betty goes vegan.

it's been a minute. i had a wonderful week in ohio with my fabulous family, including my two adorable nephews (i made them fried rice with a side of garlic green beans; that's the next post!). i made these donuts weeks ago, and am just getting to post them. my bad.

every christmas all my siblings, those who married my siblings, and the spawn of those matrimonies gather at my parent's house to make these delicious treats. this is straight out of betty crocker's recipe for "cake donuts" with the vegan substitutes, and double the nutmeg. dive into these babies.

Donutz

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup soy or almond milk
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 bananas
• lemon juice
• vegetable oil for frying
• flour for rolling out

1. your two bananas and lemon juice will be your egg replacers. just like in the cupcakes, mash your bananas with a bit of lemon juice until they are slightly thicker than an egg. mash as many of the chunks out as you can.
2. mix 1 1/2 cup of your flour with the rest of your ingredients. with a table or hand mixer beat for about 30 seconds. this is a thick dough so it might take a tad longer with a hand mixer. mix for another 2 minutes or so on medium speed while occasionally scrapping the sides of the bowl.
3. slowly add in the rest of your flour while continuing to stir.
4. generously flour a clean counter, table or cutting board. roll around to coat with flour then roll out to about 3/8 inch or so.
5. times to cut those babies out. i floured the rim of my favorite drinking glass a.k.a a jam jar to cut out the main chunk of dough. then i used a shot glass to cut out the donut-hole. we also traditionally have "monsters." these are the oddly shaped pieces between the circles.
6. heat 2-3 inches oil up in deep skillet to about 375 degrees.
7. gently place donuts into hot oil. turn over the donuts when they rise. about 1-1 1/2 minutes to get golden brown.
8. remove from oil and place on paper towel or coffee filter covered plate to drain excess oil.

this makes about two dozen donuts. these are not the typical "yeast donuts" you would get at dunkin' donuts. ther are denser, and wonderful. i had some leftover icing from the shark week cupcakes so, i topped a few with that. you can also toss them in a bag or container with powdered sugar. also, i thought making the dough a different color would be fun so, a few of them are purple! the pieces cut out with the shot glass make perfect little donut balls of goodness.

these things are dangerous. get a chilled glass of soy or almond milk, and be prepared to eat your weight in donuts.

Easy Peas-y Mango Soup

My fourteen year-old future stepsister Liddy has a mild obsession with all things mango. During a visit earlier in the summer she posted on her Facebook, "they should make a mango soup!" I didn't know she loved mangoes so much, she didn't know I love a food challenge.

Shortly after, my apprentice and I grabbed a few beautiful mangoes, rolled up our sleeves and started throwing stuff in a blender that we thought would taste good. I'm not much of a fruit fan ("A VEGAN WHO DOESN'T LIKE FRUIT?!" you gasp. What can I say, I like it crunchy and spicy!) so I would've preferred the end result to burn my mouth a little more, but we ended up with a beautiful chilled soup that had a nice, mild kick and was the perfect meal on a summer afternoon. I paired it with a chapati bread, the recipe for which I took from a Hare Krishna recipe book "The Higher Taste" that I bought from a local Indian restaurant. (I tried to find a link, but it seems our Hare-y friends aren't terribly inventive and several of them have distributed drastically different books of the same title.)

Blended Family, Blended Fruit

• 3 mangoes pitted and seeded
• 1 16oz can light coconut milk
  
• 2 cups peas (fresh or frozen; we used frozen)
• 1 bunch chopped scallions
• 1/4 cup minced garlic
• 1 lemon, wedged
  
• Curry powder to taste (I probably used about 4+ TBSP)
• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup shredded coconut

1. Toast almonds on a cookie sheet at 350 for about ten minutes
2. Combine mango, coconut milk, peas and scallions in blender and puree
3. Add lemon juice, garlic and other seasonings as you see fit! Like I said, I like it spicy and would've added much more curry powder if Liddy were less sensitive to spice.
4. Garnish with almonds and coconut. I even saved a few peas!

Chapati Bread (via The Higher Taste)

• 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup warm water

1. Combine flour, salt, oil and water in a large bowl
2. Knead dough for about 10 minutes
3. Cover dough with a smaller bowl for 1/2 hour
4. Re-knead dough
   
5. Form into 12 balls
6. Preheat ungreased skillet or griddle on medium heat
7. Roll each ball into a 6" round and heat on skillet until golden brown bubbles and a pocket start to form
8. (This next step is an optional after thought and is only do-able if you have a gas oven!) On a neighboring range over medium heat, use tongs to hold about 6" above flame. The bread will fluff up even more!

*Note: You'll see a spinachy chapati-esque experiment in the picture. Liddy wanted a bread with a little more flavor so we fooled around with garlic and spinach chiapati. It was messy and difficult and, while edible, not a "recipe" I would try to pawn off on you fine folk.

jawesome!!!

it's shark week!!! i don't even have cable, and i'm excited! so excited that i made shark week cupcakes. i don't think these needs much more of an explanation. on to the shark week sweets.

