Cranberry-Orange Muffins

This is a tale of two muffins—or of how one type of muffin became two.

It's the same old weekend story. My daughter E. had her friend G. over for the night, and when morning came, they wanted nothing more than to get in the kitchen and help me cook breakfast. Cooking is their thing lately. Last weekend they came up with the idea to bake cookies and sell them on the street to raise money for UNICEF. (You can see one of the cookies, which were vegan but not fat-free, here and find the recipe here). The girls sold all the cookies and had a great time in the kitchen, so on Sunday morning they were eager to help me cook again.

Eager...until I told them what I was cooking. "Ugh," they groaned, and made finger-down-the-throat gestures. "Not cranberries! In muffins?" No amount of persuasion would convince them that cranberry muffins would be delicious. So we came up with a compromise: We would make the batter, and right before adding the cranberries in, I would scoop out some of the batter and let them add chunks of banana to it to make four banana-walnut muffins just for them.

Apparently, the banana muffins tasted great, though I can't say for sure since I didn't even get a bite of them. The cranberry muffins were wonderful—sweet with a hint of tart, tender and moist. And best of all, E. grabbed one for breakfast this morning and managed to say between bites, "You were right, Mom. Cranberry muffins are good."

I do like being right!

Cranberry-Orange Muffins

2/3 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
1/2 cup hot water
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon egg replacer powder (Ener-G brand or homemade)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup soy or rice milk
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Put the cranberries in a bowl and pour the hot water and agave nectar over them. Stir and set aside for at least 15 minutes to allow the cranberries to plump up.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Spray the muffin pan with non-stick spray or use a silicone pan or muffin liners.

In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: flours, flax seeds, sugar, egg replacer, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, stir together orange juice, soymilk, apple sauce, vanilla, and orange zest. Strain the liquid from the cranberries into the liquid ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add liquid. Stir just to until all flour is moistened;don't over-stir. Stir in cranberries and nuts.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 12 to 16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean.

Remove muffin pan to a wire rack. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes before carefully removing muffins from cups. Makes about 14-16 regular-sized muffins.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Cambodian Vegetarian Stew

I don't remember exactly what it was that got me searching for Cambodian recipes--some restaurant menu I saw on the internet for a dish that looked good. I no longer remember anything about that recipe, but while I was searching for information that might help me recreate it, I stumbled upon this recipe and made a note of it because I knew that I was about to have to cut open the Blue Hubbard squash that has been sitting on my front porch since I bought it. Winter squash keep a long time, but they won't last forever, and I knew that time was running out for my little porch decoration.

So I got out the big knife a few nights ago and butchered the fatted squash. "Butchered" is the appropriate word because my big knife, a santoku chef's knife, is not the best choice for cutting open a hard winter squash; it doesn't have a pointy tip, so getting it into the squash is tricky. But I finally managed to cut the squash into two very jagged, unequal pieces. I took one piece and steamed it to use in pureed dishes, like pie or wontons or soup, and used part of the other half to make the following dish.

I wish I could say that this stew was a huge hit, but in fact it was just sort of blah. D. and I thought it was okay, but a little too sweet (although I cut the sugar down from the original, it would probably be better to leave it out altogether). E. didn't like it at all, so we took pity on her after she tried several bites and made her something else to eat.

Therefore, I present this to you as a recipe to be tinkered with. Perhaps you'll find the right combination of seasonings to perk it up.



Cambodian Vegetarian Stew

2 tsp. chopped galanga root or ginger (I used frozen galanga)
1 Kaffir lime leaf
1 tsp. dried lemon grass (or use 1 tbsp. chopped fresh)
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp. paprika (I used Spanish smoked paprika)
1 cup coconut milk (or use soymilk plus coconut extract)
2 cups water
1 eggplant, cut into cubes
2 cups fresh hubbard squash or pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
1/2 lb. fresh spinach, chopped
1 tbsp. vegetarian mushroom or stir-fry sauce
1 tsp. sugar, optional
1 tsp. salt, optional

Put the first five ingredients along with the coconut milk and water into the blender, and puree well. Put the eggplant into a large pot, pour the coconut milk mixture over it, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Add the squash/pumpkin, cover and cook until the pumpkin is tender (about 15 minutes).

Add the spinach and remaining ingredients and cook just until the spinach is bright green and wilted. Serve over brown rice. Makes about 3 servings.

