Tzatziki Sauce

This fantastic concoction I would say rivals it's traditional yogurt based counterpart and is entirely simple to make.

In a blender or food processor, combine the following:
1 box silken tofu (the shelf stable variety - which is in itself fascinating)
1 lemon, juiced
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 small clove garlic
2 tsp dill (fresh or dried)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika

Blend until well mixed. At this point the sauce is already great, but if you want to take it up a notch, add a cucumber that has been peeled and finely chopped. I find it best to only use the meaty part of the cuke and not the watery seed part, but you can't really mess this up. Enjoy. I think it's really ideal for dipping dolmas in, which I may at some point post a recipe for - I'm still in the testing phases, but my grape vines are kind of running low on leaves at this point.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Its May now and our freezer is still overloaded with last seasons' winter squash.  Since the thought of another squash soup makes me quasi-nauseous, some new recipes have come into the mix while trying to free up our freezer for this seasons veggies!

1 tbsp ground flaxseed

3 tbsp water

1 c buckwheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp xanthum gum

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 c cooked pumpkin puree

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 c almond milk

First combine the flaxseed and water in a small bowl and microwave in 30 second increments stirring between until the mixture has the consistency of an egg.

In a large bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder, gum and spices. Mix well then add the flaxseed mixture, maple syrup, milk and pumpkin.  You can substitute any other squash for pumpkin, but some squashes (hubbard, Cinderella, or turban, for example) have a more mild flavor and seem to have a higher water content.  In this case, be sure to drain the squash meat well and add more like 3/4 cup.

Drop about 1/4 cup of pancake mix onto a preheated griddle or skillet. You'll get 6-10 pancakes out of the recipe.

Carrot Cupcakes

A no-nonsense cupcake recipe:

2 cup brown rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp orange zest
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs (or flaxseed substitute)
1/2 cup almond milk
1 cup coconut oil
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 lb carrots, finely grated

Huge bowl. 20 mins at 350F.

Simple as that. Best enjoyed with some sort of fat and sugar topping.

Not Mac and Cheese

First - this dish is really delicious.  The only place that falls apart is when you go into it expecting it to taste like a box of Annie's.  So as a disclaimer, this is not macaroni and cheese.  It's not flour macaroni and it doesn't have any dairy products - so think again before referring to this recipe as a "Vegan Mac and Cheese".  It's not.  Okay... FYI this makes about 8 servings, feel free to cut it in half.

Sauce:
1 1/4 c "raw" cashews (pre-soak these for an hour or two)
1/2 c nutritional yeast
2 c almond milk (or coconut milk)
1/4 c white miso
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp yellow mustard
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
2 cloves garlic

Pasta!.... 2 lb pasta.

So my personal gluten-free opinion is that Tinkyada PastaJoy Spirals are the absolute best widely available brown rice pasta on the market. However, better pasta do exist.  If you are Denver-ite, Pappardelle's Pasta makes a couple mean gluten-free options, as does Cappellos (which does exclusively GF) - both are available at the Denver Urban Homesteading [year round!] farmer's market on 2nd and Sante Fe.

Anyway. Start your pot of water for pasta.

Drain your soaking cashews and put in at least a 7 cup food processor. I'm usually all for less energy intensive chopping tools, but you really need a powerful food processor or blender for this recipe.  Process the cashews for a full minute or until they don't appear to be getting much smaller (but not turning to butter).  Then add the remaining ingredient and blend on your highest setting for a couple minutes.  The texture should resemble something creamy. Like so.

Your pasta should be about ready to go in.  After your pasta is cooked and drained combine the sauce and pasta in the warm pot for a little while. Serve as is or with tasty cooked vegetables mixed in (I like onions and mushrooms and kale).

JT's Enchiladas

Sauce:

1 quart of canned tomatoes (or about 2 lbs if you don't happen to can your own tomatoes)
1 red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
7-8 roasted green chiles (or less if you aren't so into hot)
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp chile powder
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne

Innards:

2 sweet potatoes, cubed into about 1/2 pieces (so they fit in a tortilla)
1 medium onion
1 jalepeno, diced (or green chile)
2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 can)
1 tsp cumin
Juice of one lime
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
1 tsp chile powder
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne

Other:
1/2 c cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)
20 corn tortillas

Note: it's common knowledge that corn tortillas kind of suck - they are hard to work with, can't function as a carrying vessel, and frankly taste like rubber. But I have great news!! This is only true of store bought aging corn tortillas. If you frequently eat corn tortillas I have to tell you purchasing a cast iron tortilla press will probably be the best 15ish dollars you've ever spent (on kitchen appliances). Masa, water, and a little bit of patience and you'll have fresh, delicious, pliable tortillas in no time. It's so easy and SO worth it. Anyway...

First start the innards, in a large pan cook the sweet potatoes and onions together until tender, which can take 20 plus minutes. Then add remaining ingredients and keep on low heat until you are ready to assemble.

In a pot, Sauté the onions for 5 or so minutes then add all the remaining sauce ingredients and let boil down for about 20 mins. Blend, preferably using an immersion blender cause they are awesome.

Preheat your oven to 300 or so. Do your best to stuff about 1/4 c of innards into each tortilla (without getting frustrated - who cares if they fall apart) and fill a glass baking dish or two. You'll want them tightly packed. Cover with sauce (and cheese if you choose) and stick in the over for 10 or so minutes. Alternatively you can freeze a dish of after cheesing to toss in the oven at a later time.

Serve with cilantro, salsa, cholula.. Whatever you please!

IsaChandra's Chana Masala

Note: This recipe is entirely stolen from Post Punk Kitchen. I know this probably goes against whatever unwritten recipe blog code of conduct there is, but this is a recipe that is so amazing it's worth repeating many many times. It is so easy to make and so flavorful it's possible you could want to eat nothing else.