Shark Week Cupcakes

• one box dairy egg free cake mix (i used duncan hines classic yellow)
• 3 small bananas or 2 large
• juice of one lemon
• water
• oil
• cupcake liners
• icing (you can make this or buy in a can. i used duncan hines classic vanilla)
• food coloring
• swedish fish

1. follow instructions on box for water and oil amounts. mine called for 3 eggs, and this is where the bananas and lemon come in. one banana is equal to one egg as far as replacers go. mine were fairly large so i used just 2 bananas. chop them up then squeeze the juice of one lemon of them and mash. they should turn to about the consistency of an egg...there's your binder!
2. i divided my batter in two leaving half yellow, and the coloring the other to a sea-foam green. then put equal parts of each into the cups, and used a knife tip to marbleize them.
3. bake according to box. i actually had to leave mind in a tad longer. just use a toothpick or knife to poke the center of a cupcake; if it comes out clean they are finished! let cool.
4. while those are cooling mix some of your white icing with blue food coloring for the water, but be sure to leave some white for the splash.
5. after cupcakes are cool cover top with blue icing then add a dollop white in the center for a splash. the final touch: swedish fish! these vegan no meat treats will serve as our veracious jaws!

keep in fridge until serving or icing will melt! making these with kids would be a blast. these are so good good that my new un-named cat pulled one of the counter into the sink and ate almost the entire thing. i hope you do too!

Presto!!!! pesto in a wink!

one of the amazing mothers i sit for sent me a recipe for cilantro lime pesto that was a Tejas Texas Grill recipe in Bon Appetit. i adjusted it a bit to my liking, and think it's pretty spot on.

i had the recipe saved in my email for weeks before i got to it, and when i did...boy was i glad. i thought of it as i was walking through the green market in union square smelling the fresh veggies, and herbs. of course the cilantro hit me, and i knew it was time. i swooped up jalapeños (10 cents), cilantro ($1.50), garlic (30 cents), red pepper (85 cents), and a white onion (75 cents) at the market. since there are just a few ingredients i would recommend getting the freshest possible, hence the reason i hit up the farmers market. on my way home i grabbed the limes for six for a dollar...holla. the pasta i had at my house. wOOtwOOt, let's make magic.

Cilantro Lime Pesto

• 2 cups cilantro
• 3/4 cups green onion (scallions)
• 1/4 cup white onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 jalapeño
• juice of 3 limes
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• salt
• pepper

1. chop cilantro, white onions, scallions, garlic,& jalapeño (and seeded). toss in blender with limes juice, and olive oil. blend until smooth. salt and pepper to taste. it's just that easy. if you don't have a garlic press just chop 'em. a good way to get the skins off the garlic is hit the width of your blade with heal of your palm.

toss this with cooked spaghetti. i fired a red pepper on my gas stove, sliced, and used as a topping for the dish. so good, friends. so good.

i really love your peaches, wanna shake your trees.

my mama has been talking about grilling peaches for days and days. every time she brought it up i would start to drool. so, today i braved the heat (and just missed a downpour) to grab the few ingredients i would need.

i also wanted something to top these with. something light, because in this heat anything too heavy is just too much. i decided to try a strawberry syrup. while i had imagined it being thick, like bottled maple syrup, mine came out sans any viscosity. yet the flavor was spot on, and i actually enjoyed the lighter syrup.

Grilled Peaches

• peaches
• cinnamon (optional)
• nutmeg (optional)
• brown sugar (optional)

1. peel, pit, and slice your peaches. i peeled mine, but leaving the skin is just peachy keen. i would recommend slices on the thicker side. if they are too thin they will cook really fast and turn to mush.
2. if you choose to top your slices you can use any of the above mentioned or whatever pleases you. i just used brown sugar, which remember will start to caramelize and can make a heck of mess on a grill (foil could help here).
3. place on grill, i highly recommend the use of foil here for easy clean up. grill on each side until grill marks on visible. only a few mintues on each side. today since firing up my little outdoor grill was too daunting in this heat i used my george foreman.

Strawberry Syrup

• one carton strawberries
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/8 cup sugar
• zest of half a lime
• juice of whole lime

1. slice strawberries and toss in a pot. add 3/4 cup water. bring to a boil then lower to simmer. let simmer for 15 minutes. i used a potato masher to smash my strawberries a few times throughout the simmering. they should break down till it just a pulp. you can strain the pulp out or leave it in your syrup.
2. remove strawberries from heat, and in pot combine rest of water (1 1/4 cup), sugar, lime zest, and juice. bring to boil. left this boil for about 10 minutes. if you have a thermometer it should be around 220 degrees. but really just let it boil until sugar and water start to thicken.
3. combine sugar water mix with strawberry blend and bring to boil again for about a minute.
4. remove from heat and let cool.

plate your peaches, and top with syrup! my syrup was still warm when i plated this and with the warm peaches it was pretty great. a chilled syrup might be better in the hot sun at a grill out. also, you can replace the strawberries without fruit sounds good; raspberries, blueberries, anything! so, thanks mom! i did it, and it was delicious!!!