Adapted from AsiaRecipe

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Sushi Salad

I enjoy making sushi--and my family enjoys eating it. But sometimes I want the taste of sushi without the time and effort it takes to roll it. One way I get around the task of making sushi rolls is to have "Roll Your Own" nights: I'll prepare the rice and fillings and cut the sheets of nori into quarters, and we'll each make our own little cones of sushi right at the table. Kids love making their own sushi, so I really recommend this activity to parents whose kids aren't sure about sushi yet; it will probably turn them into sushi lovers.

When I'm really running short of time, or when I'm preparing other dishes such as miso soup, carrot stick bundles, or portabella rolls, I often skip the rolling altogether and make Sushi Salad. I combine seasoned sushi rice with whatever vegetables I have on-hand. If I'm really lucky, I'll have a bunch of asparagus and an avocado, but this week those items were unavailable so I had to make do with what was in my refrigerator: carrots, red bell pepper, edamame, cucumber, and some of the mushrooms left over from making portabella rolls. Though it was lacking asparagus and avocado, this version of sushi salad came out so well that E. was a little disappointed that it wasn't in her Totoro bento box on Monday because her father had already grabbed the leftovers for his lunch.



Sushi Rice Salad

3 cups cooked short-grain brown rice
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 cup boiled edamame, shelled
10 baby carrots, sliced thick
3/4 cup cucumber cubes
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chopped portabella or shiitake mushrooms (prepared as for Portabella Rolls)
1 tbsp. slivered almonds
1 tsp. black sesame seeds
slivers of nori for garnish
OPTIONAL:
wasabi mayonnaise (vegan mayo mixed with prepared wasabi to taste)

Mix all ingredients except nori together and top with pieces of nori. Serve at room temperature with a dab of wasabi mayonnaise, if desired.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Portabella Sushi Rolls

[I apologize for not posting the sushi recipe yesterday as promised; I tried all day, but Blogger just was not cooperating. Anyone else having this problem?]

Those of you who are eager to get out your sushi mats might want to take a look at some of my older sushi recipes. In this recipe and the next one (coming soon), I'm making sushi that doesn't need rolling.

These portabella rolls are made by pressing the sticky rice into cylinders or rectangles, similar to onigiri or nigiri. There are rice molds that you can buy to help you do this, and they'll probably make neater rolls than mine. But I don't have any yet (they're on my wish list), so I just formed the rolls by shaping the rice in my hands.

This recipe is a re-creation of a shiitake roll my husband and I had in a restaurant years ago. I didn't have any fresh shiitake mushrooms, and I have limited memory of the original rolls, but these simple rolls turned out delicious. They were so good, in fact, that my daughter, who usually eats mushrooms only if they're hidden by other ingredients, ate her share and tried to take mine!



Portabella Rolls

1 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 large portabella mushroom, sliced 1/4-inch thick
brown sushi rice (1 cup cooked rice mixed with 1 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar)
wasabi mayonnaise (1 tbsp. vegan mayo mixed with wasabi paste to taste)

Heat the broth, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic. Add the sliced mushrooms and simmer for 5 minutes or until mushroom slices are tender and pliable. Drain the mushrooms and save the broth for another purpose. (I used it to cook carrot sticks for my daughter's lunch.) Choose the largest slices of portabella to make the rolls and use the remaining mushrooms for making soup or sushi salad (recipe to come).

Form the sushi rice into 10 rectangles, about 2 inches long by 1 inch wide. Place a dab of wasabi mayonnaise on one side of a rice rectangle and center a mushroom over it. Wrap the mushroom around the rice, pressing it into the rice lightly. Set aside and repeat with remaining rice and mushrooms.

Serve with additional wasabi mayo and soy sauce for dipping.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Totoro Bento Box

My daughter E. received an exciting package in the mail this weekend: a My Neighbor Totoro bento box all the way from Japan. She was so excited that she insisted that I show it to you here.

My Neighbor Totoro is her favorite movie, and I have to admit that I love it, too. So, when I started seeing Totoro bento boxes on internet sites like Bento TV, I was determined to find one. That turned out to be harder than I expected and I wound up ordering it from Japan.

Well, you would have thought that E. had won the lottery--a Totoro lunchbox all the way from Japan! She immediately called all her friends to tell them about it (only one of whom knew what Totoro was). She wanted me to fill it with sushi that very minute, but I told her she'd have to wait until Monday. So last night I prepared sushi for dinner (more about that in another post) and made sure I had plenty of leftover sushi rice to make her a bento lunch.



