A Simple Lunch with Home Made Spicy Pickles

It's true.  Sometimes I enjoy a good Tofurkey sandwich.  This particular sandwich is full of store bought, easy, convenience foods: Vegenaise, SmartBacon, Sourdough grilled with Earth Balance, and pre-washed bagged baby spinach.  Why? Because I don't always have time to make all of my food from scratch.  I mean geez, a girl has to go to work, write cookbooks, play with the dogs, do a little laundry every now and again, and still find time to have a life with the husband!  But even when I throw together a convenient meal, I do like to have at least one aspect of it be home made.  In this case it was the pickles!

These pickles are a recipe from my upcoming book, Vegan Food Gifts: Spread the Vegan Love DIY-Style with 100 Inspired Recipes for Homemade Edible Gifts, Baked Goods, Preserves, and More


Spicy Garlic Dill Pickles 


This recipe is so simple, you'll have your pickles all jarred up in about the time it takes to boil the water and slice the cucumbers.  I wrote this recipe so that you could make 1 jar or 10 jars!


For the brine:

For each cup of water, use 1 tablespoon of fine sea salt

For each (16 ounce) jar of pickles you will need the following:
1 sterilized jar, with lid and ring
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
1 to 2 cucumbers, cut in desired shapes to fit in your jar
4 garlic cloves, cut in half
1 bay leaf, broken into pieces
1 tablespoon fresh dill

1 teaspoon dried red chile flakes (adjust according to heat preference...this measure makes for a very spicy pickle!)
Brine to fill the jar

Bring water and salt to boil.  Boil until all salt is dissolved.  Reduce to low, and simmer until ready to pour.
In a very dry pan, lightly toast the peppercorns and mustard seeds.  Set aside.
Add cucumbers to jar.
Add garlic, bay leaf, dill, chile flakes, toasted peppercorns, and mustard seeds to the jar.
Pour hot brine to fill the jars, allowing 1/2-inch of space at the top.
Place lids and rings on the jars, and give it a good shake to distribute all of the ingredients.
Place upright and allow to cool.  The lids should self seal as the brine cools creating a vacuum in the jars. Place in a cool dark place for 1 week, before gifting/opening.

MAKE IT A GIFT
Attach a handwritten label or tie on a gift tag with a piece of twine.  Make sure it's known that these are special hand made pickles, that you made with love!  Also make a note to keep refrigerated.


REMEMBER:  These pickles should be refrigerated after the one week of fermenting, even if you don't open them right away.

What? Christmas is Next Weekend?

Whoa.  I better get my rear in gear.  And for me that means many, many treats for neighbors, friends, coworkers, and family.  With not much time left, I am going to have to call upon some ghosts of Christmas past to help me along in the idea department.  I mean there is no reason to reinvent the sleigh wheel right?


Let me begin by admitting, I am not a real big fan of baking.  I know, I know, chastise me if you must, but I really enjoy making other types of treats way more than cookies, pies, and (shutter) cupcakes.  So candies have always been my bag at Christmas time.  Sure, I will break down and whip up a few batches of sugar cookies cut out into stars and trees, decorated with green and pink (still can't get a perfect vegan red icing!) sprinkles.  I may even bake up some of my Espresso Chocolate Chip Cakes that I usually reserve for Valentine's Day.


Back to candies.  The majority of my bags, baskets, boxes and platters will be filled with Kittee's Peanut Butter Fudge, Peppermint Candy Cane Bark, Microwave Peanut Brittle, and Mashed Potato Candy.


This year I am going to add a new member to the family.  For a select, very special few, I will make this very special treat.  I have posted pictures of this delicious candy in the past, but not until now have I posted the recipe.  It comes straight from the pages of The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions and appears on page 162.   It is reminiscent of that old fashioned candy known as Honeycomb Candy.  The texture is crumbly and sticky, and when dipped in bittersweet chocolate, it is just delicious.

Maple Sponge Candy (page 162 in The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions)

Maple Sponge Candy


This candy is a molasses-y twist on old fashioned honeycomb candy. Crispy and sweet (and possibly coated in chocolate.) Not for the novice, it requires patience and an accurate candy thermometer. Don’t let the simple ingredients fool you. This candy is pure science!