104 heat index, and i want french toast.

whew, baby. nyc is in the middle of a heatwave, and not the fun dancey sing songy kind. if you tried to dance now you would die of dhydration/heat exhaustion on your way up from your first "drop it like it's hot."

standing next to a stove to cook sounded like torture, but i still had one thing on my mind: french toast. sure, i had all the fixings for a nice cool summer roll, but i had to go for the fired up bread. of course.

French Toast

• bread
• 1 cup soy milk
• cinnamon
• 1 1/2-2 bananas
• vanilla

1. in a blender combine soy milk, cinnamon, bananas, and vanilla then pulse until smooth. the amount of cinnamon and vanilla is up to you, and what you like. since there aren't any raw eggs in the batter feel free to test it, and season to your liking. when i use banana as egg replacer in recipes such as cookies and pancakes i will first mash them separately with just a tad of lemon juice to get them at the right consistency. since i was tossing everything in the blender i knew it would get mixed properly, if you don't have a blender or food processor i would use the lemon method. these came out with a strong banana flavor; if that is something you want to avoid use the lesser amount.
2. on a stove heat large non-stick pan with oil or oil spray. or if you are lucky enough to have a griddle get that baby going.
3. dip bread into batter coating both sides. i used french bread, but you can use whatever suits your fancy. anything from sliced white bread to a thick whole wheat loaf.
4. cook on each side until they are brown and start to crisp on each side. try to flip as least amount of times as possible.
5. top with powder sugar, butter, syrup, fruit, nuts, apple sauce or nothing at all!

you can always add in whatever other spices and flavors to the mix. some coconut or pumpkin pie spice would be really yummy!!! i had to cook these with a fan pointed directly at me, but it was so worth it. make them after the sun goes down as part of a breakfast for dinner evening. enjoy!

when in doubt go for the hot sauce.

a few weekends ago i was at a bbq celebrating my friend cristin's graduation from her UCB improve class, and it was a blast. i did have some tequila leftover from a solstice festival i was at the prior day. i also had some orange juice so my first thought was "tequila sunrise!!!!" alas, no grenadine. as i was scouring the fridge for some other mix in my friend pointed out the hot sauce and i never looked back.

Flaming Mary/Cholula Sunrise

• tequila
• orange juice
• hot sauce

1. mix your poisons together to your liking. that's it.

Don't use louisiana style hot sauce with this. we tried some, and the vinegar flavor was way too overpowering. i would stick with cholula, valentina, or other south of the border sauces. now i love spicy things, but i definitely had to add more hot sauce than i thought i was going to. i think this would also be amazingly yummy with mango juice instead of orange. sip on this all summer.

lemon. rosemary. salt. done.

preserved lemons are amazing. i was watching a cooking show on pbs about moroccan food. everything looked and sounded so good! the one thing that i had to have were the preserved lemons that are a major ingredient in chicken tajine.

tajine is a very common, very tradtional moroccan dish. while i don't have a tajine cooking pot to cook a savory veggie tajine in i can use this wonderful flavors in other dishes. these lemons tossed in salads is a fresh mix in bursting with flavor. these in any other savory dish you are cooking are a wonderful additional flavor.

Preserved Lemons

• lemons
• salt
• rosemary

1. cut your lemons in to quarters.
2. coat them in salt.
3. put in air tight container with rosemary.
4. let sit for a few days.

you can also leave the rosemary out, or try different herbs like sage or thyme. these are nice just to have around at all times, and too easy not to!

who needs cheese when you have peanut butter?

my mom used to always give us bananas with peanut butter on them. i loved them. to this the day the mention of banana and peanut butter sends me into a tizzy. this recipe started when i actually wanted a pb & j sandwich, but had no j. then i remembered the bananas i did have! but i had no bread. i was finally saved by the flour tortillas i always have in my fridge. roller coaster of emotions.

Peanut Butter Quesadilla

• banana
• flour tortilla
• peanut butter

1. spray your skillet with some vegetable oil.
2. on half your tortilla spread peanut butter. i just so happened to have some white chocolate wonderful from the peanut butter company. so good.
3. add your sliced bananas, and fold over other half.
4. heat in skillet over medium high heat for about 2 minutes each side. just until they are golden brown, and you pb is melted.
5. cut and serve!

this could be fun and easy to make with kids. i don't make these with big tortillas that would be too much, unless you were making them for a dinner party and serving slices. this is a great snack, or as part of a lunch. enjoy!

one meal's leftovers is another meal's entrée.

this was all just from things i had in my pantry, and leftovers in the fridge. i would say that all these ingredients are foods i try to keep in my house. they are common, easy to store, and can be used in lots of different recipes.

