Woman's Seed Savory Granola

Please excuse my super geeky title that alludes to Paradise Lost. I've had my nose buried in Milton's poem for the past three months and now it seems only "fit" that I name a recipe after my favorite bad-girl gardener.

If you've not read Paradise Lost, I apologize for my momentary lapse into social awkardness -- and for outing myself as a Milton-loving-vegan-English-graduate student. (I know, how original.)

Woman's Seed Savory Granola fuels my immodest appetite while I write, read, and write some more. A delightful cinnamon-chili powder spice mix makes this granola the greatest snack since sin.

What you'll need:
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, unsalted
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, unsalted
1/4 cup unhulled sesame seeds
4 tbsp brown rice syrup
1 or 2 tbsp(s) cinnamon
1 tbsp chili powder
a smidgen of coconut oil or safflower oil

What to do:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 in. baking dish. Pour in the oatmeal. Then add 2 tbsp brown rice syrup. Use two flatware tablespoons to toss the oatmeal into the syrup, until everything coats nice and glossy. Pour in the sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds. Add 1 more tbsp of syrup and toss some more until well mixed. Add spices with the remaining syrup and mix again.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes depending on your oven.

BTW: Eat as an in-between meal snack, or while reading Paradise Lost, Areopagitica, Tetrachordon, The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, and De Doctrina Christiana.

Feels Like Spring Roll

Last week, four inches of snow covered our front lawn. Today, we wore shorts and t-shirts on our Saturday afternoon dog-walk. Louisiana weather loves to surprise.

I broke a light sweat midway through our walk, and my sun-fueled food associations went like this: "It feels like spring. I MUST make spring rolls!"

Fortunately, I'm prepared for such out-of-the-blue food cravings, and I keep a stocked fridge/freezer/pantry. This is how anal retentive I am: Once a month I grate 1 head of red cabbage, 3 carrots, 10 mushrooms, and 1/2 red onion in the blender, just in case I may want potstickers, spring rolls, or dumplings at some point in the next 30 days.

I mix everything with 1 tbsp. sesame oil and 1 tbsp of Bragg's Liquid Aminos. Then I divide the mixture into four pint-sized freezer bags. I add other ingredients depending on factors as random as, you guessed it, the weather.

The dirty little secret of spring rolls is that they look difficult, but require minimal to no cooking depending on the ingredients. Figuring out a "roll" technique (especially for weirdo lefties like me) presents the greatest challenge.

Fortunately, I will overcome all challenges for food. (The photo doesn't lie).

What you need:

1 cabbage/carrot/mushroom/onion mix, thawed

1/2 bag frozen peas, thawed

1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

1 package of rice paper (I bought mine at an Asian grocery)

soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Amino's

1 jar of red or green curry paste

1 bowl hot water

2 plates

What to do:

Saute the cabbage mixture in a wok, until the liquid evaporates. Turn the burner off, then add peas and cilantro.

Take one piece of rice paper and stick it in the bowl of hot water. The paper will soften and become pliable. Once this happens, remove the rice paper to a plate. Add a few spoonfuls of veggies about two inches from the bottom edge of the rice paper; spoon the veggies so that they form a thin vertical line. Roll up like a burrito, making sure to fold and tuck the edges as you go. Move the rolls to your second plate.

Mix a tablespoon or two of the curry paste with a few tablespoons of soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos for a dipping sauce.

BTW: I served my spring rolls with Dal with Cilantro and Coconut Cream.

Some Serious Breadage

This morning I read this not-so-shocking New York Times article about sugar supplanting tobacco in American life. Not so shocking because, if you're a hardcore label reader like me, you'd know that sugar saturates the Western diet.

Sugar, in fact, has slapped me back into the bread-baking saddle, which I abandoned in September when school started. But during recent trips to various grocery stores around town, I discovered sugar lurking in the most unexpected of places, namely bread and crackers.

I LOVE bread and crackers. In all vegan honesty, I can say: I'd devour a NYC street pretzel over a cone of Milanese gelato in a heartbeat. Dairy has never been my vice. On the other hand, I regularly dream about bread. Sugar, however, gives me nightmares since my mom died from type-1 diabetes. My Dad, bless his heart, manages type-2.

