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!

almond cilantro soup with cucumber lime slices!

since yesterday was cinco de mayo, and i'm making this for a dinner party tomorrow i thought this would be a good start!

i saw a recipe like this on PBS (PBS has some great cooking shows. they are fun to watch, get the recipes, & then modify with cruelty free ingredients). the host was at a culinary school in a small mexican town that i am completely drawing a blank on the name! ugh, anyway it looked & sounded delicious so, i had to have my hand at the soup. the hardest part of this recipe is getting all the cilantro off the stems, and cleaning the blender. let's do this!

Cilantro Almond Soup

• 4 cups of soy or almond milk
• 3 tablespoons of soy butter
• 4 leeks
• 1 large onion
• 3-5 garlic cloves
• 2 bushels of cilantro
• handful and half of almonds
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper

1. cut the green tops of the leek. cut remaining leek into 2-3 inch pieces. halve this pieces lengthwise. cut onion into large chunks, these babies can be BIG. peel garlic, but leave whole
2. combine leek, onion, garlic, butter,salt, pepper, and 3 cups of soy/almond milk in large skillet. let simmer until leeks and onions are limp. limp is good here. what we're making here is a sort of bechamel. i usually let this simmer until the very end.
3. while that is simmering, in a blender combine almonds, cilantro (removed from stems), splash of olive oil and rest of soy/almond milk. blend this for a good amount of time. all the cilantro should be completely blended, no leaves left. when this is blended it should be about the consitancy of natural peanut butter.
4. take the cilantro almond blend and transfer to cooking pot. place a strainer over the pot, and strain the bechamel mixing the liquid with the blend (this is why the veggies can be left in such big chunks). the leeks, onions, and garlic that were strained from the bechamel is garbage. if throwing all those veggies bums you out, compost dat shit! sometimes i like to take a few of the onions, & toss them in the soup.
5. simmer until they are blended together.
6. eat!

i made this soup with my good friends, cristin & roberta, & we put it over rice. almost the way a curry would be served. it was super yummy.

Cumber Lime Slices

• cucumber
• lime
• kosher salt
• crushed red peppers

so easy.

1. peel and slice cumcumber.
2. squeeze lime over slices.
3. sprinkle salt over.
4. rub crushed red peppers in hands, and sprinkle over slices.
5. toss dat shit.
6. eat dat shit.

i dated a guy from Guadalajara for a bit, and he showed me this snack. i love it. i eat them all summer. it's the perfect summer snack, and the flavor is so fresh!

is this thing on?

so, friends have been telling me this is how i should get my much loved recipes out to the great wide yonder. i did it. if you know me, you know technology is not my best friend so, blogging is a whole new ballgame to me. but cooking...oh, cooking. we are VERY good friends (i love cooking so much i'm gonna take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant). angry, cook. bummed, cook. hungry, cook. drunk, cook.

which brings me to the title of the blog! when my best friend, ashley, and i were living together in bed-stuy we got into our fair share of boozing, & such, but we also managed to make a lot of really yummy treats. we were broke, three sheets to the wind, & kinda lazy, but determined to eat the most delicious food possible!!! we did, and how.

i'm vegan, and all my recipes will be as well, but believe you me i have fed my fair share of non-vegans, and they enjoy the food just as much as the next veggie lover. these recipes will make believers out of haters! crystal guaranteed.

i hate measuring so recipes are more like "two handfuls of flour." i'm working on that though to make it more user friendly.

but all in all, these recipes are cheap and easy. some may be slightly more "less cheap" shall we say, but it will even out in the "easy" factor and vice versa. i promise i won't lead all my broke inebriated comrades out in the foodless rain.

this post has no actual recipe as i am still getting my bearings, but tomorrow recipe numero uno!!

here we go...