2 cups (384 g) Sucanat
1/2 cup (120 ml) pure maple syrup
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
1 tablespoon baking soda
Melted chocolate for dipping (optional)

Prepare a 9×13-inch (23 x 33-cm) baking dish by lining it with foil and then sprating the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large soup pot, place the Sucanat, maple syrup, and water.
Heat on low, constantly stirring until Sucanat is completely dissolved.
Raise heat and bring to a boil, watch temperature carefully. Bring the temperature to 250˚ F (121˚ C) and maintain that temperature constantly for ten minutes.
Remove from heat and quickly, but thoroughly, stir in the baking soda.
The mixture will begin to bubble and froth.
Immediately pour the mixture into the prepared foil lined dish.
Allow to cool completely before removing from pan and breaking into pieces.
Dip in melted chocolate if using. Allow to cool completely before storing.
Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Yield: 1 batch, about 30 pieces

Friends, food, books, products, all vegan, and I can find it all in one place?

Now that is a website I can use!  Vegan Corner just launched this week, and I have already been poking around over there several times a day.  And you know what?  Every time I do, it gets better.  And I can only imagine it will continue to get better and better each and every day.  Why?  Because some pretty cool vegans are runnin' that show.

I had the pleasure of meeting Adriana (one of the founders of Vegan Corner) a few years back when she showed up at one of my cooking demos at Whole Foods in Long Beach.  We chatted for a bit about this and that, and she gave me her Facebook name so we could be "friends."  We did, and not much else exciting happened between the two of us.

Flash forward to the glorious summer of 2011.  The summer of vegan love.  The inaugural Vida Vegan Conference in Portland, Oregon.  Amongst the crowd, I saw a pretty gal that looked familiar..."Adriana? Is that you?"  Silly that we finally met up again in another state when we only live an hours drive from each other.  Nonetheless, there we were, two SoCal gals in wonderful PDX, with a yearning to go goth dancing.  So goth dancing we did (along with June, Terry Hope Romero and Erika) but I digress...

Anyhow, Adriana was there to promote Vegan Corner, and what an awesome job she did.  I have been waiting eagerly to see it go live ever since.  And now it's here!  It's, like, the best Christmas present eva!  So, if you want to give yourself a present, click on over to Vegan Corner and check it out, join the forums, read and leave reviews of your favorite vegan stuff, and help to make it a even more bad ass site than it already is!

I'm about to get crafty, folks!

When I was younger, say late teens and early twenties, my sister in law and I started a small business called the Kat and the Kanary. We would decoupage just about anything we could get our hands on, and then set up shop at craft fairs around town.  The two of us have always been crafty and artistic, and she is one of the people who has most inspired me to be the DIY chica that I am today.


I am working on a new project.  Something totally different than anything I've ever done before, and it is very exciting. I'm writing another cookbook. Well, I guess that's not totally different than anything I've ever done before, but the book I am writing IS totally different than anything I've ever done before. 


I am writing a combination craft and cookbook. Namely vegan food gifts. It's tentative working title is Vegan Food Gifts: Spread the Vegan Love DIY-Style with 100 Inspired Recipes for Homemade Edible Gifts, Baked Goods, Preserves, and More. I finally get to put two of my favorite things together...crafts and delicious vegan goodies!

Vegan Peanut Butter Balls in a home made truffle box.

Of course, the wonderful and talented, Celine will be adorning the pages with her gorgeous photographs. And, I am really close to nailing down a really awesome vegan artist to do the illustrations, who I know you all will be as stoked about as I am.


I just wanted to tell y'all how much I appreciate your overwhemingly generous support of my and Celine's books over the years.  Without you guys, I'd still be self publishing my own books that I wrote on Powerpoint.  Ha!  So, yeah, thanks guys.  


Keep spreading the vegan love.  

Thoughtful Thursdays: Blissful Bites by Christy Morgan

Blissful Bites by Christy Morgan is a book that kicked me in the pants.  It is a sweet reminder that Daiya Cheese and Tofutti Cream Cheese, while they are vegan, should not be main ingredients in 2 out of my 3 meals per day! 

