Vegetarian – Page 22

oatmeal creme pie cookies

Published on October 4, 2013October 31, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach19 Comments

{i’m interrupting the wedding related posts to talk about these cookies.}

i have the annoying ability of remembering
the most random things
the other day, while driving somewhere,
i recounted a childhood story to dw
(for the record, i do this often
as a result, at the wedding, he would
point at someone & say, “is that the one
who taught you …”)

anyway, the story goes:
i was at a fair with my cousin
we were playing musical chairs with
the other rugrats at the fair
in the first round
i sat in the chair the exact same time
as another girl
she nudged me and since i wasn’t the
most competitive person i conceded to her
as a result, i received an earful
about standing my ground
staking my claim
being a Victor
(seriously, The Hunger Games has nothing on my family)

i listened intently,
i was an intensely good listener back then,
and during the next round
i played for keeps
when i ended up in a chair
with someone else
before that kid could nudge me
i shoved her on the ground
~~and made her eat dirt~~
and won that game
like a Gladiator

i’m fairly certain i received
another earful about
good sportsmanship
but i don’t remember that part
i just recall feeling kinda
like Loser Winner
it wasn’t fun
it didn’t feel good
i’m certain i never played Musical Chairs again

these cookies are like
that childhood story
minus the dirt
and shitty taste in your mouth
instead, it was remembered
at the most random time,
thanks to this image
and dw’s massive enthusiasm

through an email exchange with
carey, who shared with me her
thought process
i came up with a plan
i have a favorite oatmeal cookie recipe already
and while i am not the biggest fan
of frosting/icing/filling
i think i can make do with something
in between these sweet things

and so, the week prior to
the wedding
when the heat was still lingering
and i had a business trip looming
and an abode to clean
and a wedding dress to fit into
i turned on the oven
and got to cranking

surviving all that:
that tasted good
but these oatmeal creme pie cookies?
man
this is what true victory tastes like

Oatmeal Creme Pie Cookies
cookie recipe adapted from food loves writing’s gma
marshmallow/meringue filling recipe – i’m sure some french person came up with it

**note: i doubled the cookie recipe and came up with about 24 cookies, making for 12 sandwiches. the filling amount was just enough for all the cookies.

cookies:
2 sticks of margarine, room temp (i use earth balance non-hydrogenated vegan butter sticks)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 TBLS water
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups spelt flower
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup raisins

pre-heat the oven to 325F

in a bowl, mix the sugars with the margarine. add in the eggs, one by one. mix. add in the vanilla. next add in the dry ingredients, incorporating everything, but don’t overmix. last, fold in the chocolate chops and raisins.

using an ice cream scooper, place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (i did not do this, and as a result, spent some extra time 5 minutes after taking the cookies out of the oven make sure the cookies didn’t cool onto the sheets) press down a smidge, to help them be roughly the same size. these will spread but not too much.

bake for 12-15 minutes.
allow to cool completely before making sandwiches.
store in fridge.

eating them at room temp is fine, but when eaten right out of the fridge, the cold crispness really adds a lovely texture to whole thing.

marshmallow/meringue filling recipe
2 egg whites
1/2 cup organic sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

in a clean metal bowl add in the the egg whites. over a pot of simmering water, whisk, with a hand mixer, the egg whites until soft peaks form. add in the sugar and vanilla. whisk some more until it’s firmer/stiffer.

wipe the bottom of the bowl and stash in fridge until ready to use.

PS. don’t look at the nutrition facts. for real.

other oatmeal related baked goods:
morestomach – chocolate wonderfuls
movita beaucoup – oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
reclaiming provincial – pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
tutti dolci – oatmeal toffee cookies

Blueberry Breakfast Cookies

Published on September 9, 2013September 9, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach14 Comments

last week i read a book that made me pause,
look up and ask dw the most random questions,
prompted by the story,
but mainly because i wanted to hear his voice
and i wanted to know his answer
(fyi: no it’s not romantical to be boba fett,
even if skies are crossed on your behalf)
(and i also made dw croon love will tear us apart,
because i’m not familiar with the song
and it seemed SO IMPORTANT that the main protagonist loved it so much)
it’s been 3 days since i finished the book
and i’m still thinking about it
(it’s like i’m 15 again)
he always thinks about my questions,
treating each with the same reverence
for someone who likes to ask silly questions
it means so much that he doesn’t make me feel irreverent

one of the things i love so much about dw
is that he is game for anything
it’s never “do we have to?”
it’s always “sure, LET’S DO IT!”
during one of our early conversations,
it may have been our 4th date,
i mentioned to him that i was giving up meat for Lent
then i offhandedly said that if he
wanted to hang out during mealtimes
it’d be a good idea for him to give it up for 40 days
cus you know,
it’d be hard for me to watch him nibble on a steak
while i noshed on cauliflower
i didn’t seriously think he’d do it,
nor did i think he had to,
and most importantly, it wouldn’t have been a deal breaker
for me if he didn’t want to partake
but without blinking an eye
or skipping a beat
he said OK
and that was that