The bento box came with a very handy rice cover that you can use to press the rice into rounded shapes that are easier to pick up with chopsticks. I used medium-grain brown rice, which I cooked with extra water to make it stickier and then mixed with seasoned rice vinegar to taste. I sprinkled on a few black sesame seeds after pressing it with the rice cover.

I also included some edamame that were tossed with just a few drops of dark sesame oil, which adds flavor but also helps keep the beans from drying out. In the smaller tier of the box, I put a few baby carrots that were cooked in seasoned vegetable broth and some slices of organic golden delicious apples that I tossed with orange juice to keep them from turning brown.

E. didn't see what I put into the lunchbox this morning, so I'm eager to hear how she liked it. I do know that just the lunchbox made her so happy that she kept saying, "You're the best mom ever!"

Totoro bento box= $18.00
Postage from Japan= $ 5.20
Buying your child's love= PRICELESS!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Chinese Barbecued Tofu and Vegetables

It was one of those days when I needed a clone--you know, someone to do the cooking while I did everything else that had to be done. Since science has yet to reach the point of providing me free kitchen help, I reached into my cabinet and pulled out the next best thing: The Crockpot.

I rarely plan far enough in advance to use the crockpot, but for those times when I know I'll be busy doing other things right before dinnertime, the crockpot is a must. The trouble yesterday was that my family had had their fill of the usual crockpot fare--soups and stews--and were ready for something else. Besides, the crazy Mississippi weather was playing one of its frequent tricks on us by going from chilly soup weather to nearly 90, so it just wasn't the day for cozy comfort food. "Wouldn't it be great," I thought, "if you could make Chinese food in the crockpot." I just had to give it a try.

Actually, a crockpot is perfect for tofu. Slow cooking in sauce infuses the tofu with flavor and, since the sauce is thick and the tofu is dried slightly by pan-frying first, its texture is firm and not mushy. The vegetables are added at the end of the cooking so that they do not disintegrate. I used a large, oval crockpot for this, but I think it would probably work better in a smaller one, so don't be afraid to try it in one of the traditional-sized slow cookers. For some other cooking options, see the end of the recipe.



Chinese Barbecued Tofu and Vegetables
(click for printer-friendly version)

1 package (about 1 lb.) extra-firm, regular (not silken) tofu

Sauce:
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger root, minced
8 ounces no salt added tomato sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons molasses
1/4 teaspoon five spice powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
salt to taste (optional)
2 tablespoons water

Vegetables:
2-3 stalks broccoli (stalks only; reserve florets for another use)
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 large red or green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
1 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts

Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch thick slices. Place them on a few paper towels and cover them with 2 or 3 more. Press lightly to remove some of the moisture from the tofu. Cut the slices into triangles or other shapes.

Heat an oiled, non-stick skillet until hot, and place the tofu slices in it. Brown well on both sides. When they are done, place them in a crockpot that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Set the crockpot to high heat and cover.

Using the same skillet, sauté the onions, garlic, and ginger until the onion softens, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and heat, stirring, until bubbly. Pour the sauce over the tofu and stir well to combine. Replace the cover and cook on high for 3 hours.

Prepare the broccoli stalks by trimming off the tough ends and peeling off the outer skin. Slice into 1/4-inch thick rounds. After the tofu has cooked for 3 hours, add the broccoli and other vegetables. Stir well to combine and cover tightly. Cook for about 1 more hour. Vegetables should be tender but not over-cooked. Serve over brown rice. Makes 3-4 servings.

Cooking options:

• If you need to cook the tofu for a longer time, set the cooker on low and add 2 or 3 more tablespoons of water to the sauce. Cook for about 5-6 hours before adding the vegetables. Turn the heat up to high once the veggies are added. Note: This is not a good option for larger crockpots because the volume of food is too low.
• To cook this in the oven, preheat to 375 F and put the tofu and sauce into a non-metal baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cook for 30 minutes before adding the vegetables. Cover and cook for about 15 more minutes, until vegetables are just tender.
• Try using frozen and defrosted tofu and skip the pan-frying.
  

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free crockpot

Stormy Black Bean Soup

Whew! I can't believe I'm actually online, able to update this blog. It rained all day yesterday and most of last night, the first real rain we've had in months. I was ecstatic to see it...right up until the time the weather knocked out my internet connection. It went out around 8:00 last night, and it's still out. I'm only able to connect now thanks to someone else's wireless internet and my husband's laptop. The cable guy is supposed to come tomorrow morning, so somehow I'll have to get along until then.