Reminding me that good food grows out of the ground, and tastes good (delicious, actually) exactly how mother nature intended it.


Each chapter in this beautifully photographed book is broken up into seasons, which makes it fantastically easy to find recipes that use foods that are naturally in season.  Which, in turn, makes it easier to cook with locally grown ingredients.

I recommend this book to any vegan, or health conscious cook.  The recipes are clean, easy to follow and full of flavor, even though onions and garlic are missing from the whole shebang!

Worknight Wednesdays: A Nap Before Bed

This is days late and dollars short.  We didn't make a thing for dinner on Wednesday.  I didn't even eat dinner.  I came home from work, plopped down on the couch.  Covered up in a fuzzy blanket, invited my girls to join un keeping me cozy, and fell asleep.  Woke up, had a bowl of cereal while watching CSI, then went to bed.  Pretty pathetic.  You don't have to tell me.

But if I were to make a nice big dinner last night, I probably would have made a batch of enchiladas.  I think I have to finally admit that Mexican food is my absolute favorite (followed by Italian, I think...) and a big batch of cheesy enchiladas always hits the spot.  But on a busy weeknight, I sometimes don't feel like spending the time necessary to properly roll up a batch, so I cheat and make an enchilada casserole.  Same ingredients, just layered like  lasagna, instead of rolled up.

Enchilada Casserole (from 500 Vegan Recipes)

Easy to toss together and throw in the oven, a hot, hearty meal is less than an hour away, and most of that time, is bake time.

Nonstick cooking spray

2 cups (473ml) enchilada sauce, divided, store bought or homemade
2 recipes Seitan Chorizo Crumbles (from 500 Vegan Recipes), or 1 package store bought Soy Chorizo, divided
1 recipe Nutty Cheeze (Mexican Variation, from 500 Vegan Recipes) or Mexican flavored vegan cheese, like Daiya Pepperjack
6 to 8 flour or corn tortillas
2 cups (320 g) diced onion
2 ounces (56g) sliced or chopped black olives
8 to 10 slices of jarred nacho style jalapeno slices (optional)
Vegan Sour Cream and green onions for garnish

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C, or gas mark 6).

Spray a glass 8×8-inch (20 x 20-cm) square baking dish with nonstick spray.
Begin to layer all ingredients starting with a single layer of tortillas on the bottom. (You can cut your tortillas into strips about 2 to 3″ wide so that you can put straight edges against the edges of the baking dish.) Then about 1/4 cup of sauce, more tortillas, then chorizo crumbles, and onions, tortillas, more sauce, some of the cheese, more tortillas, more sauce, more crumbles, more cheese…you get the picture…yeah?
When you get to the top, finish with a whole tortilla, a bit more sauce, a crumbling of cheese, olives and jalapenos.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cheese begins to brown. Remove from the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Garnish with sour cream and diced green onions if desired.


Yield: 6 servings

Tuesday for Two: Pasta with Cream Sauce

Pasta with Cream Sauce topped with Coconut Bacon

Who can say no to a big plate of pasta smothered in a rich creamy sauce?  Of course I threw in a few veggies just to be on the safe side...

I was caught up in the moment, and didn't write down the exact measures, but this is a huge plate of linguine noodles with steamed broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and a cream sauce made with:
Earth Balance
Almond Milk
Nutritional Yeast
Garlic Powder
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
a pinch of Nutmeg
and thickened with all purpose flour.
I sprinkled some of yesterday's Coconut Bacon on top and dinner was served.

On a different note...Today when I got off work, it took me less than 30 minutes to get home.  If any of you know what I've been dealing with over the last 6 months with regards to my daily commute, you'd believe me when I told you I almost cried when I pulled in my driveway! 

Life is good.

Monday Mash-Up: Coconut and Liquid Smoke

Tonight's mash-up was inspired by the DDD (Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.)  I am sure it was a repeat, but the other night it was on in the background and I overheard "Vegan BLTs" so I quickly turned to listen.  I didn't catch the name of the restaraunt, but I did catch that this place used coconut bacon!  Well apparently I have been living on another planet, because this was all over the vegan blogosphere going back at least to 2009!  Anyhoooo...had I done a simple Google search, before I started this adventure, well, then I would have seen that other talented vegans had already done the R&D and I could have used one of their recipes.  Instead I started from scratch. 

