VeganMofo 8: Chili and Cornbread

My roommate made chili yesterday while I was making corn chowder. It is awesome. I have no idea what he did, but he used canned beans and canned tomatoes and fresh onions and garlic.

The cornbread I made a few weeks ago, and kept wrapped in foil in the fridge since then. It's the V'con recipe and it reheated really nicely in the oven with a little water in there to keep it from drying out.

I mentioned a few days ago, it's nice to be around people who have similar values when it comes to food. I mean, after it was done John covered his with shredded cheddar and sour cream, but in it naked form it's totally vegan.

VeganMofo 7: Attractive Corn Chowder

So, the corn chowder came out really, really good. We boiled the cauliflower florets until they were mush, pureed them in the food processor, and added them back to the water to make a nice, thick stock. We chopped up the fresh corn in the food processor until it was mealy, then added that too. We also roasted on ear of corn so we got some nice carmelized whole pieces. We added a bunch of spices and then just let it cook down a while until it was a good consistency. After that, we added some sliced scallions and served it in Panera bread bowls. I think the goal of making it more attractive (and just generally more successful) than last time was achieved several times over.

VeganMofo 6: Food Survey!

This morning I had 8 grain toast from Boulevard with Smart Balance and Jay's homemade butternut squash spread. Toast with orangey brown spread isn't worth a picture, although it was delicious, so instead here's a survey! Courtesy of Food Snobbery is my Hobbery.

1. Name a song that involves food in some way.
Rock the Casbah. It uses the words oil, grille, and kosher, so it totally counts.

2. What criteria do you use when choosing a new cookbook to buy?
Recommendations from other vegans.

3. What did you eat today?
See above.

4. Name a vegan food that you know exists but you have never tried.
Homemade vegan ice cream.

5. The Food Network just called and needs you to start your new show tomorrow. What will the title of the show be?
"Maggie's Noshy!" (Thanks, Jay.)

6. Favorite hot sauce or other spicy condiment?
Frank's Red Hot.

7. How old were you when you became vegetarian/vegan?
16, but there have been lapses since then.

8. Favorite vegan cheeze?
Teese!

9. Cutest baby animal?
Baby polar bears.

10. Favorite type of jam/jelly/marmalade/preserves?
This year's homemade pear butter with garam masala.

11. Do you take any vitamins/supplements?
No.

12. What food/dish most embodies the Fall season?
Sweet potatoes.

13. What food would you have a hard time living without?
Rice.

14. Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?
Tea.

15. It's 10PM and you're starving. What do you eat?
Chips and chili cheese dip.

16. If you have an animal companion, what is his/her favorite food?
No animal companions at the moment.

17. Worst injury you've gotten in the kitchen?
Burns. Lots of them.

18. When you have a food-related question, who do you call?
My mom.

19. Summer is ending- What food will you miss most?
Berries.

20. What snacks do you keep in your purse/backpack/desk at work?
On my desk at work, I always have peanut butter, salt, and a few spices. I always try to keep a Luna bar in my bag in case of emergencies.

21. Favorite soup to make on a rainy day?
Anything warm and creamy, preferably served in a bread bowl. Hence, question 24.

22. What's your favorite combination of fresh vegetable and/or fruit juices?
I always go for the green blends with spinach and spirulina.

23. Favorite brand of root beer?
Diamond Bear's Big Rock Draft Root Beer.

24. Make up your own question!
What are you making tonight?
Corn chowder with a pureed cauliflower base. Hopefully prettier than last time.

VeganMofo 5: Butternut Squash Spring Rolls, Take 2

Last time I blogged these, I followed Isa and Terry's recipe from V'con pretty precisely. This time I sort of winged it and used whatever I had laying around. I roasted half a cubed butternut squash in the oven this morning and managed to not eat all of it before lunch time. I had some leftover tofu so I diced it and deep fried it to a nice chewy consistency. We also threw in some raw spinach, rice noodles, and tempura portobello mushrooms. I made a peanut sauce with apple cider vinegar, homemade peanut butter, tamari, sriracha, oil, sugar, and cayenne pepper.

I just realized I don't really have much else to say. It's nice to be with someone who not only can appreciate my cooking but actually contribute and make it better, and has the same kinds of values I have when it comes to food.

VeganMofo 4: Sweet Potato Pancakes

I realize I just posted about sweet potatoes yesterday (and they even got a shout out in my entry this morning), but when you're eating local produce, this season entails a lot of sweet potatoes, apples, and squash. Just get used to it.

Fortunately, sweet potatoes are awesome and versatile. Plus, this from wikipedia: "In 1992, the Center for Science in the Public Interest compared the nutritional value of sweet potatoes to other vegetables. Considering fiber content, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium, the sweet potato ranked highest in nutritional value." How about that?

I made these chunky sweet potato pancakes by using my favorite vegan pancake recipe and using a partly mushed up sweet potato as the egg substitute, as well as throwing in a little cinnamon.

Edit: I am internet famous, again.

VeganMofo 3: Mostly Raw Lunch

I've been trying to eat more raw food lately. I'm not going to get all crazy about it and start talking about live food, but I know it's generally healthier so why not try to incorporate? Here's a lunch I took to work last week. I had the apple and a few pine nuts for midmorning snack. For lunch I made a little wrap out of the spinach tortilla and the tomato, avocado, and lime. The celery was afternoon snack, along with the peanut butter that lives on my desk.

In addition to being healthy, I really like the simplicity of eating this way. I know raw food can get really fancy and complicated with all kinds of obscure ingredients and elaborate dehydrator techniques, but it can also be about finding fresh things and just eating them.