Anyway, with the rainy weather, my thoughts turned of course to soup, and this slightly spicy black bean soup really hit the spot. I normally add a little corn right at the end of cooking, but since I was serving this with corn bread, I skipped the corn. And I just had to make corn bread in order to use the cute cactus-shaped, cast iron cornbread pan I got at a yard sale last week (brand new for $3!)



Stormy Black Bean Soup
(click for printer-friendly version)

Vary the amount of spices in this to suit your taste. I used the minimum amounts given, which put this right at the outer edge of my daughter's spice tolerance.

1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cans (or 3 cups) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tsp. cumin
2 bay leaves
1-2 tsp. chile powder
generous grating of black pepper
1-2 tsp. minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
4-5 cups vegetable broth or water
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (optional)
lime wedges

In a large pot, saute the onions, garlic, and bell pepper until the onions soften, about 3 minutes. Add the beans, seasonings, and tomatoes, and stir to combine. Add 3 cups vegetable broth or water. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, for about 1 hour, adding additional water or vegetable broth as needed to keep a soupy consistency. Just before serving, add the corn, if you like, and heat through. Serve in bowls with lime wedges. Makes 4-6 servings.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Yellow Split-Pea Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Kale

I may have the only child in the world who begs for split pea soup as an after-school snack, but I'm not complaining. Yesterday I needed to cook dinner early because we were going out to dinner. To you non-vegetarians, that statement probably makes no sense at all, but the vegetarians and vegans out there will know what I mean. Whenever a vegetarian attends a catered event like an awards dinner, she can never be sure of getting a vegetarian meal, so it's wise to eat a little something beforehand. I figured split pea soup would make a nice pre-meal insurance policy for D. and me and a great dinner for E., who was staying home.

So when E. got home yesterday, she walked into a house filled with the scent of curry powder and ginger, and she wanted her bowl of soup NOW. Well, you can tell that she's an only child because I immediately caved and let her have her soup at 3:30 in the afternoon. I couldn't resist having my soup then too, blowing my plan to eat right before the dinner. (Fortunately, there was indeed a vegetarian plate because by 8 pm I was hungry again.)

This is a soup that smells enticing and tastes divine. It's not a spicy curry, thanks to the type of curry powder I used. Penzeys' Maharajah Style Curry Powder is a little on the expensive side, due to the hefty amount of saffron it contains, but it imparts a rich, almost sweet taste to any food you use it in. If you can't get the Maharajah curry powder, any good-quality mild curry will do, but for a real treat, try the Maharajah. It works particularly well with the sweet potatoes in this delicious soup.



Yellow Split-Pea Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Kale
(click for printer-friendly version)

You may cook this soup either in a pressure cooker or in a regular pot. You will need to have a pressure cooker that has at least a 7-quart capacity; for smaller cookers, cut the recipe in half or in thirds. Also, if you're using a jiggle-top pressure cooker, add one teaspoon of oil to prevent foaming.

2 medium onions, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons whole cumin
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon canola oil (necessary for tempering the spices)
2 teaspoons ginger paste or 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
8 cups water
3 cups dried yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed
1-2 tablespoons mild curry powder (to taste)
Salt to taste (optional)
1 bunch kale

Spray a large pressure cooker or pot with cooking spray and sauté the onions for about 5 minutes. When they are becoming translucent, push them to one side and pour the cumin and mustard seeds directly onto the bottom of the pot. Pour the canola oil over the seeds and stir them lightly. As soon as the seeds begin to pop, mix them in with the onions. Add the ginger and garlic, and cook for one more minute. Add the sweet potatoes, water, split peas and curry powder. Stir well.

If using a pressure cooker, seal the cooker and bring it up to high pressure. Cook at high pressure for 8 minutes; then remove from the heat and allow the pressure to come down naturally.

If you're cooking it in a regular pot, cover the pot and simmer until the split peas are tender and beginning to break down, about an hour. Stir regularly to make sure that the split peas don't stick to the bottom of the pan, and add water if necessary.

While the soup is cooking, wash the kale and remove and discard the tough central rib. Chop the leaves coarsely. When the split peas are cooked, add the kale to the pot, season to taste with salt, and add additional water if the soup is too thick. Cover the pot. For kale that retains some crunch, simply leave the pot covered for 5 or 10 minutes without heating, allowing the kale to cook in the heat of the soup. For kale that is more tender, you may return the pot to low heat for 10 minutes.

