I Made Vegan Lasagna!

Hi, again! Continuing my month of home cooking, I made vegan lasagna! I got the recipe from a friend going to culinary school at the Natural Gourmet Institute, and it's pretty damn good. I've shared a batch with my carnivore parents and brother (I'm vegan, if you haven't noticed), and they didn't realize that the "ricotta" was actually tofu!

Sorry, too lazy to plate and take a proper picture this time!

• 1 box of lasagna noodles
• 9 x 13" pan

Prepare lasagna noodles as directed on the box. Once they're done, drain and lay them on aluminum foil or parchment paper so they won't stock together. Preheat oven to 375F.

• 1/2 medium onion
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large can pureed tomato
• spices to taste (basil, cayenne, etc.)

The tomato sauce part of the recipe is really up to you! The way I usually do sauces is very simple: just sautée finely chopped onions and minced garlic in olive oil, add pureed tomato, add some sugar to taste, add spices to taste (this time, I used cayenne (the noodles and "ricotta" balanced out a pretty spicy sauce), cumin, coriander, sage, basil). I let this simmer on a very low flame while I prepare the "ricotta."

• 2 pounds firm tofu, pressed (squeezed)
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp miso (you can replace with 1 tsp peanut butter and soy sauce, or with tahini and little soy sauce)
• fresh rosemary finely chopped or whatever herbs you like (basil)

Put tofu, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, garlic, miso, and herbs into a food processor and mix until tofu is smooth with a slight granular texture. The flavoring of the tofu "ricotta" is up to you as well. I had a mood for rosemary the last time I made this, so I was very generous with that herb.

Assemble the lasagna layers. In a 9 x 13" pan, place a layer of sauce, then noodles (I fit three noodles per layer), then thin layer of sauce (just enough to cover the noodles), then a layer of "ricotta", then noodles, then sauce, then "ricotta", and so on. The top layer should be noodles covered by sauce. I've been trying to eat more "naturally" lately (since it's not that great to eat Tofurky, Tofutti, and vegan substitutes all the time), so instead of having a layer of vegan cheese (like Daiya), I just had a generous layer of sauce. Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes, until hot (check your baking frequently!).

The lasagna seems to taste better after being refrigerated overnight... The portions mentioned above are definitely A LOT and enough for a few days of lunches and dinners! This is a pretty simple recipe and very adjustable. I thought it was worth sharing because it is an example of an easily veganizable recipe. Bon appétit.

I made roasted corn pudding in acorn squash!

Yo everyone on the blog!



I made this a while back, but didn't post it. It happens. But this recipe was really good and pretty easy. The hardest part is probably cutting the squash. I actually did not use acorn squash but "carnival squash" - it is the kind that looks like acorn squash in shape, but instead of being dark green, it has multicolored flecks on the outside. I think they are pretty comparable.

This is the recipe that I used. I basically followed it exactly!

Here is the recipe with some of my notes:

Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash Recipe
Taken from The Vegetarian Compass written by Karen Hubert Allison (via 101 Cookbooks):

(This recipe is for 1 squash, so just increase accordingly if you want to make more.)

1 small (2 lb.) acorn squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded (or carnival squash)
1 tablespoon clarified butter or olive oil
1 cup milk
1 egg plus 2 egg whites
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (or more if you like)
1/4 teaspoon anise seed, chopped (I omitted - don't like anise. I used some cayenne instead.)
1/2 cup chopped scallions
a tiny pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/3 cup grated white cheddar cheese

(You may end up with extra filling that doesn't fit in the squash. If so, you can put it in some buttered muffin tins or ramekins and bake it along with the squash - I did! It was good.)

Preheat the oven to 375F degrees with a rack in the middle.

Rub the orange flesh of the squash with the butter/oil. Place cut side up on a baking sheet. You will want it to sit flat (and not tip), if you are having trouble just level out the bottom using a knife. If the squash is tilting on the pan, the filling will run out - bad news. Cover the squash with foil and bake for 40 minutes or until the squash starts to get tender.

In a bowl combine the milk, eggs, corn, anise seed, half of the scallions, nutmeg, and salt. Fill each of the squash bowls 3/4 full (see head notes about using leftovers). Carefully transfer the squash back to the oven without spilling (tricky!).



Continue baking uncovered for another 30 - 50 minutes, or until the squash is fully cooked through, and the pudding has set. The amount of time it takes can vary wildly depending on the squash and oven. At the last minute sprinkle with cheese and finish with a flash under the broiler to brown the cheese. (I didn't use the broiler for this part, just used the regular oven.) Keep and eye on things, you can go from melted cheese to burnt and inedible in a flash. Serve hot sprinkled with the remaining scallions.

