Sunday, April 25, 2010
Spicy sweet dipping sauce
this is the one! full of sugar, but it doesn't take much at all.
makes 4 servings - actually it makes much more than that. how often do YOU need 1/4 c of dipping sauce? 1/8 c would be more like it. this worked well with the pot stickers I made.
Ingredients
* 1/2 cup rice vinegar
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoons dried red pepper flakes
Directions
1. Bring the vinegar to a boil in a small, non-reactive pot, and mix in sugar until dissolved. Reduce heat to low, simmer 5 minutes, and remove from heat. Mash the garlic and salt into a smooth paste, and mix into the pot. Stir in the red pepper flakes. Cool to room temperature before using, or store up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Bhindi Masala
Followup: Oh yeah. This was GREAT! I've never liked okra, but this rocked!
Copied with slight variations from this wonderful blog
1 lb bhindi (okra)
1 medium yellow onion
1-2 ripe tomatoes, (1 is enough if it is large)
2-3 T oil
1/8th tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp amchoor (dried raw mango powder)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt, or to taste
2 T chopped cilantro, optional
Clean okra with a damp towel, and after it is completely dry, slice into thin rounds, discarding the ends. Slice the onion thinly and dice the tomato finely.
In a large wok, heat the oil, and add mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add cumin and fennel seeds, followed by onion, and saute for a minute. Add turmeric and okra and saute till it starts to change color slightly. Let it cook for a few minutes, then add the tomatoes and chili powder, and continue to stir-fry on medium-low heat until everything is cooked together, which takes 5-10 minutes depending on the okra. At the end, add salt, and the remaining spices, and keep cooking for a few more minutes on low heat, stirring if required. Add cilantro.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Mango chicken curry with rice
I found the following recipe here and got rather excited to see if it might be the same (or similar) to that early favorite of mine - in fact, it's what I used to beg for as a birthday dinner, year after year! I'll paste it in, with my changes:
Mango Chicken Curry Recipe
Ingredients
* 3 Tbsp (or more) of vegetable oil
* 1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
* 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 Tbsp fresh minced ginger
* 2 Tbsp yellow curry powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 2 mangos, peeled and diced
* 2 Tbsp cider vinegar or white vinegar
* 1 1/4 cup water
* 4 gardein 'chicken' breasts, rinsed and dried, chopped in 1" cubes, or 1 container of tofu, cubed and dry-fried.
* 1/3 cup golden raisins
* 1/2 cup coconut milk
* Salt and pepper
* Cilantro for garnish
Method
1 Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and another tablespoon of oil, cook for a couple more minutes. Add the curry powder and cumin, cook for a few more minutes. The spices will absorb some of the oil, so if anything begins to stick too much to the bottom of the pan, add a little more oil to the pan. Add the ginger and garlic, cook for one minute more.
2 Add the vinegar, water, and a 1/2 of the chopped mango to the pan. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a low simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat. Scoop the sauce into a blender. Purée the sauce, pulsing until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan.
3 Add Gardein pieces and raisins to the pan. Return to a low simmer. Cover the pan and let cook for 8-10 minutes.
4 Add remaining mango pieces to the pan. Stir in the cream. Let cook at a very low temperature for another minute or two, uncovered. Do not let boil! Or the cream may curdle. Adjust seasonings. If a little too sweet, add a little more vinegar. If not sweet enough, you can add a dash of sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over rice. Garnish with cilantro. Serves 4.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Tofu pot pie
Pie crust
(original here):
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 tbsp transfat-free vegetable shortening
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried herbs (Vaishy used rosemary and thyme; we used thyme, sage, onion powder, and poultry seasoning to go with the filling)
Mix together all the ingredients. Cut the shortening into the flour with a fork until no large lumps remain. Add just enough cold water and stir with a fork to mix. When the dough comes together, divide into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap, and put in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
Filling
original here
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
-- saute these veggies in a little olive oil (about 1 tsp) til fragrant and just a bit brown, set aside
8 ounces portabellas
-- slice mushrooms. place in hot covered pan (I use my heavy cast iron for this) medium-high 'til mushrooms lose their liquid and become quite fragrant. set aside.
2 large carrots, diced
1 L potato, cut into 1/2-inch dice
-- boil in water sufficient to cover for 10 minutes, drain and mix with other veggies.
1 package extra-firm tofu
-- cube and dry-fry to lightly brown and let some water cook out. mix with veggies, set aside.
1 1/2 c veg broth
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper -- or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
-- bring to boil, simmer for around 10 minutes. remove bay leaves, then thicken by removing some of the hot broth and mixing it with the cornstarch slurry mentioned below.
6 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
I found it still wasn't thick enough so ended up adding besan (chickpea) flour. Make sure you let the thickened mix cook for a few minutes, then remove from heat & stir in the last few ingredients.
1 cup frozen peas
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon mellow white miso
Assembly
Use deep-dish pan. fill crust and bake at 400 for 40 minutes or until top crust is brown and filling is bubbly. Remove from oven, let rest for 10 minutes.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
hot dog!