Tacos from Leftovers

• tortillas
• brown rice
• black beans
• corn
• avocado
• onion
• tomato
• lime
• scallions

1. drain your corn, and toss it in a skillet with a little bit of oil. add some salt and pepper. cook up until they start to brown. set aside on plate.
2. in that same skillet with a tad more oil heat up some black beans. i like to add lime juice to my black beans.
3. my rice was some i already had made in my fridge. brown rice will take longer to cook than white rice. so, if you are looking for quick go with white. if you make white rice don't forget to rinse your rice first. keep rinsing until the water runs almost clear. i like to cook my rice in broth at 1 1/2 cup broth for 1 cup rice. the broth gives the rice a great flavor. sometimes i'll chop some cilantro in my rice as well.
4. chop tomatoes, onion, avocado, and scallions.
5. heat up your tortillas on the stove. you can do this in a skillet or if have a gas stove just put the flame on and cook it directly on that.
6. create and enjoy!

these were all ingredients i had around. you could do this with whatever veggies are leftover, or a staple in your kitchen. of course i coated mine in hot sauce, and lime juice. i squeeze the lime over everything. that is a lot of food in my pictures so i even had leftovers from this! it's a viscous, but delicious cycle.

i'm sweet on sweet potato fries.

well, i guess i never actually fry these soooo are these bakes? either way they are good, and i guess you could fry them if you wanted to. very simple, and very yummy.

Sweet Potato Fries

• sweet potatoes
• olive oil
• salt

1. peel and cut your tats.
2. put them in a bowl with a little olive oil and salt to taste. if there is too much oil on them they won't crisp up. toss them together.
3. spread them on an aluminum foilcovered baking sheet. when i made these all i had left was an oddly shaped piece of foil, but i made it work.
4. bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes. you'll be able to tell when tey start getting slightly brown on the edges.

these are a great side or just a snack. i dipped mine in of ketchup, and also bbq sauce. yum yum yum.

this is a no cow-zone!!!

the other day i asked people what to make for dinner. some suggestions were very creative (regina...i can't even repeat yours). others were practical like, a tradition of i'm sure many vegans and vegetarians are accustom to, making a meal of sides. i really love that though. i could eat a plate of mashed potatoes, glazed baby carrots, and succotash everyday. the one that actually sparked my fancy was the suggestion of a calzone. i wanted it. i wanted one right then and there on the table.

my first thought was that vegan cheese is just not the same as dairy cheese. it is always really runny, and just not that stringy solidness(??) if dairy cheese. so, i did one with vegan rella, and one with just tofu and veggies. the one with rella was better after it sat for a bit and got slightly more solid. otherwise it's going to just run out like water when you cut or bite into it. no good.

No Cow-Zone

1. use the pizza dough recipe for the crust. i added some dried chopped chives my lovely mama sent up. another thing my mom always sends is a garlic and herb mix i adore. i pretty much put it in everything. i got two no-cow zones out of that.
2. divide your dough in two. toss just like you would a pizza.
3. once you have your dough in two circles fill half of each with your filling. i would assemble these on your cookie sheet, because transferring these is almost impossible. flip the other half over so you have a half circle. press the edges together. if he dough is too thin or there is too much filling, it might tear on the top. you can always tear pieces of the edge and patch it up, or just leave it.
4. brush the top with olive oil.
5. place in the oven at 450, and bake for about 15-20 means. just keep an eye on it, and when it's golden brown it's done. the bottom will be darker than the top so keep that in mind. don't want it to burn! let it cool for a bit then dig in!

i dipped mine in marinara and the garlic butter recipe that is also on the pizza page. i didn't make an ingredients list for this one because, what you need for the pizza is on that post, and the filling is all about what you like! i love pineapple of course so that's allways good. mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, tempeh bacon pick your pleasure. since you get two out of the recipe i think it's fun to make two different fillings and share with a friend!

butternut squash something or other, and bruschetta!

oy vey. that's my initial reaction to my week. i was at the chesapeake bay from friday til tuesday morning. shortly after arriving back in brooklyn i scooted off to work. then worked double on wednesday and my sister felicia arrived wednesday evening!! it was a very busy, very fun week, and my brain was fried from sun, booze, and lack of sleep. yet i still wanted to cook something really yummy for felicia. she had never had butternut squash, and i wanted her to love it as much as i do. i had no idea what i was going to do with it, but i bought that, mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and pasta. also, i wanted onion but they weren't looking good so i got shallots instead.

i always forget that getting a squash prepped can be a bear, and not the good kind like winnie the pooh. i was struggling with it! when i'm working with the kids and drop something or a piece of food falls off a utensil i always make he joke "did you see that jump out of my hand!" or "i saw that pea just jump off your spoon!" i feel as though this squash was getting me back for falsely accusing those other veggies of leaping. it was some sort of veggie karma. i swear they really were jumping out of my hand. i could not stop dropping them. but i powered through and it was well worth it in the end.