Makes about 8 servings. Per serving (without salt): 309 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (4% calories from fat); 20g Protein; 57g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 28mg Sodium; 21g Fiber.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Tomatoes and Flowers

I'm afraid that the title does not refer to a recipe! I've been in a "cooking slump" lately and haven't created anything new (other than credit card debt for repeated runs for take-out). Since I haven't had any food to photograph, I've had a little time to take photos of other things around my house, and I thought I'd share a few with you.

Our cactus bloomed during the night, and I had to take this photo at 6:00 in the morning because it closed up during the day.

Here's the "full-frontal" view. Unfortunately, the flower lasted only a couple of days before it fell off. Ouch.

Here I'm trying to be arty and capture some tomatoes in the rain.

More tomatoes.

I like to use my macro lens to get up close and personal with the hibiscus.

I'll be back soon, when I have some actual food to post!

Tags: vegan photography vegetarian food

Pumpkin-Apple Butter

Though my husband and daughter were hoping I'd make another Impossible Pumpkin Pie, I had other plans for the squash that was leftover after I'd cooked the cushaw. (In case you missed the last post, a cushaw is a crookneck squash that is used like pumpkin.) I wanted to make pumpkin butter so that we could spread the taste of pumpkin pie on toast any time we wanted.

To make this a lighter version of pumpkin butter, I replaced some of the sugar with pureed raisins and added apple sauce to make it less starchy. I added spices to my taste, so feel free to taste and add seasonings as you go along. The cinnamon I use is a little stronger than most, so you may find that you need to add more.

Pumpkin-Apple Butter was a big hit with my daughter and her friend. They came home from school and saw it cooking on the stove--actually, they smelled it when they came in the door--and asked for some right away. Two pieces of toast later, they were still hungry for more. I don't think the batch I made is going to last as long as I thought it would!



Pumpkin-Apple Butter
(click for printer-friendly version)

1/2 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup apple juice or cider
2 cups pureed pumpkin or other winter squash
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup natural apple sauce
1/4 cup agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener such as maple syrup)
1/4 cup sugar (or other sweetener to taste)
pinch salt (optional)

Put the raisins in a medium-sized saucepan, and pour the apple juice over them. Heat on low until raisins plump up, adding water if they get dry. When they are plump, puree the raisins in the juice. (You may need to add a little water to do this; I used a hand blender and blended the pumpkin along with the raisins.)

Return the pureed raisins to the pan and add all remaining ingredients. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about an hour. Makes about 3 cups.

Someone asked in the comments for the Pumpkin Pie post about cooking the cushaw/pumpkin/squash. It's really very easy. First, wash the squash well, scrubbing with a brush. Then if it has a long neck like a cushaw, cut that off and trim off the stem end. Cut the seed section of the squash in half, and scrape out the seeds and stringy parts. I've found that a serrated grapefruit spoon is perfect for doing this.

Once it's cleaned out, cut the squash into sections that are 1-2 inches wide. Try to keep them the same size so they will cook at the same speed. Do the same with the neck section of the cushaw. Cook the pieces by steaming them in one of three ways: 1) pressure cook for 2-3 minutes at high pressure and then quick-release; 2) put them in a steamer basket set in a large saucepan on the stove for 20-30 minutes; 3) steam them in the microwave by putting them in a covered, microwaveable dish with a little water and cooking until tender (check it every 5 minutes until done). I used the pressure cooker, and in just 2 minutes at high pressure, the flesh was falling off the skin.

Wait until it's cool, remove the skin, and mash or puree. Now you're ready to proceed with any recipe that calls for cooked pumpkin or squash.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

And the Answer is...

Most of you who guessed yesterday's mystery food were right: Pumpkin or Squash Pie is a good enough answer on this test. But, if I were the kind of teacher who demands exact answers (and I used to be), you would have had to have written "Impossible Fat-Free Gluten-Free Vegan Cushaw Pie" in order to get full credit.

What the heck is that? Well, do you remember these cute squashes?



I did a little research into cushaw squash and found that much of the pumpkin that we buy in cans is actually cushaw and its close relatives; it's less stringy than pumpkin and makes better pies. So I feel like it's okay to call this a pumpkin pie even though it originated from a crazy little crookneck squash called a cushaw.

So that's the "cushaw" part of the name. What about the "impossible" part?

If you grew up with a mother who relied on Bisquick baking mix, as I did, you may remember their Impossible pies. What you did was mix Bisquick in with the pie ingredients, and as the pie baked, a sort of crust formed on the bottom and sides. I'm not too embarrassed to say that the first cheesecake I ever made was the Bisquick Impossible Cheesecake--and it was really good. Flash forward to the present when I'm looking to get rid of the most fattening part of the pie--the crust--and the idea of a vegan Impossible pumpkin pie hit me.

