Crispy and delicious

Ingredients
1 16 oz package of potsticker wrappers (available at a lot of Asian food markets; just check the ingredients on the label)
6 oz seitan, chopped
6 oz kale, finely chopped
4 oz Shiitake mushrooms, chopped
2 scallion (green onion), chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp minced ginger
2 Tb tamari
1 tsp chili flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tb sesame oil
Oil for sautéeing
water for steaming and moistening potsticker wrappers

Sauté the garlic, ginger, seitan, kale and mushrooms in oil. Season with tamari, chili flakes, black pepper and sesame oil. Cook until tender. Let the filling cool slightly before filling the wrappers.

When you’re ready to fill the wrappers, have a small bowl of water handy. Spoon a tablespoon of the filling in the middle of each wrapper (do not overfill). Wet the edges of the wrapper with water and fold the edges together. Press tightly. Then pinch and fold four or five times along the edges to “seal” the potsticker.

Uncooked potstickers

You can freeze the potstickers if you’re not ready to use them right away. Otherwise, to cook them, steam them until the skin is soft and almost translucent (I put 10 potstickers at a time in a pan with a little water and a lid on top) . Then add a little oil to a dry pan and pan fry them until crispy.

For a sauce, I added some rice vinegar, sugar and chili flakes to soy sauce.

Dip the potstickers in the sauce and eat up!

Snuzzy.com is a blog dedicated to adorable photos of animals all day, every day. They recently did a post with 20 super cute photos of baby and adult hippos. I wish I could pet a hippo right now! The captions are hilarious, too. The ones below are my own captions, which are not so hilarious. Click here to see the rest of the photos.

"Lift me higher, mama! Wheeee!"

Here’s another one from Snuzzy.com. Again, RIDICULOUSLY CUTE!

Hi, I'm a turtle!

So my posting of this photo is not in any way an endorsement of purchasing dogs from breeders  – please adopt! — but Cody, one of the dogs who competed in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, is such a cutie pie. I’m a total sucker for pugs. There’s a whole article about the competition on SFGate.com (where I found the photo) but I really didn’t bother reading it after seeing Cody’s picture. Look at that face!!! Don’t you just want to kiss it?

I'm quite the ladies' pug.

And lastly, here’s one of my own. I don’t know what it is about pugs that inspires people to do silly things, such as putting bow ties on them (see above), or in my case, wrapping my dog in paper and ribbon. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Meet Kobe, my rescue pug.

Christmas pug!

Do you have cute or silly photos (or videos) of animals to share? I can seriously never get enough of them.

When I was in L.A., my parents, brother, Jesse and I decided to try Real Food Daily in Santa Monica. Between the five of us, we tried the Salisbury Seitan, Supreme Burrito, enchiladas, and the tamale special. The general consensus was that the food was just okay. I really wanted to like this place because I’d heard so many great things about it, but I found my dish (the tamales) to be bland and flavorless.

Seitan Tamales

The seitan in my Jesse’s Salisbury seitan consisted of three dull-looking, triangle slabs of wheat gluten topped with a thin gravy and he could barely bring himself to finish his meal.

Salisbury Seitan

We decided to try the desserts, which were a little better, but not great.

The chocolate cheesecake was pretty tasty, but tasted more like a chocolate mousse pie than a cheesecake.

Chocolate Cheesecake

The Boston Cream Pie was a little dry in my opinion.

Boston Cream Pie

Every time I go to Southern California, I stop by Veggie Grill. I wasn’t a fan of the “chicken” salad (I would have liked to get some real greens instead of iceberg lettuce) but all of the sandwiches (and I’ve tried them all!) are delicious! With the exception of their tempeh and portabello sandwiches, all of their sandwiches and burgers use Gardein brand “chicken breasts” or “beef” strips. The food kind of reminds me of the guilty pleasure of eating fast food during my teenage, meat-eating years, minus the guilt! My only complaint is that they are on the pricey side for what you get — the default side for sandwiches and burger is a small coleslaw and all other sides cost you extra — but they are my favorite place to go for vegan fast food. My carnivore parents and brother like the place and every time I go, the place is packed, so they’re doing something right!