Bread baking became a passion of mine in 2006, when I struggled to perfect a friend's challah recipe. Veganism has upped the stakes, since I now eschew eggs, milk, and other animal-based unmentionables. My commitment to a no-cane sugar, no-refined carbs diet has made bread-baking quite the challenge in our home. But, since it's impossible to buy vegan sugar-free bread where we live in the culinary badlands of northern Louisiana, I must bake the bread I want to eat.

And if I care about anything, I care about bread. Each week I will experiment with new recipes and post what I consider "successes." Btw: "successes" represent bread that I would serve to the most discerning of eaters, my sister. (This analogy doesn't quite work, since she's gluten-free, but you get the point).

This recipe comes from Mark Bittman's October 8, 2008 New York Times article: "No-Knead Bread: Not Making Itself Yet, but a Lot Quicker." I adapted the "Fast No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread" recipe by doubling the rise time; allowing bread a longer rise time enhances the rich flavor of whole grain wheat and rye flours that cut to the heart of Some Serious Breadage.

What you need:

2 cups stone ground whole wheat flour

1/2 cup whole rye flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 tsp instant yeast

1 1/2 tsp sea salt olive oil as needed

a nice big glass bowl

damp kitchen towel

What to do:

Mix the flours, cornmeal, yeast and salt in the glass bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and add 1 1/2 cups of water. Use a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients, until the mixture forms a shaggy dough. That's it! Cover with a warm kitchen towel and place in the warmest room of your house. (For us, that's the living room.) Come back to the bowl in four hours and punch down the dough. Then oil your hands with olive oil and shape the dough into an oiled loaf pan (any size). Cover with a warm towel and go do something else for four more hours.

An hour before dinner, stick the loaf in a 350 degree oven and leave it there for 45 minutes.

Baby Bella Pasta For Two

St. Valentine's Day seems a bit treyf to Jewish Vegan girls like me, who can't get behind the uncritical celebration of a Roman Catholic feast day that honors good, old fashioned, in-the-name-of-Jesus martyrdom.

So what, you ask, about the shameless, secular carbo-choco-loading that V-Day heralds? Now that, I support.

While we won't be sitting down to a romantic dinner for two in our house, where meals always dissolve into one of us batting away an adventurous cat (or dog) who has vaulted atop our table, I can offer menu advice.

Baby Bella Pasta for Two represents one unsolicited suggestion, from our tables to yours.

What you need:

12 baby portobello mushrooms, washed and sliced

1/2 red onion, washed and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 sprigs parsley, minced

1 sprig dill minced

a few handfuls of basil leaves, minced

1 cup sliced kalamata olives

1 cup reconstituted textured vegetable protein

1 jar marinara sauce (sugar and HFCS free)

1/2 box whole wheat vegan pasta (or rice noodles)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 to 1 cup red wine

What to do:

Boil water for pasta. Saute the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and herbs in olive oil while you're waiting for the water to boil. Add wine midway through cooking and reduce. Once the wine reduces, add marinara sauce, vegetable protein, and olives. Cover and simmer until the pasta cooks to your liking.

Serve with a tossed salad, red wine, and chocolate pumpkin truffles.

Practically Paella

I ate my first paella my junior year of college, after my roommate returned from her Madrid study abroad, from which she schlepped bags of saffron and rice back to our apartment in Syracuse, N.Y.

We entered college as vegetarians -- and bonded at 18 over our shared scorn for eating anything "that had a face" -- but we eventually lost our veggie v-cards to travels abroad; it takes a monastic level of discipline for an inexperienced vegetarian to practice meat-abstinence when faced with the unpredictable and diverse food of carnivorous cultures. (The free-flowing alcohol doesn't help matters much, either).

Although it kills me to own up to my past, I should disclose that I once ate a bunny in Crete, devoured haggis on the isle of Arran, and licked my plate clean in Paris after downing the best Salade Nicoise I have ever tasted.

Traditional paella hails from Valencia and does not conform to vegan standards. VeganforEveryone loves a challenge, hence "Practically Paella."