So I went straight to my favorite cookbook--Google--and started looking for info on Impossible pies. I no longer use Bisquick, so I wanted to see if people had made this work with flour, and I was happy to find that they had. In fact, Something in Season and Bob's Red Mill both had gluten-free versions of the pie, so I knew it could be done without Bisquick.

What remained to be seen was whether or not it could be done without oil or dairy products. I did a whole lot of substituting, but I'm happy to report that the pie was a success: Though the inside is more like a custard than a regular pumpkin pie, a slight crust formed along the bottom and sides of the pan, so you can actually pick up a slice of this pie and eat it like a piece of pizza. But it's dangerously addictive, as shown by the fact that my husband ate about 6 pieces of it yesterday!



Impossible Vegan Pumpkin Pie
(click for printer-friendly version)

1 1/2 cups soymilk
1 tbsp. Ener-G egg replacer*
1/4 cup water*
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups pureed or mashed cooked pumpkin (or cushaw or winter squash)
1/2 cup rice flour (or flour of your choice--not whole wheat)
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. ginger powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9-inch deep dish pie pan with cooking spray. (I used a Pyrex pan, and it came out with no sticking.) A deep dish is recommended because this pie will rise a lot during cooking but will fall back down as it cools.

Put the first five ingredients in the blender, and blend well. Add the pumpkin, and puree. Add the remaining ingredients and blend on high for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape the sides a couple of times to make sure everything is thoroughly blended. Pour into a pie pan and bake for about 60 minutes. The top and edges should be brown, but the edges should not be over-done. (Since this is a custardy pie, using the standard toothpick or knife test does not work; it will remain somewhat moist in the center, but it shouldn't be uncooked.)

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the counter. For best results, refrigerate until chilled before eating.

*If you don't have Ener-G egg replacer, you can omit it and the 1/4 cup water and use any other replacement for two eggs. Of course, if you're not vegan, you could use two eggs, but why not give the vegan version a chance?

Makes 8 servings, each containing 153 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (7% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 34g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 264mg Sodium; 3g Fiber.

When you serve this pie, don't feel obligated to tell your family or guests that it's crust-free, fat-free, gluten-free, or vegan, but if they do wonder what's left after so much is left out, tell them "Flavor, pure, delicious flavor!"

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free gluten-free

Name That Food

Just a photo to let you know that I'm still alive and cooking. Here's a close-up of what I made today. Mmmm, it was so good that we ate the whole thing in one afternoon. Then D. looked at me and said, "So, are you going to make another one now?"

Name that food.

Fresh Peas and Corn Cakes

Pink-eye Purple-Hull Peas, Steamed Broccoli, and Corn Cakes

It's been a crazy, hectic week here. Our 9-year-old E. is in an opera! She and several of the students from her school are part of the children's chorus in a local opera production, which will (finally) be performed this weekend. Between driving her to and from rehearsals and staying up late to make sure she gets her homework done, D. and I are almost as tired as she is. So our meals have become simpler as our lives have become more chaotic.

One of my favorite fast-but-healthy meals is fresh peas, a steamed vegetable, and a starch. If you can get fresh peas of any kind, the taste is just miles better than the canned version. Here in Mississippi, farmers' markets and farm stands often sell already shelled peas in several varieties--lady cream peas, pinkeye purple hull peas, and baby lima beans are among my favorites. Whatever the variety, my technique for cooking them is pretty much the same.

First, I chop an onion and sauté it in a non-stick saucepan until it starts to caramelize. Then I add a little garlic, and cook for another minute. Then I add the peas (about a pound for the 3 of us) and enough water to cover them by about an inch. I season them well with whatever herbs I've decided to use. This time around, I cooked the adorable pinkeye purple-hull peas with thyme, rosemary, and fresh French tarragon, but for lima beans my favorite combination is thyme and marjoram. Sage, parsley, pepper, basil, oregano--all of these herbs have made their way into my peas at one time or another, and they're all good.

Once the peas and seasonings are in the pot, I cover it with the lid slightly ajar and let the peas cook until tender. It depends a lot on the peas whether this takes 20 minutes or an hour, so I plan for about an hour. I watch the pot and add water as necessary. When they're done, I add salt to taste. I sometimes thicken the cooking liquid by adding a cornstarch mixture or by simply mashing some of the peas to release their starches; this makes a wonderful gravy, suitable for "sopping up" with a piece of cornbread. (I skipped this step this time, choosing instead to serve the "pot liquor" in its natural state.)

