Achaar: Bell Pepper and Radish

inspired by two recipes by Sunil Vijakar from Fresh Indian

1 pound bell peppers, deseeded and cut into narrow strips lengthwise
1/2 pound radishes cut into 1/2 inch cubes (or left whole if tiny)
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 tablespoons mustard oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tablespoons coarse salt
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup white vinegar
1/8 cup (more) mustard oil

Boil the vegetables.

In a small skillet, heat the spices in the mustard oil. Add garlic cloves and sautee quickly. (Don't brown too much.)

Add drained vegetables. Toss everything vigorously.

Add vinegar. Cook on low for 10 minutes.

Pour into a clean glass jar and top off with the oil.

Refigerate and serve the next day. Lasts about 3 weeks in the fridge.

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Crazy Black Bean Cookies

In a food processor blend:
15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
7 prunes
1/2 cup maple sugar
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup olive oil
6 T cocoa
1/2 cup whole wheat
1/3 cup teff
1/3 cup brown sugar
1.5 cups rolled oats
1 t allspice
1 t nutmeg
1/2 t ground pink peppercorns
2 T flaxseed
1/4 cup shortening

Form as a flattened disks and bake at 350. Top with powdered sugar.

These got a seriously mixed reception.
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Summer Wheat Berry and Berry Salad

Summer Wheat Berry and Berry Salad

Prepare wheat berries in a rice cooker. Set rice cooker for brown rice. Use:
1 cup wheat berries
2 cups veggie stock

When the rice cooker says there are 5 minutes left add, 3/4 cup baby yellow squash/ patty pan squash, quartered.

Remove from the slowcooker, and let cool.

Add:
3/4 cup blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries
2 ears corn, cooked and decobbed
1 large shallot diced finely
2 T fresh mint, chopped
1/4 cup diced carrot

Dress with balsamic vinegar, salt, plenty of cracked pepper, and grapeseed oil.
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Currant Cupcakes

(makes 16 mini-cupcakes)

Blend:
7 T shortening
2/3 cup sugar

Add:
1/3 cup soy milk
2 t olive oil
2 T vanilla soy yoghurt
½ t vanilla extract

Sift in:
1 cup + 2 t flour
1 ¼ t baking powder
pinch salt

Either add 1/2 cup chopped fresh currants or place them in each cupcake

Bake at 375 for 8 minutes.

Top with vegan buttercream to which chopped currants and grated vegan white chocolate is added.

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Vegan Chocolate Chocolate Beet Cupcakes

Adapted from Cook and Eat

2 cups beet puree (about 3 large beets)2 sticks unsalted margarine, melted2 cups sugar½ cup brown sugar
2 Ener-G replacer
¼ cup apple sauce
1/2 cup soy milk
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa
2 t baking powder (plus 1 tiny pinch)
1/2 t salt
1/3 cup vegan dark chocolate chips (or a little less)

Combine the margarine, sugars, apple sauce, and beet puree. Dump in dry ingredients and mix. Add the chips at the end.

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Cole Slaw with Apricot-Ginger

Combine:
julienned purple cabbage, jicama, underripe apricots, hungarian sweet peppers, and a bit of scotch bonnet if you swing that way. (We did.)

Dress with:
finely minced ginger, rice wine vinegar and grapeseed oil.

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French Lentil Salad with Roasted Garlic Lavendar Vinaigrette

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In a grill pan or in the oven, roast 4 cloves of garlic until softened.

Boil 2 cups French Lentils

While the lentils are boiling, grill:
5 pieces of asparagus
1 head of radicchio

Dice:
grilled vegetables (though reserve the outer leaves of the radicchio as a serving vessel if desired)
4 small french radishes
1 small carrot
4-5 cherry tomatoes
small handful of parsley

Create the vinaigrette. Mash the roasted garlic. Add:
a pinch of kosher salt
1/2 t honey mustard
3-4 T cider vinegar
1-2 leaves lavender

Whisk in olive oil until a suspension is created.