Coconut Bacon (on top of a green salad)

Green Salad topped with Coconut Bacon

I don't have exact measurements, but my marinade was very simple...liquid smoke, olive oil, salt, and pepper.  I thought about maple syrup, but opted against it because of the natural sweetness of the coconut.  However, after this first experiment, I would say the added sweetness would have been nice.  I would probably also opt to use soy sauce or tamari instead of salt next time.  I think the flavor would be great, as well as the color would be more bacon like.  

After I soaked my coconut flakes in the marinade for a bit, I preheated my oven to 400 F.  I lined a baking sheet with parchment and laid out my coconut in a single layer.  I baked it for 5 minutes, removed it from the oven, tossed it about, and put it back in the oven for 5 moore minutes, watching carefully to prevent burning.  

I removed it from the oven and let it cool and crisp up and then tasted it.  Pretty good!  I found the ones that were toasted a little darker were definitely the color of bacon, and crispier.  But, I prefer the ones that are still a little bit soft.  They seem to have a better flavor and texture.  

All in all, these are a fun new addition to my condiment crew and I know I will continue to play around with different marinades and applications.

Ketchup

Sheesh.  Last week kicked my butt.  I am here, now, to ketchup on last week's posts all in one. 

Two for Tuesday: Long Beach Vegan Eatery
I skipped out on Dan Tuesday to check out the new Long Beach Vegan Eatery.  I am so excited to have this option in Long Beach, which up until recently has had no strictly vegan restaraunts. (Now there are 3!) And after reading about their mission to have vegan "stick to your ribs" comfort food...well, if you know anything about me, well then you know that this is my kind of menu.  I was there on the 2nd day of their soft opening.  (I don't think they've had their official "Grand Opening" yet).  I got the California Chick'n Sandwich and Sweet Potato Tots.  Yes.  Sweet.  Potato. Tots.  

California Chick'n Sandwich and Sweet Potato Tots from Long Beach Vegan Eatery

After having a chance to chat with Jeff (owner/operator) a few days later, he was excited to report that a lot of the early kinks have all been worked out, and each day just keeps getting busier and busier.  How awesome is that?  I can't wait to go back and have to wait in a really long line.  I am always eager to wait in line at a vegan establishment.  It really warms my heart.

Worknight Wednesday: Red "Meat" Lasagna
This one goes all the way back to 500 Vegan Recipes.  But it is a classic.  And definitely makes enough to have leftovers for the rest of the week.

Red "Meat" Lasagna

For the Lasagna:

12 uncooked lasagna noodles

1 recipe Meaty Marinara (BELOW)
1 recipe Tofu Ricotta (BELOW)
2 tablespoons (15 g) nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons (14 g) ground cashews or ground walnuts

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C, or gas mark 5).

A quick note before assembling the lasagna: be sure to keep some sauce and ricotta to apply at the very top of the lasagna. You will have 4 layers of pasta in all, so divide each ingredient accordingly.
In a square 8-inch (20-cm) or 9-inch (23-cm) baking dish, start with a thin layer of sauce, add three noodles in a single layer, add another layer of meat sauce, then a layer of tofu ricotta another layer of noodles.       
Repeat until you get to four layers of noodles.
Top with a final light layer of sauce and ricotta and then sprinkle with nutritional yeast and cashews or walnuts.
Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is beginning to brown and your noodles are nice and tender.
Let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving, so that the portions don't fall apart when cut.


For the Meaty Marinara:
28 ounces (784 g) canned diced tomatoes with the juice, no salt added
8 ounces (227 g) tomato sauce
6 ounces (170 g) tomato paste
1 tablespoon (2 g) dried basil, or 3 tablespoons (9 g) fresh, chopped
1 tablespoon (13 g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon (22 g) molasses
2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
6 cloves (or one head) garlic, minced
1 cup (160 g) finely diced white or yellow onion
1 1/4 cups (120 g) TVP granules (textured vegetable protein)

Place tomatoes, sauce, tomato paste, basil, sugar, and molasses in a large stock pot.  Bring to a simmer on medium-low heat.