Butternut Squash Thingy

• 1 butternut squash
• 2 shallots
• 1 carton mushrooms
• 3 garlic cloves
• rosemary
• thyme
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• pasta

1. peel, seed, and chop your squash. way easier said done. i got so frustrated with this i ended up just repeatedly stabbing the squash in revenge. it was very un-cruelty free of me. you have to scrap this like you would scrap a pumpkin when prepping a jack-o-lantern. i couldn't even get it all out with a spoon so, i just ended up crudely cutting off those parts. i was ready to throw the darn thing off the williamsburg bridge. breahte. move on.
2. toss the cubed squash in a skillet with some oil on a medium heat. these are going to take the longest to cook. you can chop you other veggies while these begin cooking.
3. put your pasta water on. add a lttlel salt. this the only chance you get to season the pasta.
4. add rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. i love love love thyme so i add a lot. way more than the rosemary. but i do a hefty amount of each.
5. throw in your shrooms and shallots.
6. when pasta is cooked ans squash is tender add some of the pasta water to the squash mix.
7. drain you pasta, plate, and top with the squash whatever it is.

Bruschetta

• 1 loaf french bread
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 shallots or 1/2 small onion
• garlic
• olive oil

1. slice bread. place on cookie sheet.
2. drizzle olive oil over the tops. i must say i can now brush them with oil thanks to felicia. she bought me basting brushes!!!! and lots of other fun kitchen things! whoop! whoop! thanks sister!
3. chop tomatoes, garlic, shallot/onion. toss together.
4. top bread with a how ever much will fit on, and bake at 350 for about 10-15 mins. just until the bread is crispy.
5. serve it up!

with this final, picture filled, sunday post i am now off to celebrate the fact that "sgt. peppers lonely hearts club band" came out on tuesday (5/1) of last week in 1969 (that's for you dad!!) by listening to it while i clean my apartment. and then...then i nap. finally.

ya don't need a turkey for stuffing!

i have loved stuffing my entire life. it's just so good. i could eat an entire pan of this, and ask for seconds. i once made this and brought the leftovers to my friends cristin and berta which then spurred us on to make an entire thanksgiving dinner. it's that good.

Stuffing

• 2 tubes whole wheat biscuits
• 1 bunch of celery
• 1 onion
• 1 carton mushrooms
• 1 bunch asparagus
• veggie broth

1. cut your biscuits into fourths, and place on lightly greased cookie sheet. bake just until they start to brown. don't fully cook them.
2. chop all your veggies, and in a baking pan combine biscuits & veggies.
3. pour enough broth over them so it is about half way up the pan.
4. bake at 375 for 20-30 mins. basically just until all your veggies are cooked.

sometimes i let this cook for up to an hour and add more broth along the way while stirring it. i also want to try this with some chopped fakin' bacon or tempeh bacon added in. i think that would a nice additional flavor. i would eat this as a meal alone, but it is the perfect side to any savory meal. enjoy y'all!!!

summertime and the livings cheap & easy..

nyc is on fire. this is turning out to be a hot summer. and i am loving every minute of it. my good friend berta had a birthday a few weekends ago, and we had a grill out. i wanted to make a soup, but who wants soup in 90 degree weather? this girl. i modified a cold cucumber soup recipe from a great book my boss liz gave me. summer soup. yum yum.

Cucumber Avocado Cold Soup

• 3 avocados
• 2 large cucumbers
• 3 garlic gloves
• 1 cup almond/soy milk
• 1/2 handful almonds
• salt
• pepper

1. peel and chop avocados, cucumbers, and garlic.
2. toss 2 of the avocados, and all the cucumbers, garlic, alomonds, and milk into a blender and let it go. blend until smooth.
3. transfer to serving dish, and add other chopped avocado. salt & pepper to taste.
4. chill in the fridge for how ever long you got.

easy. this is the hot day version of my avocado cilantro soup. people were also using this as a dip with their chips. this is perfect on a hot day or any day for that matter. enjoy!

sweet potato home fries. sage what?!?

sweet potatoes. i love them in any form. i also adore home fires. put 'em together and what do you get? deliciousness.

Sweet Potato Home Fries

• 2 sweet tats
• 2 tablespoons earth balance
• 1 red onion
• sage
• salt
• pepper
• water

1. melt your earth balance in a skillet. once melted add sage leaves. let simmer.
2. while that is kicking it on the stove peal and cube your potatoes. now toss those mothers in the skillet.
3. add enough h20 so it is just below the tops of the potatoes. let that cook off. this will cook the inside of the potatoes so you can get the outside crispy without burning them. awesome.
4. after the water is cooked off just cook them until they are soft on the inside. also, add your onion at this point. salt and pepper to taste.

the first time i did this i didn't have any sage so i actually used rosemary and it was banging. i'm a freak for thyme so i think the next time i will make thyme butter. experiment!!! isn't that the best part of cooking?

the jig is up.

alrighty lovers, friends, family, and haters enough is enough. after a jammed packed week i have no more excuses not to be posting.

memorial weekend was epic and brilliant for me. i made breakfast for the masses, and tacos for the majority yet did not take any photos. first i saw this as a reason not to post, but with the loving encouragement of my awesome friends regina and joscelyn i realized i don't have to pictures with every post. sometimes the recipes are enough, and i need to get this show on the road with lots of yum yums.

so, the next few post are picture-less, but not flavorless.

let the games begin.

Soul Food with a Soul: Ashley Speaks!

Hey, girl, heeeeey!