Drain lentils, add to vinaigrette, toss in diced veg, add a handful of buccatini, and 1-2 fresh lavender flower roughly chopped. Add course sea salt or fleur de sel.
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Vegetarian Lentil “Bolognese”

In a skillet, sautee:
½ stalk of celery
½ medium onion
½ medium carrot

Add:
3 T tomato paste
¾ cup masoor lentils
¾ cup French lentils
1 t Salt

In a slowcooker, add:
15 oz crushed tomatoes
All of the items from the skillet
¼ cup veggie stock
2 bay leaves
Oregano to taste
1 t salt

Cook in a slowcooker on low for 7 hrs

In a blender, combine:
8 oz white beans cooked
Vegetable stock

To finish add white bean puree and 1 Tsp pesto to the sauce.

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Mango Cupcakes

Cream in a blender
4 oz Earth Balance Margarine
3/4 cup sugar

To the blender bowl add
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 cup plain soymilk
1/3 cup very finely chopped mango
¼ cup mango pulp (available in cans from Asian Grocery Stores)
½ cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Blend the wet ingredients and then dump in
2 ¼ cups flour
2 ½ tsps baking soda
¼ tsp cream of tartar
½ tsp salt

After all of this is mixed add
3 tsp Egg Replacer dissolved in 4 T Warm Water

Fill (up to about 3/4ths full) greased cupcakes tins. Makes 48 minicupcakes. (To make mini-cakes: fill mini-cupcake tins until only ½ full. Use 3 to make a layered cake with mango puree or mango jam as the filling.)

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Muffins, Vegan Carrot Raspberry Blackberry

Combine:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup ground flaxseeds
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 C brown sugar

In a separate bowl combine:
1/2 cup vanilla soy yogurt
1 T Agave syrup
1/2 cup mango juice
3 tablespoons safflower oil
1 cup firmly packed grated carrot
3/4 cup blackberries and raspberries
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Combine the wet and dry. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so. (I use a convection oven.)
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Vegan Pie Crust

Vegan Pie Crust
Freeze:
3.5 cups flour
1 t granulated sugar
1 t salt
2 T flax seed
3 sticks earth balance margarine
2 T olive oil


In a food processor, agitate dry ingredients. Add olive oil and then butter pats. Add tablespoons of iced water until it comes together. (Up to 1/3 cup iced water.)
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Pot Pie with Sweet Potato Crust and Veggies

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Julienne the following and divide between four oven safe bowls:
1 small red potato
¼ cup chopped swiss chard
¼ small onion
¼ small napa cabbage
¼ small sweet potato
½ small carrot

Season the vegetables with
Salt and pepper
1-2 teaspoons caraway seeds
2 T nutritional yeast

Add enough vegetable broth to just barely cover the vegetables

Parcook the vegetables in the oven at 375 for 15 minutes

Top with sweet potato crust, make a hole for ventilation, and bake until crust is golden brown

Sweet Potato Dough
Microwave
¼ of a sweet potato

When warm add 1 pat margarine (if desired) and enough flour to work into a dough.
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Pathrado

Soak in water overnight
1/2 cup rice
1/2 cup dal

Drain the water and then use a blender to create a very thick paste of the rice, dal, with
the flesh of one coconut
5-10 chillis (dry roasted)
1 tsp asofoetida
1 tsp tamarind
2 tsp salt
(Add water slowly to keep it moist.)

Wash the leaves and remove the stalks of
25 Large flat leaves (Taro/Colacasia leaves, Swiss Chard, Collard Leaves

Spread the paste onto one leaf so that it is covered with about 1/4 of an inch of masala, cover with another leaf and repeat. Do this until you have 5 leaves on top of each other. and then roll up like a jelly roll. Tie with string.

Steam for about 20 minutes.

Slice and serve warm. Or pan fry them in olive oil and serve.