Blueberry Breakfast Cookies
*note: i am a stickler for breakfast. i’m not always good at eating breakfast but i know the importance of it. every sunday i try to make something for the week so to keep myself accountable i’m starting this Breakfast Series. i won’t be able to do it every week, and likely, there’ll be some weeks that are repeats but i’m hopeful that i’ll come up with delicious but wholesome treats for us to eat during the early hours of the day.
**note: blueberry season is over, sadly. early in the summer we went berry picking to make jam and well 22lbs is a lot of berries. we still have a bag left in the freezer from that adventure. you’ve been warned: there might be a few more blueberry treats coming up. any seasonal fruit will do in these cookies.

1 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup tahini
2 tbl lemon juice
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup of fresh blueberries

Pre-heat oven to 400F

in food processor, combine dry ingredients and pulse a few times. add in the tahini, pulse until combined. add the lemon juice and maple syrup. the dough should feel moist and pinch together.

divide the dough into 4 equal parts, then divide each part in two, shape into flattened rounds. dot the top with a few blueberries, as many as you’d like.

place on baking sheet.

bake for 14 minutes

cool on sheet. will keep in tightly covered container at room temp for a few days, after which, put in fridge.

other blueberry treats:
angry asian creations – blueberry pie + orange nut crust
angry asian creations – lemon blueberry scones
une gamine dans la cuisine – blueberry orange scones
use real butter – blueberry scones
movita beaucoup – blueberry break cake

vegan indian feast

Published on August 26, 2013August 26, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach15 Comments

last week dw & i went on a Road Trip
to upstate New York,
to Rochester,
for his high school reunion
the thing about seeing where
the love of my life went to school,
the streets he ambled on,
(just kidding, the man doesn’t amble)
the little pizza store he used to
order from that got robbed,
is that i got to meet the him Before,
the him before we met,
and my opinion of him was re-enforced,
the man i’m officially (and legally)
binding my heart to is a good guy
he is sincere
he is the salt of the earth
he is so funny
and he can be so g h e t t o sometimes,
dropping old-school rap lyrics
at a moment’s notice,
which just tickles me so much

during our 4 day stay up there
we dined on indian twice
i will admit to
being in absolute AWE
that these small ethnic establishments
meticulously indicated what ingredients they used,
if it was merely vegetarian,
or specifically vegan
they scored major points with
me in that regard, and
it made me so incredibly annoyed
with the places we have here further south
that do not pay that kind of attention

anyway, despite having had indian
so recently
i was inspired to try my hand
at making a few of the dishes i tried
i will admit that the flavorings
were not as bold,
i had a light hand on spices
and spiciness levels
and my naan making skills could
use some practice
but dw, being the good guy that he is
devoured everything
the daal, or lentil stew,
will probably be a staple for us
as the weather cools
eggplants are in season now,
as are tomatoes, although i suppose
canned tomatoes could work in a
pinch
the flavorings
were all the better the next day
as leftovers

peshawari naan
adapted from manger

2 cups sifted spelt plain flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp active yeast
1 tsp sugar
½ cup coconut milk, lukewarm (the drinking variety, not the canned stuff)
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp olive oil, for brushing over the naan before serving

Filling: 2/3 cups mixture of dried coconut, chopped raisins and handful of sunflower seeds

in a small bowl, mix milk, active yeast and oil together, leave for a few minutes while the yeast is activated

sift flour into a large bowl. add salt, sugar, baking powder and mix well.add the liquid ingredients and start mixing the dough with a fork or a dough whisk. dump mixture on the counter and knead for about 10 minutes, or until you get a soft dough. shape into a ball, lightly oil and put back into the bowl, cover with a clean cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for an hour.

when ready, preheat oven to 450F.

divide the dough into 6 balls, cover, leave to rise in a warm place for a another 15 minutes.

on a lightly floured surface, roll the balls to a small palm-sized circle, add a tbsp of nut mixture in the center, wetting the edges with some water. fold the circles in half. roll again to an oval shape, so all the nut mixture gets spread out in the naan. place the naans on a hot pre-heated baking tray, and bake for about 5 minutes, until they puff and have a few brown patches.

when ready, brush naans with olive oil. serve immediately.

red lentil curry
adapted from Real Simple

splash of canola oil
2 TBL chopped fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, chopped
half red onion chopped
1 TBL curry powder
4 medium carrots, chopped
1 large potato, cubed
1 cup red lentils (soaked overnight)
4 cups water
kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

in a pot heat up the oil and add in the ginger, garlic & onions. saute until fragrant and softened. stir in the curry powder, coating the mixture well. next, throw in the carrots, potato cubes and lentils, stirring the pot to warm all the ingredients through. at this point, season with salt & pepper. pour in the water, bring to a boil and then a low simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the veggies are soft.