This blog combines three of the things I love the most; Cooking, Crystal and cooking with Crystal! We spent a lot of our time while living together in New York making, talking about and going out to eat delicious cruelty-free cuisine and now that we're apart we spend equal amounts of time sharing delicious recipes! Sorry that I've been absent for a while. I don't have a functioning camera, and I hesitated to write until I had super beautiful, step-by-step pictures. I finally said, "Screw it!" and decided to finally add my first post. Hope you enjoy!

We make a great team, but each of us has our strengths. Crystal is the more creative one; no matter how broke we are, she can always whip something that looks and tastes amazing using random odds and ends in the kitchen. I'm more of a converter; I spent the first part of my vegetarianism-turned-veganism taking my favorite dishes and making them cruelty-free.

Did I mention that I'm half black? Well, I am (don't worry, I'll remind you constantly) and Soul Food is one of the ways I connect to and celebrate this part of my culture. I worried I would lose that connection when I first made the decision to cut meat from my diet. Soul Food is known for being high fat, sodium heavy and meat based and even attempting to veganize my some of my favorite dishes was a daunting and, in my veg-virginity, a completely unappetizing thought. But try, I did! Over the past five years I've transitioned from vegetarian to vegan, from a diet high in meat substitutes and processed food to one that is more natural and plant and grain based and I've finally come up with a dish that is humane, healthy and even more delicious than the salty, fatty, greasy ones of my youth.


Buffalo Tofu Chunks, Collard Greens and Cornbread

I decided to make this last week after I randomly purchased some pecan praline syrup from Big Lots and wanted to incorporate it into my buffalo sauce. I ended up using it in every single dish in this meal. Do not easily dismiss food from discount/dollar stores. Many of them have interesting international cookies, crackers and condiments some of which are all-natural AND vegan! The following also use two cheap and easy vegan cooking staples: No-Chicken Broth, hot suace and Earth Balance. As long as I have these two items and some produce I can make just about anything.


COLLARD GREENS
Prepare Crystal's collard greens recipe before making anything else. Collard greens are best enjoyed when they've been cooking for eons (or hours if you don't have that long!) I made mine exactly like this, EXCEPT that I topped them with three strips of Fakin'
once they were cooked.

CORNBREAD.
This is a combination of a recipe from theppk.com and my own experimentation. Ingredients from cornmeal to canola oil are from the website, but I took liberties with cook time and added a topping!
*2 cups cornmeal
*1 cup flour
*2 tbsp baking powder
*1/3 cup canola oil
*2 tpsp raspberry sherry vinegar
*2 tbsp Pecan Praline maple syrup
Topping:
*1 cup applesauce
*2 graham crackers broken up

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Whisk wet ingredients in large bowl
3. Mix dry ingredients together in medium bowl
4. Add dry ingredients to wet and pour mixture into greased 5x9 glass baking tray
5. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown and passes "toothpick test"
6. Remove bread, top with broken up graham crackers, applesauce and a drizzle of the syrup
7. Bake for an additional ten minutes, or until glaze bubbles


BUFFALO TOFU CHUNKS

Sauce:
*1 package extra-firm tofu
*1 bottle hot sauce (I use both Frank's Red Hot and Sriracha Sauces)
*1 cup Earth Balance Natural Spread
*2TBSP Maple Syrup
Breading:
*1/2 cup flour
*1 cup crushed graham crackers
*1/2 cup cornmeal
*Desired seasonings (I used cayenne pepper, garlic salt and lemon pepper)
*4 cups soy milk

1. Drain package of tofu and let sit on paper towel to absorb moisture
2. While the tofu sits for a moment, mix flour, cornmeal and seasonings in a tupperware bowl with lid or a plastic bag
3. Crush graham crackers in a plastic bag and put in separate bowl from flour cornmeal
4. Pour soy milk into a separate bowl
4. Heat desired oil in either an old pot or a deep-fryer if you have one. I use an old pot, in which case I fill it about half way with oil that I reuse and heat on HIGH.
5. Cut tofu into desired chunks. I like my tofu a little crispier so I cut one block into about 12 strips and then cut those strips into halves.
6. Test your oil before step 7 as the tofu should go straight from breading to oil. I like to make a little dough-ball with flour and soy milk and wait for it to float to the top.
7. Take a handful of tofu chunks at a time. Coat them first in soymilk, then put them in your flour-cornmeal mixture. With desired container sealed, shake tofu strips so they are entirely covered in mixture. Dip briefly in soy milk again then immediately roll in crushed graham crackers. (It's important to make the transition from soy milk to graham cracker a fairly quick one, or you'll lose the first layer of breading. This double-dipping method is the result of years of deep-fried experimentation and failure. Any crackers or breadcrumbs will do, but I thought the graham crackers would be a nice compliment to the maple syrup.)
6. As Crystal mentioned in an earlier post, we found that coffee filters are a cheap and easy way to soak excess grease from the various things we like to fry. You can lay these out on a plate while the tofu is cooking.
7. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat earth balance for 30 seconds or until melted and combine desired amount of hot sauce (I used about 2 1/2 cups of Frank's and just a squirt of Sriracha) and maple syrup and mix with fork.
8. Using metal tongs, remove tofu from heat when breading has reached desired crispiness (about 5 minutes) and allow to soak on coffee filters or paper towels.
8. Once all tofu is cooked, toss the chunks into your buffalo sauce!