For me, the major drawback is that I think it would be nigh on impossible to eat both raw and local. Since the beginning of the summer, 90% of my produce has come from my amazing CSA. In the summer and early fall I'd be able to keep afloat on berries, peaches, tomatoes, apples, peppers, and grapes. We're coming up on the season, however, when I'd be stuck chomping on raw sweet potatoes for a good bit of the time.

Eating local food is important to me. It's more important to me than whatever health benefits might derive from eating raw. I had a great conversation last night with my roommate, John, and then later with a few other friends, about the need to apply what John called "a discerning mind" to religious and ethical choices. Every set of beliefs or principles is going to leave one with competing interests, from time to time, and it's necessary for a person to be able to practice awareness and choose the best course of action, weighing those interests.

About a month ago, my mom, who is a dean at the law school here, gave my contact information to one of the new law students. She was new in town and having trouble finding vegetarian options. My mom enthusiastically told her that her daughter is vegan and loves food and loves to cook. I was, of course, happy to help out. Once I started exchanging e-mails with this student, however, I realized she was one of those vegetarians that makes people hate vegetarians. She complained that she was from another part of the country and had never had any trouble with eating vegetarian there, but that here in Arkansas the a restaurant wouldn't even change out the oil to make her eggplant parmesan free from meat particles! I've had friends who are Jain, and while I don't know whether this student is, I understand ahimsa and the desire to keep your food free from any particle that would contaminate it with violence. As John pointed out, however, asking a restaurant to throw out perfectly good oil to accomodate one person's preference is a huge waste, and waste is a form of violence. This person seemed to be applying an ethical principle without approaching the situation holistically and discerning the best course of action.

I feel the same way about eating raw. Of course I care about my body, and there are great benefits to adopting a raw diet. For me, the benefits of eating local, sustainable food far outweigh those. For now, it's an occasional treat and a way of simplifying my lunch-packing process.

VeganMofo 2: Sweet Potato Fries

I have an obscene number of kitchen appliances. I have a food processor, a blender, a toaster, a toaster oven, a crock pot, and a microwave. I think those are all pretty standard. I also have a bread machine, a waffle iron, a deep fryer, and a rice cooker. I used to have a stand mixer but I lost custody in a messy break up and I don't like to talk about it.

At any rate, it takes a while for a new appliance to really work its way into the rotation. The deep fryer was a gift from my older brother in 2005, and it's really just now coming into its own with the debut of these sweet potato fries. I think the first time I had sweet potato fries was in Charlottesville, VA when I went to visit Jett during his MFA program. I was instantly in love, but I think they're more of a coastal south food because they're a little scarce here. Now I can make them myself.

Since sweet potatoes are kind of hard, I cut and boiled these before deep frying them. You could probably just parboil them but I got distracted so they got a full boil. The deep fryer is alarmingly simple, so after the boil I loaded them into the basket, set the thing to 375 and, after some preheating time, lowered the basket into the canola oil to the tune of a satisfying hiss. The ones in Charlottesville came with a brown sugar dipping sauce, but I went slightly less cloying and dipped these in bbq sauce. Served here with baked beans and tempeh bacon.

VeganMofo 1: Kitchen Makeover

Wow, look at that. It's October. And I haven't posted since May. I didn't even post my review of Chicago Diner, and here it is VeganMofo again and I'm feeling like a jerk. A lot has happened. I have a house and a roommate and a pretty boyfriend and life is generally of very high quality. Buying a house is a crazy process, so to kick things off I'll post some before and after pictures of my kitchen. This is where the magic happens.

As you can see, there was no magic happening in this kitchen before. The walls were some kind of putrid sunshine urine color, and the rest was stark white except for the oddly ecru dishwasher. Also, note the tragic laminate backsplash.

In order to remedy a lot of what was wrong here, I removed the doors from the three biggest cabinets, removed the backsplash, replaced the counters, painted the cabinets, painted the walls, installed new hardware, painted the hinges, and got rid of that weird shelf thing above the sink. When I put it that way, it sounds like a lot, but here it is in all its glory. Although the dishwasher is the same, the butter yellow on the cabinets makes it look a little less ridiculous, even though the stove is white and the refrigerator (not pictured) is stainless steel.

The other major problem was how claustrophobic the kitchen is. I like cooking and I like having people over, but whenever you have to disappear into a kitchen, it feels like abandoning your guests. This kitchen isn't small, but it's not big enough for a kitchen table. You can see the tragedy here, as you peek around that door frame into your living room, where the forlorn guests await your return as they stare awkwardly at one another. Not a good party.

The obvious solution here was to cut and frame out a big pass through area. I had it wired for the hanging glass lights so it wouldn't just look like a big blank maw into the dining room. It's pretty big, at four by six feet, and the ledge is wide enough to set drinks or plates on without them teetering over.

I also extended the countertop about six inches out from the edge of the counter on this side so that there wouldn't be that wasted space between the edge of the stove and the door frame. It created a little area that might be big enough for one of those rolling storage units, but I haven't had the time or funds to check that out yet.

You can also see that the counter is now flush with the stove, which was the result of removing the door and cutting park of the actual cabinet off. I need to go back and touch up with paint because of little changes like that, but it doesn't look bad enough that I'm desperate to fix it.

At any rate, this is where the vegan cooking takes place. I'm going to try to write twenty entries this month in honor of VeganMofo, and you can check out an explanation and the blogroll here.