serve with naan

baingan bharta
adapted from sinfully spicy, recipe found here

1 large eggplant
some oil to rub over the eggplant
3 TBL olive oil
1 cup chopped red onions
1″ fresh ginger root, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fresh tomatoes, rough chopped
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 whole dried red chilies
1/2 tsp garam masala
Salt, to taste p

reheat oven to 325F wash and dry eggplant, cut in half length-wise. rub with oil. when oven is warm, put eggplant cut side down onto cookie sheet. roast for about 30 minutes. the goal is to soften the flesh and have it pull from the skin.

meanwhile, in a mortar & pestle, grind the coriander seeds and dried red chilis. set aside. remove the eggplant from oven, allow to cool. when easy to handle, peel off the skin. you can remove seeds if you’d like. using a fork, mash or tear the flesh. set aside.

in a pan heat up the olive oil. add the chopped onions, sauteing until translucent. add in the chopped ginger and minced garlic, until super fragrant. add in the coriander & red chili mixture, mix well. finally, add in the tomatoes, until mixture has softened. at this point, i season with salt & pepper to taste. add in the mashed eggplant and mix thoroughly, again season to taste. remove from heat, add in the garam masala. bam.

vietnamese pickled carrots + daikon

Published on August 20, 2013August 20, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach11 Comments

if you know me at all
you know that i can’t make coffee
to save my life
or dw’s
i laugh when i think i
used to argue,
vehemently,
with nuria about my coffee making skills
to be fair, she’s a coffee
aficionado
i think she’s been drinking the
stuff since being weened
off the boob

anyway,
i’m not a fussy person
i don’t require a fancy contraption
to brew my cup
nor do i need the best
java
i’ve tried measuring the
amount of grounds to water,
it’s usually too strong,
still
and um. honestly
i’ve been going with the
is the coffee looking super
dark & sludgy? method

all this to tell you:
i’m capable of putting
crap in my body,
that i can consume
sub-par tasting stuff
like a champ
and that not everything i make
comes out golden
or perfect

when i started this space i
promised myself that i would show
the good stuff
the bad stuff
and the ok stuff
today it’s the ok stuff
pickled carrots & daikon
is yet another condiment
that’s added to banh mi
to vermicelli noodle bowls
to summer rolls
i made this for a catering
thing i did last month,
my first!,
i used it to accent
banh mi bruschetta

it came out ok
not the best
certainly, not the worst
just not right
which is ok
consumable
edible
thank goodness i only
have 3 more jars of the stuff left

again, i adapted this recipe.

2 ingredient chocolate mousse

Published on August 8, 2013January 31, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach24 Comments

last week we had a breakdown,
and then we had chocolate mousse.
this was a treat that dw whipped up
so quickly that he literally got a blister on his finger.
the mousse made sense,
we like our dessert after supper,
and we had the ingredients already
(all two of them)
the breakdown, though,
well,
that didn’t make sense.
we can attribute it to
wedding dementia
and other introverted stuff
that i suffer from
and the thought of
more than a handful of people at the wedding
that SET ME OFF

i’m not proud of my behavior
i can be such a petulant asshole sometimes
brusque
dismissive
unreasonable
you know, all that stuff

like a trooper dw not only
gave me space for 24 hours
but he gave me this,
a reminder of sorts
that with just two ingredients
something wonderful can be created,
just like when two people love each other
as much as dw & i love each other
everything else is just
chump change

2 ingredient Chocolate Mousse
from Cafe Fernando who got the recipe from Herve This & Heston Blumenthal
*note: for the love of gawd, don’t go skimpy on the chocolate, buy the good quality kind, with a minimum of 70% cacao. regular chocolate chips won’t work, we learned that the hard way. also, use a hand mixer, you don’t want a blister on your finger. last, if you want, play with some flavorings. the latest play was 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper added and topped with grey sea salt. divine.

265g good quality bittersweet chocolate (like scharffen berger) (minimum 70% cacao solids), hand chopped
1 cup water

important step:
fill a large mixing bowl with ice & cold water. think like you’re gonna shock-stop veggies from cooking to retain its pretty color. have a smaller mixing bowl, one that fits in this bowl, on hand as well.

in a small sauce pan, mix the chocolate + water over medium heat until well incorporated.

pour chocolate mixture into the smaller mixing bowl, place it in the bigger ice water bowl and start mixing with hand mixer, or risking blisters, by hand. the mixture will start to thicken. don’t get overzealous, apparently it will get grainy, which would then require you to re-heat the mixture and start again.

divide into 4 ramekins. best served immediately but if not, keep in fridge, well covered. take out 20 minutes prior to consumption to take the cold edge off.