la domestique

last week i came across an inspiring food blog - la domestique.  each week, jess features a new seasonal ingredient.  she gives a thorough introduction on monday, 10 creative uses of the ingredient on tuesday, a featured recipe on wednesday, a "storyboard" on thursday, and final thoughts and inspirations on friday.  this week she features salad greens, and who doesn't need new salad ideas?

a few images from la domestique...

scrambled eggs and spinach

breakfast in bed

tula mirth's favorite polenta

my daughter's school is putting together a cookbook for the teachers based on each child's favorite recipe.  the children were asked to illustrate the food in their receipe.  tula mirth chose polenta and i loved her cute little drawing of the polenta.

* recipe adapted from lidia lastianich's polenta via saveur.

recipe from vegan/vegetarian chef julia simon, pt. 2

all photos by julia simon

seitan mole tamales      *vegan-ification of a chow recipe

for the seitan, you'll need:

2 cups vital wheat gluten

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1/4 cup soy flour

4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp smoked habanero powder

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon brown sugar

wet mix:

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

6-8 dashes or 2 tablespoons smoke flavoring

2 tablespoons molasses

1 cup water mixed with mock beef or mushroom bouillon

to simmer:

4 cups water

2 tablespoons Mock beef or mushroom bouillon concentrate

3 bay leaves

6 cloves garlic, peeled

mix your dry ingredients thoroughly, and make a well in the center. mix your wet ingredients in a measuring cup. Using a fork first, then your hands, slowly pour the wet into the dry, working the dough as you pour. When you've emptied all of the liquid, use both hands to knead the seitan for a few minutes, until it comes together, then roll it into a short, squat cylinder.

in a wide pot, place your seitan (cut it into two pieces if need be) and pour your stock mixture over. bring it all to a boil. cover and simmer 1 hour.

no cheesecloth here, dears! you want a lighter, less dense seitan. also, putting the seitan in while the stock is cold gives it a better "crust" (thanks for the tip, ppk!).

we'll come back to the final seitan prep once we have our mole done, giving the flavors time to blend.

unlike many mole recipes, this one's free from straining - blend the sauce long enough and it'll be plenty smooth.

5-7 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded (how many you use depends on their size - if your pack is mostly small chiles, use more)

4-5 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded (see above)

8 garlic cloves

1/2 onion

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/4 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cups reserved seitan cooking liquid, to be used as needed

3 super-ripe Roma tomatoes

3 tablespoons vegetable oil or earthbalance

1/3 cup raw pecans, walnuts, or cashews

1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1 ripe yellow plantain, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil, for frying the plantains

2 tablespoons molasses or maple syrup

1-2 corn tortillas (these act as a thickening agent, use as many as you need)

1.5 ounces bittersweet vegan chocolate

1.5 tablespoons salt, or to taste

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or earthbalance, for frying the finished sauce

in a dry skillet, toast your chiles until they have a bit of char on both sides. set aside.

toast your sesame seeds, tossing, until they're a bit brown. set aside.

in a baking pan, put your tomatoes, onion, and garlic cloves. broil 5 minutes, until they're all got a bit of char. set aside.

in your skillet, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil. sauté your plantains until they soften a bit, two minutes per side. set aside.

toast your thyme and oregano very gently in the same skillet, about 30 seconds. set aside.

put your tomatoes, onion, garlic, seeds and nuts into a blender. puree until smooth, about 2 minutes. with the motor running, add your chiles one at a time. how much stock you add here is up to you - you want to maintain as thick a consistency as possible while keeping the blender running, so add a little bit at a time until your sauce is moving again. add your herbs, the plantain, and the tortilla, and blend until the texture is very smooth, about 5 minutes - there will still be tiny bumps, but they'll be very small.

heat the remaining oil in your skillet and pour in the contents of the blender. sauté until fragrant, about 5 minutes. add your chocolate and stir until it blends in completely. taste for salt and sweet, adding either sugar or salt until you're satisfied.

for the masa:

3 cups masa for tamales

1 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening

3 cups vegetable or mock chicken stock, warmed

2 tsp baking powder

Salt to taste

with a whisk or hand blender, beat the shortening until it's fluffy. you could also use a stand mixer here, if you have one, with the paddle attachments.

using a fork, mix the masa, salt and baking powder. make a well in the center. slowly add your stock while mixing with your fork, continuing to work the batter until it's uniform. it'll be pretty wet, no worries!

while continuing to beat the shortening with your mixer or whisk, add the wet masa by handfuls until you've emptied your bowl. beat on low until everything's well blended. the dough will be a little wet and very spongy. set aside.

one last step for the seitan:

slice your seitan into 1/4 inch wide strips and drain on a paper towel. in a large bowl, toss the seitan with about 1/3 - 1/2 cup flour, evenly coating the strips. the flour coating will give your faux-pork an awesome crust.