I was REALLY pleased with the taste the maple syrup gave everything. It made the cornbread taste "buttery," and gave the tofu chunks a rich after-taste and cut down on the spice.

collard greens!

oh, greens. you are so perfect. collard greens are are a great source of of vitamin a & c, fiber, protein, calcium, and potassium. and all these are bumped up when they are cooked vs. raw. the prep is super easy and they are only a few ingredients, but they do have to cook for a bit. it's so worth it though. toss the pot on the stove, and make your main course while these cook.

ashley and i made these for our first thanksgiving together in brooklyn. our dear friend matt came over, and we ate for hours. the greens were definitely the longest lasting leftover, and tasted just as good as that wonderful day we made them. enjoy!

Collard Greens

• 1 bunch raw collard greens
• 1/2 onion chopped
• garlic chopped
• broth and/or water
• lemon
• your choice of hot sauce

1. first you'll need to cut the stems off the of the greens. you can do this by slicing down either side of the thick stem making a V.
2. after the leaves are stemless give them a rough chop. i usually take the leaves stack them on top one another then fold over and slice.
3. i like garlic a LOT. i used about 9 cloves, if you don't have such a liking or are a vampire you may want to cut back.
4. toss your greens, onion, and garlic into a large pot. it will look like a lot of greens, but these are going to cook down by at least half. squeeze in the juice of a lemon.
5. fill the pot about half way with either water or broth. i used part leftover broth and water. water is more than fine in this situation, because the hot sauce, garlic, and onions are such strong flavors.
6. now is the time for the hot sauce. i want everything to make my mouth feel like i just licked the sun so, with that being said i put a lot of hot sauce in mine. this is something you can work out to your taste. to be honest i probably put close to 1/2-3/4 cups hot sauce, if not more in mine.
7. let this cook on a medium to high heat for at least an hour, but you can leave it on the flame for longer. the leaves should be a very dark green, and limp.

i know this is traditionally a side, but i will sit down & eat an entire bowl of this as a meal. like i said earlier these taste just as good, if not better, when reheated. eat these on new year's day for good luck in the coming year, and every other day for the pure tastiness!!! yum!

pizza! pizza! pizza!

jerri: "i thought we could get some pizza and talk."

drake: "about what?"

jerri: "i dunno...pizza."

the above is from the strangers with candy episode "virgin jerri". you should watch that episode while eating this pizza. well, you should watch every episode and the movie. amy sedaris is a genius, and i want her career. she is an awesome actor, and has a cook/craft book!!! sign me up.

ok, i've rambled long enough. pizza. it's delicious, cheap, and easy. all our requirements. perfect.

Pizza Dough

• 1 package yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. mix yeast, sugar, and water in bowl. let stand for about 5 minutes or so.
2. mix in flour, oil, and salt.
3. mix until the dough forms a ball.
4. let stand for 10 minutes.
5. toss some flour or cornmeal on the dough ball and knead for a bit.
6. transfer to a lightly greased cookie sheet. spread out. make sure it is as even as possible. if part of the crust is real thin, that mother is gonna burn while others are still baking, you feel me?
7. sauce. top. bake for about 15-20 minutes in the oven at 450 degrees.
8. eat up.

Real Easy Sauce

• tomatoes
• garlic
• olive oil
• salt pepper

1. chop tomatoes and garlic.
2. transfer to a blender and add a splash of olive oil, and dash of salt & pepper.
3. pulse a few times. i like to just use the pulse button maybe just 5 or 6 times. it leaves the sauce thicker then just setting the blender to high and letting it go to town.

Even Easier Garlic Butter

• butter
• garlic

1. chop garlic.
2. add to butter.
3. heat up until butter is melted.

making pizza is really easy. i have made multiple pizza with the children i sit, and they love it. it's a fun simple project to do with the little ones, and i think it makes them feel really good to eat something they made!

i topped this pizza half with pineapple, and onions, and the other half with red pepper, mushrooms, broccoli, onion, and artichoke hearts. i also used vegan rella soy cheese, but i make these all the time with no cheese substitute at all, and they are delicious.

this is a great recipe to experiment with. instead of white flour try whole wheat flour. it makes a denser crust, and a great flavor. trying new toppings, and sauce combos are fun too. i love using bbq sauce instead of tomato, and top with pineapple, onion, and chicken style seitan. yum. and as you see in the first photo you can make garlic knots, and breadsticks with it as well. for a crispier crust brush some olive oil on the crust before popping it in the oven.

this dough doesn't cost lots of dough to make (good one, right dad?), and is super easy. enjoy!!!

tempura with the best soy sauce ever...for breakfast.

after a week filled with ballet lessons, crafts, parks, bubbles, slides, swings, and sandboxes i was exhausted (i know all those things rock, but pair them with children 1-4 years old, while still a blast, takes a bit of effort) all i wanted to was sleep in today. no alarm just wake up whenever. that illusion was shattered by the car alarm going off outside my window at 8:00am. after an hour of car alarms, and me telling pugsly, my cat, how i was going to toss the car into the east river i decided to count my losses, get up, and get to work. well, i first i called my rad parents to chat for a bit, but was denied. they were getting ready to do some yardwork, but had time to squeeze an encouraging "you haven't had a blog post in a while." on to the kitchen. what supplies did i have for my saturday morning breakfast? tempura. awesome. breakfast of champions.

