyGood even wrote an ode to the recipe. Go read. :)
From Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. A wonderful cookbook with an amazing breadth of recipes.
Ms. Jaffrey says to use unwashed risotto rice to get at all the starch- a shocking idea for a compulsive food washer like me! A good risotto, she says, is adult 'nursery food', with an assertive density, and a decided bite. Never undercooked, but firm and creamy, like well-cooked pasta.
I took a leap of faith and followed the instructions, down to the unwashed rice. The end result was a gorgeous risotto- simple, creamy, perfect.
Ingredients:
4 cups light vegetable stock ( I used one stock cube dissolved in 4 cups hot water)
3 tbsp olive oil ( I used one tbsp)
1 tbsp pine nuts
1/2 small onion, finely chopped ( I did not use it)
1 tbsp golden raisins
10 oz fresh spinach, washed, dried, chopped
1 cup unwashed risotto rice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 tbsp unsalted butter, diced
Heat the stock and keep it hot over low heat.
Pour the oil in a large, heavy saute pan. ( I used a dutch oven.) When hot, add the pine nuts. Fry them until golden brown. Remove.
Now add the onion to the oil. Fry it for a minute, and add the raisins. Stir a few times and add the spinach. Fry for a few minutes, and add the rice and cinnamon. Fry for another minute.
Pour in a ladleful of stock. Turn the heat to medium and keep stirring. As the stock gets absorbed, keep adding another ladleful and stirring. Keep doing it until all the stock is gone, for at least 22 minutes.
Add and stir in the cheese and butter, until well mixed. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat. Let the risotto rest for a minute, then serve with pine nuts sprinkled on top.
(And we are officially, truly, back in the cooking business.)
The weekend bread baking ritual starts like this.
Friday evening, I settle on the couch with a bread book and a cup of tea. This is the best part, deciding which bread to bake. Something new or old? Sourdough or not? The rest of the weekend is planned around the bread.
Start the soaker and biga after brunch on Saturday. Clean house before, shop for groceries after.
Sunday morning, mix the dough and start the first proof.
Run to the farmer's market for lunch and icecream. Run back.
Shape the loaf. Pre-heat the oven. Practice patience.
Finally! Bread-baking time. The house smells yummy.
An hour later, dinner is served.
Peter Reinhart's recipe for whole grain Struan, a Scottish Harvest bread made with a little bit of all the harvest grains thrown in. That is the true genius of the Struan; you can make it with whatever grains you have on hand. I had barley, steel cut oats and flax seeds.
Served with an Italian chickpea-mushroom soup.
1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup canned crushed concentrated tomatoes (or 2 large fresh tomatoes, chopped)
a handful of fresh basil and oregano
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and black pepper
1/4 cup sour cream
parmesan shavings
- If using dried beans, soak them in 4 cups water the night before. Pressure- cook the beans the next day until softened.
- Soak the porcini mushrooms in 1 cup hot water. When softened, chop roughly. Pass the soaking liquid through a fine sieve and reserve.
- Heat the oil in a dutch oven. Add the onion, garlic, cumin and sweat the onions until translucent.
- Add the chickpeas with their liquid, tomatoes, mushrooms and their liquid, herbs, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for forty minutes.
- Puree the soup in a blender and return to the pot. Simmer for another ten minutes.
- Stir in the sour cream before serving and top each bowl with parmesan shavings. Serve with crusty bread.
Two words: Comfort. Food.
I really haven't felt like cooking since my family left. Everything that mom brought- the home made wheat cookies, the cute silver bowls shaped like a leaf, the three bronze musicians on my wall- remind me of home and what I'm missing. Thank goodness for the barefoot contessa, who tempted me back into the kitchen with her lobster pot pies.
I usually make pie crusts at home, thinking they are bound to be healthier than store brought ones, but a comparison showed that there isn't much difference in terms of calories. Using frozen puff pastry sheets made this a true comfort food, easy to put together in less than an hour.
For the filling:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1.5 cups milk
1 tsp vegetable stock concentrate
a handful of fresh herbs (I used sage and thyme)
6 cups of parboiled/fresh veggies (cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, peas and mushrooms)
1 tsp mustard
2 tbsp nutritional yeast/cheese
salt and pepper
For the crust:
I used one frozen puff pastry sheet for four mini loaf pans/ramekins
1 tbsp oil+1 tbsp milk, for brushing
coarse salt and black pepper
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees, and leave the puff pastry sheet on the counter to thaw.
Heat the butter in a dutch oven. Add the flour and stir until you get a dark brown roux. Whisk in the milk and the stock concentrate and bring them to a boil. Add the mustard, yeast, veggies. Season and let simmer for a few minutes, until the sauce thickens and the vegetables are cooked through.
Divide the vegetable filling between four mini loaf pans/ramekins. Cut the thawed puff pastry sheet to fit the pans, leaving half an inch overhang all around. (You could also use a dutch oven to cook the veggies in and then just cover it with the whole sheet). Cover the pans with the pastry sheet, seal the edges and brush the surface with milk and oil mixture. Sprinkle some coarse salt and pepper on top if you like, cut at least two vents into the crust, and bake until the top is well browned (about 20 minutes for the mini-pans.) Let stand for ten minutes before serving.
This was good with a simple green salad, even better when followed by the Skinny Cow chocolate fudge icecream.
p.s. Why do you think I can't find any fat free frozen yogurt when I want to binge?