Serves 4 - 6.

I made fettuccine with Brussels sprouts and pine nuts

I have noticed that my cravings in winter are very specific and very constant. Last year it was butternut squash, and I put it in everything--soups, chilis, pastas, risottos, etc. This year I can't get enough Brussels sprouts.

This pic doesn't really do it justice, but this dish is extremely delicious. It's a great thing to make when you come home from a long day of being in the gross city slush and just want something quick and easy and comforting and warm that you can eat in a bowl while watching some sweet episodes, you know?

Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts and Pine Nuts

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed
• 1/2 pound dried egg fettuccine
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• I added a whole lotta lemon juice
  

Slice Brussels sprouts in a food processor fitted with slicing disk.

Cook fettuccine in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat butter and oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat until foam subsides, then cook pine nuts, stirring, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, then sauté over medium-high heat until tender and lightly browned, about 4 minutes.

Reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain pasta and add to skillet, tossing with enough reserved water to moisten.

I Made a Chickpea-Quinoa Pilaf!

Happy New Year! It's been a while. A few minutes ago, as I was eating my leftover chickpea-quinoa pilaf from yesterday, I realized that this recipe was both simple and delicious so I thought I should share. Incidentally, I trying not to eat out that much this month since I just bought tickets to a cruise, so I'm planning on tons of cooking... Anyway, I had some quinoa lying around, and after looking through Veganomicon, I realized that I had everything I needed to make this hearty, protein-packed chickpea-quinoa pilaf (p.115-116):

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped finely (around 1 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

In a small stock pot over medium heat, saute the onions in olive oil for about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes.

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed (I just used coriander??)
• Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

Add the tomato paste, coriander, cumin, black pepper, and salt; saute for another minute. (I added some cherry tomatoes from my garden, the last batch from summer...)

• 1 cup quinoa

Add the quinoa and saute for 2 minutes.

• 2 cups cooked for 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups vegetable broth or reconstituted bouillon

Add the chickpeas and broth; cover and bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, lower the heat to very low, and cook for 18 minutes, or until the quinoa has absorbed all the water; stirr occasionally. Fluff with a fork and serve.

We made Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Yo guys. It's been a while, we know. But a lot of cooking has been going down since October (!), it's just been a busy busy fall, so our poor blog has been neglected. Hope everyone is having a very nice Christmas Eve right now. At this very moment, I am watching a DVD of a 1978 Bruce Springsteen concert with my dad and bro and drinking some Silk Nog.

Alena, Nat and I made this dish back in early November, and it was so good Alena ended up making it again for her family as a Thanksgiving side dish.

It's really way easier than it looks, just a little time consuming. It's the kind of thing that works best with a couple roommates to make the gnocchis in an assembly line. But it is FREAKING DELICIOUS and healthier and more flavorful than regular potato gnocchi.

We only followed this recipes for the gnocchis themselves. Instead of the sage butter, we made a simple white wine/arugula/garlic/parmesan sauce. (Sautee some garlic and red pepper in olive oil, add a lotta wine, let it reduce a little, then add the arugula, cook for a couple minutes until wilted, then sprinkle in maybe 1/3 c parm, stirring briskly so the sauce gets a creamy texture.)

BUT Alena made the sage butter for Thanksgiving and said it was also great.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

• 2 1-pound red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), rinsed, patted dry, pierced all over with fork
• 1 12-ounce container fresh ricotta cheese, drained in sieve 2 hours 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 3/4 cups (about) all purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons chopped fresh sage plus whole leaves for garnish

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place sweet potatoes on plate; microwave on high until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Cut in half and cool. Scrape sweet potato flesh into medium bowl and mash; transfer 3 cups to large bowl. Add ricotta cheese; blend well. Add Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and nutmeg; mash to blend. Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto floured surface; divide into 6 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into 20-inch-long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. Cut each rope into 20 pieces. Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent. Transfer to baking sheet.

Bring large pot of water to boil; add 2 tablespoons salt and return to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to clean rimmed baking sheet. Cool completely. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Preheat oven to 300°F. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until butter solids are brown and have toasty aroma, swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Add chopped sage (mixture will bubble up). Turn off heat. Season sage butter generously with salt and pepper.

Transfer half of sage butter to large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add half of gnocchi. Sauté until gnocchi are heated through, about 6 minutes. Empty skillet onto rimmed baking sheet; place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining sage butter and gnocchi.

Divide gnocchi and sauce among shallow bowls. Garnish with sage leaves.

I made wild mushroom pizza with caramelized onions, fontina and rosemary

Yo. This pizza was the bomb.