What you need:

1 green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

1 orange bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

1 packaged button mushrooms, washed and sliced

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can diced tomatoes (low sodium and organic preferred)

1 can artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained

1 bag frozen peas, thawed

1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

a few springs parsley and dill, finely chopped

1 tbsp. curry or turmeric (a much cheaper alternative to saffron)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 cup brown or wild rice (or a combination)

What to do:

Cook rice according to package directions. Saute the peppers, onions, garlic, and mushrooms in a wok or large pan that has a lid. Add peas and spinach once the veggies cook. Then add the artichokes, tomatoes, curry/turmeric, and herbs. Cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Btw: I served "Practically Paella" with side dishes of baked beets and tangerines.

Badass Bruschetta

A friend brought us a delicious, presumably vegan loaf of ciabatta last week. I say "presumably vegan" because Italian bakers traditionally make ciabatta with flour, water, salt, and yeast. Also, after bread shopping recently, I have come to view all storebought bread with a skeptical eye.

Don't write me off as a communist yet. My widespread-bread-panic started last week when I watched my friend Victoria eat the most beautiful sandwich I have seen in years: a marriage of hummus, avocado, red peppers, cucumbers, and lettuce. I ogled her lunch without shame, and the foodie in me said, "I'll have what she's having."

The supermarket had other plans. These plans thwarted my own. No matter how hard I tried, I could not find a single piece of bread fit for vegan consumption. Not even a crumb.

I read every single label of every single package of bread. Bread that didn't have eggs had honey; bread that didn't have eggs and honey had HFCS or added cane sugar (to which I refuse to condescend).

My Badass Bruschetta promises to give rise to a new obsession with vegan bread making. Check out my dips tonight and consider them a commercial for the "bread post" coming soon.

What you need to kick Badass Bruschetta Artichoke-Style:
1 can artichoke hearts, drained, and thoroughly rinsed
2 cloves garlic
6 basil leaves
4 sprigs parsley
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil

What to do:
Puree everything in a food processor or blender. Serve on toasted vegan bread. How easy is that?

What you need to kick Badass Bruschetta Ratatouille-Style:
1 eggplant, roasted, skinned, and chopped
1 package cherry tomatoes, roasted
1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips, and roasted
2 portabella mushrooms, sliced
1 large yellow squash, sliced
1 large zucchini, sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes, organic and low sodium preferred
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp olive oil
red wine, any kind, to taste

What to do:
Saute onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat, add the mushrooms until reduced. Repeat with each vegetable individually in this order: squash, zuchinni, tomatoes, eggplant, red pepper. Add red wine (up to an entire bottle if you're a thrill seeker) and cook until reduced. Add diced tomatoes. Simmer all day. Ratatouille does not like to rush. Serve on toasted bread.

BTW: I love to serve this recipe with a pretty salad made of equal parts romaine or red leaf lettuce, spinach, radishes, and vidalia onions cut in thinly sliced rings. For dressing I offer the usual: lemon juice whisked with equal parts olive oil.

Crunchy Granola Smoothie Revolution

For years, I nursed an addiction to supermarket granola. I had no clue that I could make granola in half the time it takes to drive to the store and buy a bag replete with petroleum-laden wrapping and a multi-paragraph ingredient list.

Hindsight can be such an ass-kicker. But vegan girls don't let youthful ignorance stand in the way of breakfast. Crunchy Granola takes five minutes to throw together and bakes for about 30. That's it. No big deal. Just a toss and a bake.

BTW: Crunchy Granola makes a wondrous weekend breakfast when accompanied by a fruit smoothie. Maybe I'm exaggerating when I say that the black-cherry-berry-banana-pineapple smoothie I pureed this morning tasted like summer in a cup, but that's how I feel.