Meanwhile, in a skillet place the olive oil, garlic and onions and sauté until garlic is fragrant and onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and onions to the pot. Cover and continue to simmer for 20 more minutes. Uncover and simmer for ten more minutes. Stir in TVP, cover and let sit for ten minutes.

For the Tofu Ricotta:
14 ounces (397 g) extra firm tofu, drained & pressed
1/4 cup (35 g) raw cashews, finely ground
1/4 cup (30 g) nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons (6 g) finely chopped fresh basil, or 1 tablespoon (2 g) dried
Salt and pepper to taste

After you have drained and pressed your tofu very well, crumble it into a bowl until it resembles ricotta.

Add in all the other ingredients and mix together with your hands.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Should keep at least a week.

Thoughtful Thursdays: Green is the New Red by Will Potter

Green is the New Red by Will Potter

I bought this book at Food Fight Grocery when I was in Portland, Oregon for Vida Vegan Con in August.  It was a very eye opening read.  I've been fired up ever since.  If you are vegan, vegetarian, or even just someone who cares about our planet, YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK.  Rather than tell you what I liked about this book, I am going to tell you what I didn't like.  The truth.  I don't like it.  I will be honest with y'all.  I have been a naive person.  I trusted too easily and had too much faith in things I didn't fully understand.  No more.  Will Potter's book has taught me that our laws are not there to protect us.  They are there to support the money, and those that have it.  It is timely that I read this book just before the "Occupy" movement began, because, man, I am really down with the 99%, of which I, my family, and virtually everyone I know is a part of.  I am not going to get to philosophical, political, or opinionated here, because afterall, this is a blog about great vegan food, but please read this book, check out the website, and GET FIRED UP!

Freedom Fridays:  Pizza and Beer
Going out to dinner with my dad can often present a problem.  One would think that if 2 of your daughter's are vegan you might be a little bit more open minded when it comes to trying new things.  Yeah, well, no.  Not my dad.  So we often end up in uninspried chain restaraunts or a pizza joint.  Pizza is pretty easy for me.  No cheese.  done.  So that's what we did on Friday.  Spent a couple of hours with my dad, his wife, Laura, and Dan.  Noshing on cheeseless pizza, and sipping on beer.

Wonderful Weekends: A Very Lazy Saturday Spent on the Couch watching Lifetime Movies, and Avoiding any of my Real Responsibilities
Well, that pretty much sums up my weekend.  Today I head out to work.  It is my last day in Venice.  So it will be a bittersweet day.  I will miss my Venice peeps, but I will not miss that drive!

Monday Mash Up: Pumpkin and Potatoes

Pumpkin Potato Taquitos (Sorry for the shoddy cell phone pic!)

Pumpkin Potato Taquitos

10 smallish red potatoes, skin on and quartered

7 ounces (half a can) canned pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon chipotle powder (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried red chile flakes (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon dried chives (fresh is certainly okay too!)
1/2 a package any flavor of shredded Daiya Cheese (optional)
1/2 a tub of Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
24 (6 inch) yellow corn tortillas
Canola Oil for frying
24 toothpicks

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil.
Add potatoes, and boil until fork tender.
Drain excess water and return potatoes to pot.
Add remaining ingredients, (except tortillas, oil and toothpicks!) and smash together until well mixed.  Leave some potato lumps for texture.

Add about 1" of oil to a large flat frying pan (I use my cast iron skillet), or heat the oil in your deep fat fryer to 350 degrees F.
Add about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the mixture to the center of the tortilla and roll up.*
Secure with a toothpick.

Fry for about 30 seconds on each side, turning carefully with a pair of tongs.

Repeat with remaining tortillas.
Transfer to a plate lined with paper or a kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.

Remove toothpicks before serving.
Serve with nondairy sour cream, mole, guacamole, or salsa for dipping. 

Yield: 24 pieces

*Some tortillas (especially all natural ones) tend to crack when rolling.  You can battle this by carefully and quickly dipping the tortilla with tongs in hot oil prior to filling and rolling.  Lay the oiled tortilla flat on a work surface, and allow to cool a few seconds before handling.