While the peas are cooking, I prepare my side dishes. Steamed broccoli is a favorite around here, so it's my fall-back vegetable. As far as starches go, we're usually potato people. Mashed or baked potatoes both go well with peas, though sometimes I will opt for hash browns. On this occasion, however, I took a little extra time and threw together some corn cakes.

Corn cakes are great when you're in a hurry; they cook much more quickly than a pan of corn bread, though if you're feeding a crowd, a pan of corn bread will save more time. I make corn cakes a little differently each time, but here's the version I made most recently, which should be gluten-free if you use brands of corn meal and flour that are certified gluten-free.

Easy Corn Cakes

1 cup yellow corn meal
1/2 cup hot water
3/4 cup chickpea flour (besan) or rice flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer
1 cup soymilk
2 tsp. lemon juice

Mix the corn meal with the hot water until crumbly. Add the remaining dry ingredients, and stir to combine. Mix the soymilk with the lemon juice and pour it into the dry ingredients. Mix well, and set aside while you heat your skillet.

Spray a non-stick or cast iron skillet with a little canola oil. Get it hot, and then cook the corn cakes like pancakes, allowing about 1/4 cup batter per corn cake. Cook until well-browned on each side. Makes about 8-10.

It's going to be a long weekend, so I'll see you after the opera! :-)

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live gluten-free

Moroccan Eggplant Salad with Preserved Lemon

I went in search of a North African side dish to serve with the Tunisian Bean and Chickpea Stew, and I found this Moroccan salad that interested me because it contains preserved lemons. A couple of months ago, I bought a jar of preserved lemons since I knew that I had seen recipes calling for them, but once I actually had the lemons, I couldn't find the recipes. So, when I saw this one, I knew I had to make it.

If you're unfamiliar with preserved lemons, they're widely used in North African cooking to give a complex, lemony taste to stews and salads. They're made by stuffing lemons with salt and allowing them to pickle in their own juices for about a month. To use them, you chop the rind into tiny pieces and sometimes blend the pulp into sauces. Since they're packed in salt, they're high in sodium, so there's no need to add additional salt to dishes they're in, but you can wash them first to remove some of the salt.

I found this jar in a Middle Eastern grocery store, but they're relatively easy to make, and recipes are all over the internet. In fact, when the Meyer lemons in my parents' orchard are ripe in a couple of months, I'm going to try my hand at making my own. I'll let you know if homemade is better than store-bought.

Anyway, here's the salad recipe, plus a bonus.



Moroccan Eggplant Salad with Preserved Lemon

(Adapted from The Mercury News)

2 large eggplants, unpeeled (about 2 pounds)
olive oil spray
Juice of 1 lemon
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
Dash of hot pepper flakes
2 tablespoons diced preserved lemon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut the eggplants into 1/2-inch cubes. Spray a large, long baking dish with olive oil, and add the eggplant. Spray the top of the eggplant lightly. Bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until eggplant is tender--about 30 minutes.

Place the eggplant in a serving bowl and toss it with the lemon juice, garlic, cumin, paprika, pepper flakes and preserved lemon. Refrigerate until well-chilled--the longer the better. Just before serving, sprinkle with the parsley.

The taste of this salad is different, but it grows on you.

Preserved lemons may be an acquired taste, but I found another recipe where they work perfectly: Preserved Lemon Martinis!



Preserved Lemon Martini

(from the Global Gourmet)

2 ounces (60 ml) gin
1 teaspoon dry white vermouth
1 slice preserved lemon

Shake the gin and vermouth in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Strain into a martini glass and serve with a slice of preserved lemon. The salty, lemony taste of preserved lemon makes a nice change from the traditional olive martini.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Tunisian Bean and Chickpea Stew

Last week, three new cookbooks arrived by mail, so for days I've been poring over recipes and considering new things to cook. The first to arrive were the two I ordered from Nava Atlas--her new cookbook, Vegetarian Soups for all Seasons, and the bonus copy of Vegetariana. They are both beautifully written and illustrated (Vegetariana is just plain fun to look through), and if you haven't already taken advantage of the special offer, you should. (I'm not sure it's still going on, so you might need to ask about it on her blog).

The third book I ordered was Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and Africa by Habeeb Salloum. I had just begun looking through it when this recipe for Bean and Chickpea Stew caught my eye. It contains pumpkin, and as luck (and my daughter's incomplete attempt at carving) would have it, I had a small pumpkin in my refrigerator just waiting for me to decide what to do with it.