Santa Fe Spicy Chicken Burger with Kale

Chipotle BBQ Burger with Sweet Potato Fries

Next food adventure: Las Vegas! It had been a few years since I’d been to Vegas and that was before I became vegan. Shortly after arriving, I realized that Vegas is not a fun place for people who don’t smoke, eat prime rib, gamble, seek the services of escorts or enjoy large crowds. I will probably not go back for at least another decade, but there are some gems worth seeking out if you do go.

Red Velvet Cafe isn’t vegan, or even vegetarian, but has lots of great vegan items on the menu. Seriously, thank goodness for this place so that Jesse  and I could have something substantial to eat! I would have liked to have seen more veggies on the menu, but we definitely enjoyed ourselves anyway. The highlights for us were the “chicken” spinach mushroom panini and the “chicken” soft taco plate with black beans and rice.

Chicken Spinach Mushroom Panini

Chicken Soft Tacos

I thought the quesadilla with soy cheese and avocado and “pepperoni” pizza with soy cheese were also tasty. Jesse, who hates cheese of any kind, thought they tasted too much like real cheese for his taste.

Avocado Quesadilla

Pepperoni Pizza

The only disappointment was the buffalo “chicken” wrap, which looked and tasted as though it were made with Trader Joe’s brand soy chicken nuggets, some limp, shredded iceberg lettuce and flavored with Tabasco-like sauce.

Using Trader Joe's soy nuggets = cheating!

On our last day, we stopped by the famous Ronald’s Donuts that we’d heard about for so long in various vegan circles. Our omni friends Katie and Eric, Jesse and I each had a donut in the shop and Jesse and I decided we weren’t going to get on the plane back to California without bringing a box back with us. I much prefer yeast raised donuts  to cake donuts and these babies did not disappoint. These are the best donuts I’ve ever had, vegan or otherwise!

Box of fried doughy goodness!

Fast forward to 2010! I’m going to miss Alameda Pie, a local pie delivery business that has recently gone on hiatus. It’s not an exclusively vegan/vegetarian business but Chris, the owner, always offered some vegan options. I got to try some of his vegan creations on a couple occasions including his strawberry rhubarb pie and veggie coconut pot pie.

The strawberry rhubarb was just like I like it, slightly tart.

Strawberry + rhubarb = yum

The pot pie was simply amazing, with a flaky, buttery crust, and a yellow curry filling with a hint of spice.

Amaaaazing!

Recently, Jesse’s friend Keith invited us over for some wine and dessert. He made us a vegan version of bananas foster topped with toasted coconut and pomegranate molasses that was absolutely wonderful. I don’t think I’ll be attempting it anytime soon because knowing me, I’d probably set the kitchen on fire, but I’m sure impressed with Keith’s culinary skills!

If this were me, it'd be a photo of Jesse standing over my burnt body with a fire extinguisher.

Yummy bananas foster

The unbaked cinnamon buns are now calling to me to put them into the oven. Who says you can’t eat cinnamon buns for (now a late) dinner? Maybe that’s why I’m down to two pairs of pants that fit me!

Sorry, but this one is for the doggies. I recently adopted a sweet pit mix who was one day — ONE DAY!!– away from being euthanized at the shelter before being pulled out by a local rescue. Unbelievable, seeing what a loving, affectionate dog he is. He wins the hearts of everyone he meets, especially when he tries to climb into their laps! I see it as part of my duty as dogmama to this much misunderstood and vilified breed to not only make sure he gets proper training to become a model canine citizen, but to spoil him with homemade treats. He seems to like these biscuits, and the boyfriend thinks they’re OK, too!

Look at this face! Wouldn't you bake him biscuits?

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup soybean flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
4 Tb peanut butter
1 Tb molasses
1 cup water

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine the flours and rolled oats. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, molasses and water and stir until completely mixed. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms. If the dough is too dry or crumbly, sprinkle additional water (but not too much; you want a drier dough). Gently knead the dough a few times to make sure the wet and dry ingredients are completely combined.

Roll out the dough to about 1/4″ thickness and use small cookie cutters to form the biscuits. If, like me, you want to make them on the smaller side for training purposes, use a metal teaspoon-sized measuring spoon as a cookie cutter to cut the dough into bite-size pieces.

