Thursday, June 17, 2010

whadda ya do when it's hot hot hot?

you eat cold food, that's what! above is something i threw together: pesto potato salad with sauteed garlic scapes, and sun dried tomatoes. it was really easy. clean, quarter, and boil some red potatoes. drain and toss with your favorite pesto recipe, and add some chopped sun dried tomatoes and garlic scapes-(my new favorite ingredient!) sauteed in some olive oil. let the flavors meld overnight in tha fridge.
this is a take on the "mediterranean artichoke salad" from gary null's power foods. i added some shredded carrots and olives to salad and served on a bed of spinach and romaine hearts. when i found out yucca flowers were edible, i couldn't resist the decoration. the flower itself isn't that flavorful, fyi.
spring rolls! this combo is swiss chard, carrots, avocado, and sunflower seeds. i served with a quickie thai peanut dip made from some pb and mae ploi sauce.
spring rolls filled with sauteed garlic scapes, mushrooms, and broccoli in hoisin sauce. this did require cooking. it wasn't hot that day.

reader question: share your fun summer recipe ideas. smoothies don't count! they're delicious, but anyone can make a smoothie.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

I found my thrill....

this is probably one of my best food porn shots ever. i've been messing around with a blueberry muffin recipe and i think i've found one i like. feel free to try this using different kinds of flour if you wish and report the findings. i call this gem the "fats domino blueberry muffin".

fats domino blueberry muffins

wet ingredients:
1/2 c. vegan milk-( i used so delicious coconut light)+1 cap full of cider vinegar, mixed together set aside
1/4 c. canola oil
equivalent of 2 eggs-(i used n-r-g egg replacer)
1/2 t vanilla
1 c. blueberries

dry ingredients:
1 1/4 ww flour
1.5 T baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1t gr. ginger
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t cardamon
1/2 t salt

crumbly topping:
3T earth balance
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. quick cooking oats (melt butter and mix all three ingredients together)

preheat oven 350. mix cider vinegar and milk together, set aside. whisk in rest of wet ingredients-(minus the blueberries) and add to dry. fold in the blueberries. get yer muffin tin out and line with paper-(if that's how you roll) filling each area up to the top-( you want hills baby, hills!) sprinkle and pat the crumbly sugary topping on the top of each muffin.

bake for 24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

i hope you like the recipe. i've felt just terrible about my lack of blogging. trust me, i've been in the kitchen playing around--just no time to blather about new things i've tried, and new books i've been reading. i'm still dedicated to becoming a self-taught vegan chef. my ultimate dream? to have my own vegan b&b. it'll happen one day, just not today.

so those books--mr. jewbacca has ordered "american vegan kitchen" for me, and i picked up a cook book my aunt-in-law got me for the holidays a couple years ago: "gary null's power foods". at first, i dismissed it thinking it wouldn't be that great because of the title. i'm not into healthism so to speak...it looked kind of boring. one day i was dusting the bookshelf, read the back of the jacket, and read that all recipes were vegan. can you say face palm? i felt so ashamed that i had not given it a try. i guess you can't really judge a book by its cover. needless to say, my nose has been in it for the past week or so and i've been trying some stuff out of that book. BTW--blueberries=power food.

reader questions: what is your favorite blueberry recipe? what cook book has surprised you and become a favorite?