heat enough oil in a skillet to cover the bottom of the pan. add your seitan in batches (took me 3) and fry until browned on each side, about 3 minutes. drain, again, on paper towels.

chop your strips roughly, into pieces less than an inch long. mix your chopped seitan with the entire batch of mole in a bowl and set aside.

bring it all together, finally:

you'll need:

30 cornhusks

a steamer, or the set up described here

dexterity and a hungry belly!

tear 3-4 husks into strips to tie your tamales with. you'll need 20-25.

flatten a husk on a cutting board and using your hands, grab 1/2 cup masa. smooth it into a rectangle in the upper-center of the husk. press about 1/4-1/3 cup mole into the center of the masa, and using the sides of the husk, roll the filling into a package. then roll the husk around the package, fold up the bottom and tie it with a strip of husk. here's that pictorial how-to from last time. set upright in your steamer or pot.

repeat until you've made 20-24 small tamales. cover with remaining husks and lid.

this is a 2-3 hour active recipe - but it makes tons of tamales and they're superb. we usually make a big batch, take it off the burner, leave it covered, and show up at a potluck with the 'males still inside, all warm and ready to eat.

serve with soy sour cream or just nosh plain. enjoy!

thank you julia of no face plate for sharing this lovely recipe!

time for strawberries

tula mirth and i await strawberry season each year and we have now arrived in north carolina.  we made our first annual strawberry picking trip this week (tula wore her strawberry shorts in honor of the event) and we easily filled a flat with our excitement.  of course i need some new strawberry recipes now and i ran across this raw almond cookie and strawberry mousse recipe which is at the top of my list at the moment.

we've been able to gift many of the berries since there is no way the two of us can polish them off in the small window of time necessary to consume them.  there is something so very nice about arriving on the doorsteps of surprised friends with the first strawberries of the season.  

all photos by juli

a very special delivery...



photo by juli


recently, a co-worker and i signed up to share a weekly produce delivery service from our state farmer's market.  every saturday, we get a big box of fresh goodies on our doorstep.  it is fun and challenging to find ways to use all the fruits and vegetables.  last week we had a bunch of asparagus, which i cooked with butter, soy sauce, and balsamic vinaigrette.  yum!  do any of you subscribe to a csa or co-op?  what kinds of food have you been getting lately?  any spring recipes to share?

all of you farm-to-table folks, check out this farm letterpress calendar from one of my favorite press shops, 1canoe2.

butterflyfood blog

i love to cook (and eat), but unfortunately i have no skills with a camera.  i don't even own a half-way decent camera!  thankfully my fellow blogger juli is a master photographer.  whenever i cook something, i take it to her house for dinner and we always save a little for her to photograph the next day.  not a bad trade-off, especially with these cookies!   

i am always on the lookout for new and interesting food blogs and websites.  it is rare to find one with great recipes and great photography.  so i was thrilled when i came across ashley's butterflyfood blog, which combines wonderful recipes with beautifully styled photos, all by ashley.

check out this baked camembert.  whoa.

  
or how about the chocolate-covered maple sponge toffee???

ashley also sells her food prints via etsy!  i am a little partial to this peaches print.  i am so excited for summer and all the fresh fruits that will be available!  and i love these little turquoise bowls.

all photos by ashley greer colbourne

 

addicted to these cookies...

photo by juli

i just returned from a trip out to southern california, and i am so happy to be home and back to the blog!  sorry, juli, for leaving you alone with the blog all week!  i tried to bring a little socal sunny warmth home with me.

i am so excited to share this simple carrot oatmeal cookie recipe from 101cookbooks.  i made these for a brunch with friends, and they were a hit!  i loved them so much i made another batch the following week and ate them for breakfast every day.  maple syrup = appropriate breakfast food, right?

oh, and they are vegan too!

there's a lot of room for improvisation with these.  zucchini, coconut, various nuts...chocolate???  

king kale

for about 2 seconds, i wanted to major in nutrition in college. that didn't last long, but i still love to read about food and wellness. some recent favorites - in defense of food, the blue zones, and quantum wellness.

the usda just announced new dietary guidelines for americans. it seems like a good start. check out mark bittman's nytimes piece on this topic.

i am not vegan or even vegetarian, but i try to focus on plant-based dishes as much as possible. earlier this week i made a kale pesto pasta using a recipe from 101 cookbooks (thanks to juli for introducing me to this site).

photo by heidi swanson from 101cookbooks.com

nothing with goat cheese can possibly taste bad! i added some walnuts and lots of red pepper flakes to the food processor, and it turned out great! the next night, i cooked up some chicken with tomatoes and lemon juice and added it to the leftover pasta. marvelous!

i (literally) just found this blog, 365 days of kale. who knew?! every kale recipe you can imagine. i like this woman already.

read about the incredible health benefits of kale.