We followed the recipe pretty exactly, except we used way less butter and made one big pizza with our store-bought whole wheat crust instead of a few little ones with homemade dough. (This kind of messed up the proportions, and our pizza was PILED WITH SHROOMS. But you can never have too many shrooms, in my humble opin.) Also discovered that fontina cheese is so freaking good on pizza! Gotta do that more often.

Wild Mushroom Pizza with Carmalized Onions, Fontina and Rosemary

Ingredients

• 7 tablespoons butter, divided (You don't really need this much. Used a spoonful of Earth Balance combined with olive oil for the onions and the mushrooms.)
  
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil (Skipped this.)
  
• 3 onions, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise (about 6 cups)
• 2 pounds assorted wild mushrooms (such as crimini, oyster, chanterelle, and stemmed shiitake), cut into bite-size pieces
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot (about 1 medium)
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

Pizza Dough (If you are less lazy than me)

Cornmeal (for dusting)

Garlic oil

3 cups grated Fontina cheese (about 10 ounces)

Preparation

Melt 3 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until golden, about 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter with 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil in another heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, garlic, and shallot. Sauté 4 minutes. Add wine and simmer until almost all liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently, about 13 minutes. Add rosemary; season with salt and pepper.

Position rack in bottom third of oven. Place heavy 17x11-inch baking sheet on rack (invert if rimmed). Preheat oven to 500°F at least 30 minutes before baking. Roll out 2 dough disks on lightly floured surface to 8-inch rounds, allowing dough to rest a few minutes if it springs back. Sprinkle another baking sheet (invert if rimmed) with cornmeal. Transfer 1 dough round to second baking sheet. Lightly brush dough with garlic oil. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Scatter 2 1/2 tablespoons onions over cheese. Scatter 1/2 cup mushrooms over onions. Sprinkle with salt.

Position baking sheet with pizza at far edge of 1 side of hot baking sheet. Tilt sheet and pull back slowly, allowing pizza to slide onto hot sheet. Repeat with second dough disk, garlic oil, cheese, onions, mushrooms, and salt, and slide second pizza onto second half of hot baking sheet. Bake pizzas 6 minutes. Rotate pizzas half a turn. Bake until crust is deep brown, about 6 minutes longer. Using large spatula, carefully transfer pizzas to cutting board. Let rest 1 minute. Slice into wedges and serve. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

I made harira, the traditional soup of Morocco

One of my favorite Middle Eastern restaurants, Bedouin Tent in Beorum Hill, serves this kind of soup--a hearty, tomato based soup with lentils and chickpeas and a complex, savory but cinnamon-y flavor. As the weather's gotten colder, I've been in the mood to make soups and thought this was a good one to start the season.

I did some research and looked at a bunch of recipes on the web. I learned that in Morocco, this soup is eaten for Iftar, the nightly traditional meal that breaks the fast during Ramadan. It's thickened with tadouira--a mixture of tomato paste, flour and cilantro. There are many variations--some include chicken, some lamb. The kind I'd had at Bedouin Tent was veggie, so I knew they had to be out there. Finally I found a few versions which were mainly lentils, chickpeas, tomatoes, spices and vermicelli. And who doesn't like some noodles in their soup? I settled on this recipe and followed it pretty exactly.

I am being completely honest with you all here: THIS WAS THE BEST SOUP EVER. Seriously guys. You will want to eat this soup ALL THE TIME. It's hearty and filling and noodle-y and tomato-y and lemony and cinnamon/spicy. One bite and you will be like, "Fall and winter: BRING IT ON."

Harira Soup
Serves 8

Ingredients

Harira

• 1/2 cup green lentils
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped (2 cups)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 15-oz. can chopped tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup vermicelli
• Lemon wedges, for garnish

Tadouira

• 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1 Tbs. tomato paste

Directions

1. To make Harira: Cook lentils in pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Drain. (I did this but still don't understand why it was necesssary.)
   
2. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, parsley, cilantro, ginger, and cinnamon; sauté 5 minutes, or until onion is soft. Stir in tomatoes, and sauté 5 minutes more.
3. Stir in broth, chickpeas, lentils, reserved tomato liquid, and 3 cups water. Season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 45 minutes, or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.
4. To make Tadouira: Whisk flour with 1 cup water in bowl. Whisk in cilantro, lemon juice, and tomato paste. Stir Tadouira and vermicelli into Harira, and cook 3 minutes, or until noodles are soft. Serve with lemon wedges.

Okra and Chickpea Stew and my New Kitchen!

Guess what? I moved to San Francisco!

I live in the Haight, home of the Summer of Love and the Upper Haight Farmers' Market.