FRANKFURTERS/HOTDOGS (1)
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder or granules
½ tsp white pepper
½ tsp ground celery seeds
½ tsp mace (can sub nutmeg)
1/2 to 1 tbsp prepared mustard
FRANKFURTERS/HOTDOGS (2)
½ tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder or granules
¼ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp mace (can sub nutmeg)
¼ tsp marjoram
½ tsp ground mustard seeds
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp white pepper
2 tsp sugar
* The tofu scramble recipe in this book is our favorite so far - and in fact, I made it and shared it with my omni family Christmas morning, along with homemade pumpkin cinnamon rolls - everyone thought both were great! Also, the bagel recipe is one I've been using weekly & have done countless variations on - there's a batch of cinnamon-raisin bagels in the breadmaker right now, in fact. I made people bagels as gifts, giving each family 2 little bags with a total of 8 bagels, 2 of each kind: cinnamon raisin, pumpkin pie with walnuts, sundried tomato, and carmelized onion. I don't add extra sugar, just the spices, and that worked out really well.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Awesome Hoppin' John
Adams Hoppin' John & changes
2 tablespoons safflower or other light oil
1 medium chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes (Italian style w/basil & oregano)
for future efforts: add at least 1/2 can of tomato sauce to make sauce thicker.
1 - standard size can of Rotel (probably abt. 9 oz but I'm too lazy to check this)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bag cook-ready black-eyed peas (cooked in pressure cooker for 9 minutes using quick-release method; you could use 2 cans of b.e.peas instead)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp vegan worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chopped chipotle with about 1 tsp adobo sauce from the can
Directions:
Heat oil in a very large skillet. Add the onions and saute over low heat until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to saute until the onions are golden. Add the tomatoes and herbs and cook until tomatoes have softened a bit, about 5 minutes. Add peas & stir together well, simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
Serve over rice.
Serves: 6-8
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Black-eyed peas with chipotle remoulade
Susan, from FatFree Kitchen, has done it again - her recipe for Black-eyed pea cakes with chipotle remoulade looks tasty and low-fat, making it a must-try for the near future. I've never done black-eyed pea cakes, but I do use a chipotle/mayo mix occasionally as the base for pizza (equal parts vegannaise and vegan sour cream, plus added chipotle, as much as you like & adobo) and think the use of silken tofu in the place of mayo and sour cream is maybe brilliant (this last innovation, from the what do I know? blog. I say yum!
Chipotle Remoulade
2-3 canned chipotle peppers, plus a spoonful of the accompanying sauce
1 package (12 ounces) silken tofu
2 tablespoons soy milk
juice of 1 lime
a dash of salt
Place the chipotle peppers in the bowl of a small food processor. Whiz for a few seconds until they are chopped. (You may have to scrape the sides down.) Add the tofu and whizfor 2 minutes, until tofu is smooth and no longer grainy. Add the soymilk, lime juice and salt as you’re whizzing.
- copied from here
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
possible bagel flavors
raisin-cinnamon
pumpkin
chocolate chip
onion
sundried tomato (and caper)
plain
seeded
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Pizza with potato, onion, and oregano
THE DOUGH
copied from this blog, but amended)
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 (1/4 oz) packet of active dry yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil (and more for drizzling)
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
cornmeal for dusting
My directions for making this in a bread machine:
Add ingredients in order listed: yeast, sugar, oil, water, flour, salt. Set machine to the dough setting. When it's done, add a bit of oil on top so it doesn't dry out, but leave it in the machine to rise.
Let rise for 1 hour, then punch down and knead for another minute, dusting with flour if necessary. Form into a ball again, place back in the bowl, and let it rest for an hour or two.
Form into 1 or 2 crusts by stretching and/rolling.
TOPPINGS:
- Miso-based sauce
- Melted onions
- Potato (1 yukon gold, sliced 1/16" thick - but wait to do this 'til just before assembling the pizza, or else do ahead and immerse in ice water so it doesn't get brown)
- Fresh oregano
THE SAUCE
I think Esme's special sauce would work here. It tastes not a bit like good pecorino or the fontina called for the in the original pizza recipe, but in any case, is rich and creamy with a similar earthy savor, and would add a whole set of notes to this simple pizza.
Esme’s Special Sauce, which I amended here for a lighter touch with the miso and soy sauce (her recipe calls for everything in equal amounts) is so simple:
In a small bowl mix up the following:
2 T tahini
1 T white miso
1 T soy sauce, tamari or Braggs
2 T olive oil
2 T nutritional yeast
2 T lemon Juice or vinegar
A few cloves of garlic, finely minced or pressed.
MELTED ONIONS
4 thinly sliced or minced onions
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1 t sea salt*
*Amended from original amount of 1 T - commenters agree that's too much, and I do not like too-salty anything! In any case, the miso & soy sauce have their own salt. I may just leave this salt out altogether.
Directions: Stew on low heat for several hours. The goal is to have the onions break down into an onion jam. Saveur suggests topping your small saucepan with a circle of parchment paper, cut to fit, which will keep the onions moist.
TO ASSEMBLE PIZZA
Preheat oven to 475-500F
1. Lightly spread sauce on pizza base to within 3/4" of edge.
2. Now put on a layer of the onion jam, not too thick!
3. Top with a layer of thinly sliced yukon gold potato (1/16"); brush olive oil over the top of this.
4. Sprinkle fresh oregano and cracked black pepper.
5. If you want, drizzle just a bit more of the sauce over the top (this may make the pizza too wet or heavy, so be very judicious here).
6. Bake 8-10 minutes or until pizza is golden brown.