I made the recipe almost as written, with only three minor changes in ingredients and one major change in technique. I removed the 6 tablespoons (yikes!) of olive oil, increased the harissa from 2 to 3 teaspoons (and it was still a very mild dish), and omitted the 2 tablespoons of cilantro (sorry--though apparently, lots of people like it, it tastes like soap to me). The big change was that I used a pressure cooker to presoak the beans and to speed up the cooking time. In the directions below, I'll tell how I did it in the pressure cooker and give the original, stove-top time as well.



Tunisian Bean and Chickpea Stew
(click for printer-friendly version)

1 cup dried navy beans (I used cannellini), soaked overnight and drained*
1 cup chickpeas (garbanzos), soaked overnight and drained*
6 cups water
3 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 medium tomatoes, chopped, or one 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 cups raw pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2-4 tsp. harissa (buy it at Middle Eastern stores or make it yourself)
1 tsp. paprika
salt and pepper to taste
parsley, for garnish (optional)

*I never plan ahead, so of course I didn't have presoaked beans. I did the fast soak in the pressure cooker instead: cover the beans and chickpeas by about 2 inches of water in your p.c., bring it up to high pressure, and cook for 3 minutes at high pressure. Then allow the pressure to come down naturally. Drain and proceed with the recipe.

Place the drained beans and chickpeas into the pressure cooker with the water. Bring to high pressure and cook for 12 minutes. Allow pressure to come down naturally. (On the stove-top, cook until the beans are soft, adding more water as necessary. Allow about 2 hours for this.)

While the beans are cooking, spray a non-stick or well-seasoned frying pan, and sauté onions until they are beginning to brown. Stir in the garlic and tomatoes, and cook for another 10 minutes ( 5 minutes for canned tomatoes). Add the tomato mixture, pumpkin, harissa, and seasonings to the beans, and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat until pumpkin is very tender, about 30 minutes. Add more water if necessary. Serve sprinkled with parsley. Makes 8-10 servings.

The book says to serve this with rice, but I used whole wheat couscous. Honestly, it was better without any grain. It has a light, delicate, almost sweet taste that gets lost if diluted by too much grain. I liked it best as a soup, with a little extra harissa stirred in.


If it's Tuesday, it's Antioxidant-Rich Foods day over at Sweetnicks. You can tell pumpkin is full of antioxidants because of its bright orange color, so I think this recipe will fit right in. Check out the other ARF entries there later tonight.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Roasted Salsa Verde

I finally conceded defeat in the battle against the birds for the tomatoes in my garden. I had been waiting for the last few green tomatoes to ripen before I pulled out the tomato plants and planted my winter vegetables, but when I went out to the garden to check on them this weekend, the birds had already gotten the one tomato that had started to ripen. Okay, birds, you win. But that's the last tomato you get from me this year!

I decided to pick the green tomatoes before the birds could get to them, pull out the tomato plants, and plant lettuce, red cabbage and collards. If I couldn't have red, ripe tomatoes, I'd have tangy green ones. I figured they'd make a great salsa with some of the jalapeños that have been growing like crazy this summer.

Since I have so many jalapeños, I used four of them in this salsa. But let me tell you, it was hot! And that's coming from a card-carrying, Tabasco-swilling, heat addict. I grew an especially spicy variety of jalapeños this year, so this salsa was strong. Please bear in mind your own comfort level if you make this, and spice accordingly. It should be spicy, but not so spicy that you can't taste the carmelized flavor of the roasted vegetables.



Roasted Salsa Verde

5 small tomatillos, paper removed (or substitute small green tomatoes)
4 medium green tomatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds), halved lengthwise
3 cloves elephant garlic, peeled
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1-3 jalapeño peppers (depending on heat level)
1 small onion, peeled and halved
salt to taste
1 1/2 tsp. fresh lime juice

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Spray a baking sheet with canola oil. Place the vegetables on the baking sheet, cut sides of the tomatoes and onions up. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove the garlic and any vegetables that are brown, and turn the oven on broil. Broil until the vegetables become browned on top but do not burn. Watch closely and remove individual vegetables before they burn.

When all are browned, put them into a food processor and pulse to chop. Add the salt and lime juice and process until well blended. Serve with tortilla chips or on top of enchiladas or burritos.

This recipe makes more salsa than most people can use, so unless you're planning a party, you might want to halve the recipe. Enjoy!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live