Here is the kitchen:
So I went to the farmers' market and bought some okra. Why not? I thought, this will give me a reason to look up a recipe for okra.

But smitten kitchen didn't have one.

And our blog didn't have one.

So I tried TasteSpotting, and I found this Okra and Chickpea Stew Recipe on a blog called Roti N Rice.

I didn't have a bunch of stuff in the recipe, so I'll note below what I substituted / skipped.

Okra and Chickpea Stew
12 oz okra, trimmed
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I didn't bother rinsing or draining)
4 oz roasted lamb, cubed (I didn't have any lamb - omitted)
2 tomatoes, cubed (I had about 1 cup of cherry tomatoes)
2 tbsp tomato paste (didn't have any - omitted)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ tsp tumeric (didn't have any, so I used a combination of: garam masala, cumin, and chili powder)
2 tbsp olive oil
1½ cups water (didn't use any -- used the water from the chickpeas instead)

salt and pepper to taste In a heated pan, add 2 tsp olive oil. Sauté onions and garlic until soft. Add lamb, pepper, and tumeric. Cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste. Add chickpeas and water. Bring to a boil. Add okra, reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove and serve immediately with basmati rice.

even with all the omissions / substitutions, the recipe came out really good!

yeah!!!

we ate it with a kale salad with pluot and pepperjack cheese.

it's like you're there!

We made quinoa gratin with spinach and sweet potato

I saw this recipe a couple years ago in The New York Times. Except it didn't have sweet potatoes--just a simple quinoa, spinach, gruyere casserole that would make a good side dish. And then last week, Joey and Lauren were coming over for dinner on a gross, rainy day, and I wanted to make something warm and comforting. I thought of this recipe, and decided to add sweet potatoes in order to make it more of a main dish. It worked beautifully! In fact, I think it's a format you can use to make a lot of different quinoa-based casseroles. Quinoa+cheese+vegetable+some kind of spice or herb or something else to flavor it. Like, can you imagine this baby with BUTTERNUT SQUASH? and KALE or CHARD instead of spinach? And maybe some GOAT CHEESE?? Or what about EGGPLANT and some MOZZERELLA?!?!? The possibilities are endless.

Quinoa Gratin with Spinach and Sweet Potatoes (adapted from Baked Quinoa with Spinach and Cheese)


Ingredients

1 6-ounce bag baby spinach

A few tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 or 5 sweet potatoes, skinned and sliced into medallions or half medallions, depending on the size

1 medium onion, chopped

2 plump garlic cloves, minced

4 cups cooked quinoa, (1 cup uncooked)

2 large eggs

3 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (3/4 cup)

1 teaspoons nutmeg

1 ounce Parmesan, grated (1/4 cup)

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Oil a 2-quart gratin or baking dish.

2. Heat the oil in a medium frying pan or a wide saucepan over medium heat. Sautee the sweet potatoes slowly until tender enough that you can easily break the pieces with a wooden spoon. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Heat a little more olive oil ithe pan, and add the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir with the onion until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the spinach and season with salt and pepper. Cook just until wilted. Remove from the heat.

4. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in the quinoa, the onion and spinach mixture, the sweet potatoes the Gruyère, and the nutmeg. Add freshly ground pepper and stir the mixture together. Scrape into the gratin dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and drizzle on the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Place in the oven and bake until nicely browned on top, about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to sit for about 5 minutes, and serve.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

I made blueberry muffins!

Long time no post! Hi from sunny Austin, Texas everyone. Lately I've been cooking more (this is mostly inspired by my addiction to this season of Top Chef) and I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I'm not a great cook. What I am pretty good at is baking, so I'm having fun with that these days.

Recently I stumbled upon the blog Smitten Kitchen. Her recipe for perfect blueberry muffins really caught my eye so after another unsuccessful night of trying to cook an original and delicious dinner (sorry, husband), I opted to make dessert. Below is a slightly tweaked version (aka I didn't add lemon zest because I personally don't like it and I don't have a sifter so that didn't happen either but you can see the original here).

PERFECT BLUEBERRY MUFFINS! (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

3/4 cup plain non-fat yogurt

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with 10 paper liners or spray each cup with a nonstick spray. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well, then yogurt. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into batter. Mix just until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently fold in your blueberries. The dough might be thick so Smitten Kitchen lady suggests an ice cream scoop tool to fill your muffin cups [note: I didn't need one. A spoon was fine]. You’re looking for them to be about 3/4 full, nothing more, so you might only need 9 instead of 10 cups. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until tops are golden and a tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean.

The end result is beautiful, delicious and pretty dang perfect.