Blogged at: http://feedingmaybelle.blogspot.com/2008/03/soakng-swiss-chard.html
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Potato Salad, Bahn-chan style

Bahn-chan style Potato Salad
Boil, microwave or roast
1 lb potatoes

Shred and reserve
1 carrot
2-3 small Jerusalem artichokes

Mash the potatoes when warm and add
1 T margarine
1/4 cup soy milk
1 T soy yoghurt
1 T mustard
1-2 T rice vinegar

Serve warm or cold

post: http://feedingmaybelle.blogspot.com/2008/01/tofu-galbi-sandwich-recipe.html
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Quinoa Pilaf

Cook:
1.5 cups quinoa in 2 cups vegetable broth

When the quinoa is still warm add:
Raw corn from 3 ears of corn
½ cup steamed yellow squash; I used tiny ones that were an impulse buy.
½ cup diced wax beans (raw) ; I had purple at home but yellow would better
1 cup yellow cherry tomatoes; each cut in ½
¼ cup raw carrots, diced; again, yellow would be cool but I had orange
½ cup parsley, chopped coarsely
¼ cup basil, chopped coarsely
¼-1/2 cup cider vinaigrette made with shallots, garlic, cider vinegar, mustard, and grapeseed or olive oil
¼ cup nutritional yeast
plenty of freshly cracked black pepper

Toss and let sit for 1 hour. Serve at room temperature.

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Rhubarb Cream Cheese Frosting

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Use a mixer or blender to combine and whip the following
3 T rhubarb syrup (reserve some to make decorations on the cupcakes)
3 T vegan cream cheese
½ cup soy milk
2 T coconut milk Read more!

Rhubarb Cupcakes

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with nonstick spray
Simmer until a red syrup forms the following
1 cup water
2 very red rhubarb stalks, finely diced
2 t sugar
2 pods cardamom
1/8 cup pomegranate juice

In 1 cup water combine the cooked rhubarb from the sauce with 1 T apple sauce. (Reserve the syrup for the frosting.)

Mix dry ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients
1 TB apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 scant cup rhubarb/ apple sauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 scant cup oil

Add the wet to the dry and beat in a blender. When combined fill the muffin tins halfway up and bake 10-12 minutes in the convection oven (or a little more in a regular one.)

Makes 15 cupcakes
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Shevai (handmade Indian rice noodles)

Shevai
3 cups rice
1/2 cup coconut milk or less
water, if necessary

Soak 3 cups of idli rice in ample water. Accept that this will make less shevai than if you just boiled the rice itself.

Drain the water but reserve.

Grind in a blender (or Vitamix) with coconut milk. I added the rice in three parts and scant tablespoons of coconut milk as I went. It only took about 3-4 tablespoons.

The result should be a thick paste not unlike spackle.

Oil a wok and then pour in the mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly. The mixture will dry out but not stick to the sides of the pan. Once the mass congeals to be the texture of playdough, then roll into 2-3 inch balls. When still fingerprint searing hot, put into a chakri press or a ricer and extrude noodles.

You can pile up the shevai in a towel lined plate, but make sure to serve warm otherwise the noodles dry out.
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Singapore Noodles

Cook 1 lb rice noodles according to the package

If using tofu, marinate in soy sauce, sesame oil, olive oil, and garlic paste.

Stir fry vegetables until tender and set aside. This time I used equal parts onion, acorn squash, onions and kohlrabi, whatever is in season.

Stir fry tofu. Set aside.

Sautee garlic until delicious. Add cooked/drained noodles and then 2 T curry powder. Add back in the vegetables and tofu and set aside.

Top with cooked egg (Stir fry an egg with salt and a bit of soy sauce.) and hot sauce.

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Saffron-Pistachio Frosting (Shrikhand frosting)

Tie up in cheesecloth and drain overnight
1 cup soy yoghurt

In a blender, add the drained soy yoghurt (which should be much less wet)
1 cup Tofutti cream cheese
¼ cup Tofutti sour cream
¾ cup sugar

In a small mug, warm
3 T soy milk
8 threads saffron
2 cloves cardamom

Add the warmed milk to the blender with 1/8 cup crushed pistachios and, if desired, diced dry mango. (I decided at the last minute not to do this step.)

This frosting is not as thick a real shrikhand, which is important, b/c this frosting is very easy to pipe.

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