Place the shapes on a cookie sheet (no need to grease the pan) and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the biscuits are completely hard. Don’t forget to let them cool before giving them to your doggie (or partner)!

I recently sent one of my friends a birthday package filled with homemade goodies, including chocolate dipped chocolate biscotti, hazelnut chocolate spread (Nutella basically), a chocolate avocado oatmeal face mask and Kahlua coconut truffles. Not only are homemade sweets satisfying to make, I’m convinced they taste much better than store bought goods. And without all the preservatives and weird ingredients, they’re probably healthier for you, too.

Here’s my recipe for the Kahlua coconut truffles. It makes about one dozen 1″ truffles. You can get a larger yield if you make them smaller, obviously.

Ingredients:
6 oz dark or semisweet chocolate chips
2 oz Earth Balance or other vegan butter, softened
1/4 cup Kahlua (not all varieties may be vegan, so check the label!)
1/3 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

Directions
Put the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave them for 20 seconds at a time until the chips are soft, about 60-80 seconds total. Using a small spatula, stir the chips until all of the chocolate chunks disappear.

Add the softened vegan butter and mix until smooth. Gradually add the Kahlua to the mixture while stirring until thoroughly combined and completely smooth. Cover the bowl and let the mixture cool and harden in the fridge for about 2 hours (or until firm).

Spread the shredded coconut on a medium-sized plate. Once the mixture has firmed up, use a measuring spoon to scoop out 2 tablespoons of chocolate. Using your hands, roll the chocolate into a ball. Roll the ball in the shredded coconut. Voila, you have a Kahlua coconut truffle!

I’m very particular about my cornbread. I like it dense, moist, slightly sweet and with a crispy edge. I’ve tried a few different recipes but never been completely satisfied with the results. After some experimenting these past few days, I think I’ve found something I really like — for now. The crispy, crackly tops and subtle flavor and sweetness from the agave nectar are what make these corn muffins special. Blueberries or corn kernels would be a great addition to the mixture.

The following recipe makes 12 small muffins.

Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plain soy yogurt (I recommend Whole Soy & Co brand)
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/8 cup canola oil

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin pan or line with paper muffin liners.

In a medium sized bowl, mix the soy yogurt, agave nectar and canola until combined. In a separate bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently stir until thoroughly combined. The batter should be very thick — too thick to pour.

Spoon the batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup about 3/4 of the way. Use a small spoon to smooth out the tops of the muffins. Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Did you know today is an international waffle party day? Well, it is. Created by Dave and Jen of WaffleParty.com, I first heard about it through a random ad on Facebook. There it was, a photo of a waffle with something like “Vegan Waffle Parties” written underneath — who wouldn’t click on that!? After checking out the site, I decided to officially sign up as a party host. I hadn’t had a waffle since becoming vegan and this was a good excuse for me to finally get a Belgian waffle maker.

Jesse and I decided to keep it low key and have 10 people over for brunch. We served three kinds of waffles: wheat waffles made with yeast (from WaffleParty.com), chocolate chip brownie waffles (from Veganomicon) and banana walnut waffles (from Veganomican). We kept the toppings pretty simple, providing maple syrup and having people bring fresh fruit. For sides we served GimmeLean breakfast sausages and hashbrown patties. And it wouldn’t be a real brunch without mimosas, of course! (Thanks for bringing champagne, Jeannie!)

I can see myself developing an obsession with waffles. Who says you can only have a waffle party once per year? I’m thinking this should happen once a month, minimum. I’m already brainstorming ideas for new waffle recipes…

I’ve been on a baking frenzy, which means a fridge full of sweets and an ever-expanding waist line. This week’s menu included a lemon tart, pumpkin cheesecake, mushroom pasta, asparagus with sweet tomato dressing and strawberry shortcake.

I like my lemon tarts tart! I adapted the lemon bar recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking to make tart and served it with a sweet raspberry sauce on the side.

Pumpkin is normally a fall food, I know, but I just love this cheesecake from Fat Free Vegan (and cheesecake in general) so much! As you can see, I only thought about taking a photo after I already began cutting into it.

Jesse’s friends came over for dinner last night and I decided to try a couple recipes from one of the vegetarian cookbooks I recently received for my birthday. The mushroom pasta and asparagus dishes both come from The Vegetarian Bible: Fresh from the Garden. The recipes are quick and easy, and most all of them are vegan or easily veganized.