Tempura

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 cup water
• veggies of your choice
• oil for frying

1. mix flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl.
2. slowly add oil, and water. i add the water little by little between mixes, and usually have a little leftover.
3. pop batter in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
4. while that is hanging in the fridge chop your veggies. i always have sweet potato and broccoli. i also like cucumber, peppers, & mushrooms. i say go to town. you like something try tossing it into the batter. i mean doesn't frying help everything taste better?
5. speaking of frying start heating up some oil in a pan on the stove. you are going to want this to be deep enough to so that the slices are covered. if not they might stick the bottom of the pan. but with larger chunks, like the broccoli, i never get them completely covered, because that's a lot of oil! i also have a legit "frying pan" that i will store in my stove with the oil in, and but it out when i need to fry things. you have to toss nastiness after a few fries, but frying is frying is frying.
6. get your batter and toss your veggies in. get a good coat on them.
7. place pieces into the oil. the oil should be hot, and the batter on the veggies should start to sizzle when dropped in.
8. once you see the edges getting crispy give 'em a flip-a-roo. i would say try to flip as little as possible, but i love the little crispy pieces of the batter that will come off. i always scoop them out and munch on them. my roommate dani will testify on the goodness of those crunchy bits.
9. have a plate ready with paper towels or coffee filters on it to soak up that extra oil. we hardly ever have paper towels, so i am often using the filters (and i don't even drink coffee. thanks roomies!).
10. dip in this soy sauce:

Best Soy Sauce Ever

• soy sauce
• water
• scallions
• lime

1. mix equal parts soy sauce and water.
2. squeeze lime juice in the mix.
3. add chopped scallions.
4. dip. yum.

you can play around with the amount of lime, and scallions you like. i also add serrano peppers sometimes to give a kick. anytime i have soy sauce i do this. i LOVE it.

at dinner one evening with our awesome friend matt, ashely and i had banana tempura. it rocked our socks off. i would definitely try that. i might also serve it as a dessert. plate it with the tempura bananas on the bottom with a scoop of vanilla soy ice cream, and bit of chocolate syrup drizzled on top. yeah... i'm going to try that, and get back to you!

all in all i guess being awoken by a car alarm, and having tempura for breakfast wasn't that bad. have a good saturday!

apple burritos.

i had some of my most favorite people over for dinner last night, and it was awesome. dreams were dreamed of photographing all the food, and blasting out an epic post...but that did not happen. i was too busy having the time of my life laughing, and chatting with friends. one thing i did manage to snap a few photos of was the dessert! now, i did have to do a reenactment with leftovers & the last few drops of soy whip for the finished photo, but it worked. i made about 10 of these bad boys last night for the party so i tried to bring it to a more manageable amount (the pictures are from the big batch so, remember that!). alright, let's get down to business.

Apple Burrito

• 2 granny smith apples
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 3/4 cups chopped pecans (pecans are super easy to chop with your knife)
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• cinnamon
• brown sugar
• tortillas

1. after peeling and coring the apples cut them in to thin slices.
2. in a skillet mix lime juice, orange juice, and apples.
3. when the apples start to get soft add cinnamon and brown sugar to taste.
4. mix water and cornstarch then add to pan while constantly stirring. do NOT add the cornstarch straight to the mix. it will just clump up. we need the cornstarch to thicken up the filling. it should be about the consistency of apple pie. if you need to add more cornstarch to get it to your desired consistancey just remember to mix with water first!
5. transfer to a bowl, and stir in pecans. i'm nuts for nuts so i might add a little more next time. the crunch they give is a nice additional texture as well.
6. let the mix kick it on the counter for a bit to cool down.
7. spoon the filling onto tortilla, & roll it up.
8. you can bake them at 350 for about 15-20 minutes on a cookie sheet lined with very lightly greased aluminum foil, or a lightly greased glass dish.
9. let cool on rack or plate for a few minutes then cut diagonally.
10. plate and eat up!

serve this with soy whip or vanilla soy/coconut milk ice cream. as well as adding more nuts next time i think i will brush some melted butter on them and sprinkle with some brown sugar. also, i read that ground cloves usually go in this dish, but i only had whole cloves so, that didn't happen, but i'd like it to next time. the filling could be made the day before to save time. when i was prepping one for the finished product shot, & it was chilled the burrito was way easier to cut as well. i guess what i am saying is i'm pretty sure these could be made the day before a dinner party, and warmed up before serving. now i am off to munch on leftover enchiladas, and remember the awesome time i had last night with some pretty amazing people. enjoy your day!