What you need for Crunchy Granola:

One cup oatmeal, not instant

1 tsp. coconut oil or safflower oil

4 tbsp. brown rice syrup

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup raw unsalted pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes

1/8 cup raw unhulled sesame seeds

2 tbsp. cinnamon

a pinch or two of nutmeg

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350. Grab a pie dish and coat with oil. Pour the oatmeal into the pie dish. Use two small flatware spoons to mix 2 tbsp. of the brown rice syrup with the oatmeal. Toss vigorously because the syrup is stickier than molasses. Completely coat the oatmeal. Add the remaining ingredients up until coconut flakes. Then add the remaining syrup and toss until everything is coated. Next add sesame seeds and toss. Repeat with spices.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. After removing from the oven, let the granola stand for a few minutes. Then use a knife to separate the granola into bite-sized pieces. The granola will be soft; it hardens as it cools.

(I like to make Crunchy Granola at night. I let it harden in a covered stainless-steel container while we sleep.)

What you need for a Smoothie Revolution:

6 oz. frozen unsweetened blueberries

1 14.5 oz. can pineapple in juice (not syrup)

1 banana, halved

8 oz. black cherry juice concentrate (I use Knudsen's)

2 cups filtered water

a kick-ass blender (I use Kitchenaid)

Pour the cherry juice concentrate and water into a blender. Add fruit. Puree until smooth and frothy.

This recipe makes a few servings. Just refrigerate the smoothie in the blender pitcher, and blend again before serving. Summer in a cup, right?

Lovechild Roasted Eggplant Hummus

In the spirit of confession, I should say that I have never been to a football game nor seen one on TV. Yet I hear something called The Superbowl is happening on Sunday, and I cannot help but interject an opinion re: menu planning.

Last weekend, while feeling particularly adult-like, I decided to increase the protein content of my beloved baba ghanoush by blending it with my hummus.

Lovechild Roasted Eggplant Hummus represents the product of this union.

What You Need:

2 eggplants; halved, salted for an hour, rinsed, and drained

2 cans chickpeas; rinsed thoroughly and drained

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil + 1 tablespoon

2 tablespoons tahini

a few sprigs parsley

sea salt

paprika

What to do:

Drizzle the eggplant halves with olive oil and place directly on the oven rack, skin side down. Roast at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then flip them over and roast for another 30 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, then remove the skins. (Rarely do I approve of removing skin from anything, but the hummus will taste bitter if the eggplant skins are not removed). Next, quarter the eggplant.

Then whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice. Place the parsley, garlic, olive oil, and lemon in a blender. Puree for a few minutes. Then add the eggplant and puree again. Repeat this step with chickpeas and tahini.

Use a spatula to scrape the hummus into a medium-sized dish. Salt to taste and sprinkle with a dash or two (or three) of paprika.

Chill and serve with whole-grain pita bread, pita chips and/or veggies. Consider adding a bowl of olives and a fruit salad to the table.

Dal with Cilantro and Coconut Cream

My friend Lauren made Dal a few weeks ago, and the photos she posted caused me to covet her food. Then VeganDad posted an enticing Dal recipe last week. Food envy threatened my concentration. I obsessed over Dal recipes. So I decided to welcome the synchronicity.

This weekend I adapted a recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (304). I added olive oil and an onion, and I used brown lentils instead of red because no supermarket around these parts sells anything as fancy as red lentils. Also, I substituted 2 tablespoons curry powder for the minced ginger, and I added 2 teaspoons of dried cilantro in place of the chopped cilantro stems. Oddly, Madison's recipe leaves out curry, which strikes me as sacrilege.

This recipe does not take much stirring, but requires a generous pinch of patience and flexibility.

What you need:

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 bag of brown lentils

1 onion, chopped

3 gloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

several tablespoons of coconut cream (the cream rises to the top of a can of coconut milk, so you just need to scrape off the cream)

sea salt

water

What to do:

Sautee the onion, garlic, and jalapeno in olive oil over medium heat.

Add the lentils when the vegetables soften, then add enough water to cover the lentils by one or two inches.

Cover the pot and cook on low heat.

Keep checking the pot (about once every half hour).

Add more water if necessary, the goal is to get the lentils to soften without drying out and scorching the pot.

Once the lentils have softened, add the curry powder and cilantro.

Stir in the coconut creme (add enough until the Dal turns a pale yellow).

Cover and simmer until ready to serve.

You may choose to serve the Dal over rice, but that is not necessary.