The asparagus and sweet tomato dressing recipe consisted of broiled asparagus topped with chopped tomato, balsamic vinegar, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese (which I omitted). Simple, but delicious!

The mushroom pasta with port recipe called for spaghetti, butter, shallots, white mushrooms, heavy cream, port, sun dried tomatoes, nutmeg and fresh parsley. I used whole wheat spaghetti and substituted the butter with Earth Balance, heavy cream with soy creamer and port with white wine. Again, this dish was surprisingly simple but tasty.

And last, but my favorite - dessert! I didn’t have a whole lot of time, so I opted for something I could make in less than 30 minutes. I adapted Alton Brown’s shortcake recipe, which turned out great. I used Soyatoo! soy whip instead of making my own whipped topping due to the time factors and because I’d been curious about it for a while. It tasted just like the the whipped cream from a can I’d eaten as a kid - light, airy and just slightly sweet.

The best and worst part about making all this food is that I have so many leftovers to eat. If I’m going to fit into the bridesmaid dress I’m supposed to wear next month, I think I’d better take it easy with the sweets these next couple weeks!

]]> http://devioussoybeans.com/2009/05/hungry-anyone/feed/ http://devioussoybeans.com/2009/05/rugelach/ http://devioussoybeans.com/2009/05/rugelach/#comments Fri, 08 May 2009 16:23:17 +0000 jen http://devioussoybeans.com/?p=203

Rugelach is a tasty Jewish pastry that consists of rolled up dough containing fillings such as raisins, chocolate, cinnamon, fruit preserves and ground nuts. My hairdresser and I often talk about my vegan baking and she mentioned her love of rugelach so I decided to make some for her. After researching numerous recipes online and in various cookbooks, I found that most recipes are essentially the same. With the exception of using currants instead of raisins, brushing the pastry with soy milk and sprinkling additional cinnamon and sugar on top, the recipe below is the same one found on allrecipes.com, chowhound.com and in The Joy of Vegan Baking. And let me tell you, this recipe did not dissapoint! Wow, are these good! The baked dough is so rich and flaky and complements the fruit preserves and currants very well. The recipe below makes between 32-64 cookies, depending on the size you want to make. If you can’t eat them all at once, the great thing is that you can freeze the dough to use later, prep the pastries and freeze them raw for baking later, or store them in the freezer after baking.

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup vegan butter, cold
8 oz (1 package) vegan cream cheese
1/3 cup vegan sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely ground walnuts
1 cup apricot or raspberry preserves
1/2 cup raisins or currants
1/2 cup + 4 Tb granulated sugar
1 Tb + 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup of plain soy milk

Directions
Combine and mix the flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl or in a food processor. Add the sour cream to the flour. Cut the butter and cream cheese into small pieces and cut them into the flour using a pastry cutter or pulse with the food processor until crumbly. Press and shape the dough so all the pieces stick together. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Form each piece into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate the disks for 2 hours.

While the dough is chilling, you can prep the filling. Combine the 4 Tb of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and set aside for sprinkling on top later. Combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon with the walnuts and currants (or raisins) in a small bowl.

Once the dough is ready, preheat your oven to 350 degress and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper (to catch the oozing jam). Pull out the disks one at a time as you’re ready to roll it to keep the dough cold and easier to work with. The dough is a little sticky so be sure to lightly flour your work surface as well as your rolling pin. Roll each disk into a 9″ round. If you’re like me and have a hard time rolling things into a circle, simply use your hands to push edges of the the dough to form a round shape every few turns.

Just before going into the oven

Now the fun begins! Like you’re putting toppings on a pizza, spread a thin layer of the fruit preserves (about 1/4 cup) on each disk. Evenly divide and spread the nut/currant/sugar mixture on each of the four disks and gently press the mixture into the layer of preserves. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut each disk into even wedges: 8 for large, 12 for medium or 16 for small rugelach. Gently pull out individual wedges and roll the dough from the widest edge towards the pointy end so the pointy end is on the outside. Lightly brush each cookie with soy milk and sprinkle with the prepared cinnamon sugar.

Bake the rugelach for 22-23 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.