Spice blend:
1.5 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground tumeric
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, chopped (better yet, ground, if you are lucky enough to find it, otherwise try putting it in a bag and smashing with a rolling pin)
1/2 teaspoon cardomom
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

For everything else:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 jalapenos, deseeded and chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
3 lbs tomatoes, diced
3 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (this is about 1.5 cups dried for me, equivalent to 2 cans)
1 teaspoon maple syrup (or honey)
1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate (or 1 lime)

First sauté the onion in the coconut oil for about 10 minutes. Add the jalapeno, garlic and ginger, and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the cilantro and saute until wilted. Add the spice blend and toss to coat the onions, letting the spices toast a bit (about a minute or so).

Add the tomatoes and mix well. Then chickpeas and syrup/honey/sugar source of your liking. Let cook on low heat for 20 minutes.. Or however long you can wait!! Add lime juice or tamarind concentrate. Serve with rice (and more cilantro)!

Coconut Macaroon Snacks

I tried to recreate these amazing but outrageously expensive pre packaged treats. Huge success!

3 c coconut flakes
1 c raw almonds
1/2 c "raw"cashews
1/2 c maple syrup or honey
1/4 c coconut oil
1/2 of a banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

In a food processor (or a slap chopping device if you're really ambitious) obliterate the nuts, then add in coconut flakes and process until big flakes are essential gone. Put this aside in a large bowl. Blend the remaining ingredients to a mush. The coconut oil is easier to work with if you warm it to a semi-liquid.

Combine mush and obliterated pieces. Form one inch balls and refridgerate for an hour or so (this solidifies the coconut oil so the macaroons don't fall apart on their way to your mouth).

Enjoy! But not all at once.. I think two of these is 100% of your recommended daily saturated fat - I mean come on, it's coconut!

Note that you can substitute the cashews for more almonds and this recipe will be truly raw.  The processing of "raw" cashews actually involves heating them, so raw cashews don't actually exist (well they do but they aren't sold in stores since they are poisonous).

Cranberry Squash Quinoa Salad

It's been quite a while since I posted, sorry.  Between finals, new job, back to school again and trying to spend time doing things I love, I've found very little opportunity to experiment with cooking (and blog about it).  What I have been doing very diligently is making lunches for work that are easy to throw together.  Trying to find something you can eat for a week without getting sick of hasn't been as challenging as expected.  This has included a million bean chili, extravagant salads, curry and lots of mexican themed "shit in a bowl with cilantro and cholula".  My personal favorite thus far has been this quinoa salad.   Quinoa has a higher protein content than sausage and it's pretty well known is has a portion of magic as well. Anyways,

Cranberry Squash Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa, any color
1 butternut squash, or equivalent winter squash
1 cup cranberries
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1/2 small onion, finely chopped

~3-4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
dash of salt

Cook the quinoa - I have a rice maker, so I don't have experience with the complexities of this step, all I understand is two parts water, one part quinoa and click the button.  "They" say its best to let it soak before you cook: boring, it tastes fine without.

Sauté onions and squash for a couple minutes then add cranberries and chopped parsley and let cook for maybe 5 minutes then combine this mix with the cooked quinoa.  Mix together the vinegar, oil, mustard and salt in a small dish and pour over the quinoa and squash.  Adding a bit of lemon juice can be nice.  Add extra vinegar to your taste.

It's worth mentioning that adding some cooked kale in the mix could be tasty.  Although I don't ever eat kale by choice, only when its around and its going to go bad.  I'm constantly in the market for a recipe that could change this, so if you find one let me know.  Enjoy.

Fig Date Bread

¾ cup brown rice flour

½ cup potato starch

¼ cup tapioca flour

2 tsp xanthan gum

½ cup honey or maple syrup

2 tbsp flaxseed, ground (and 6 tbsp water)

2 cups dried figs and dates, chopped (whatever proportions you’d like)

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ cup water

Optional: ½ cup pecans, walnuts, or chocolate chips.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the figs and dates, coconut oil, baking soda, baking powder and water.  Microwave this mixture on high for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring in between.  This process softens the dried fruits; it’s usually done my boiling water and letting it sit and soak but this is way more time consuming than the microwave and in my opinion it works just as well.  Let this mixture sit for about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the ground flaxseed and water and microwave in 30 second increments stirring the mixture in between until you achieve the consistency of eggs.

In a larger bowl, combine all the flours, gum, sugar and flaxseed. Add the date mixture and then pour into a greased 9”x 5” pan or two smaller pans.  Bake at 350 for about an hour.

Portabello Mushroom Risotto

This is a version of my father’s go to risotto recipe that has definitely become one of my staples when cooking for other people.  It makes enough for 4 or 5 people, but watch out because it’s really easy to eat all of it alone in one sitting.  I’ve heard a lot of people say that making risotto is hard, but I really disagree. That being said, it takes an inappropriate amount of time and attention and probably isn’t suited for those with a short attention span.

1 cup Arborio rice

1 medium white onion, diced

8-10 cups vegetable broth

1 bottle white wine (½ cup for risotto, the rest to drink while you are busy cooking)

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic

1 massive or 2 small portabello mushrooms, chopped

½ almond or coconut milk
 

First, in a large pan sauté the onions and garlic in oil until somewhat soft, maybe for 5 minutes or so.  Reduce to medium heat, add the rice and stir continuously for 2 or 3 minutes being careful not to brown or burn the rice.

After this add your first cup of vegetable broth and turn to a lower heat setting.  If you use a prepackaged carton of broth, you’ll use the whole thing so just ration this through the next hour or so.  The idea is to keep adding broth by the cup until it boils off until the rice is thoroughly cooked.  Pay attention to make sure it doesn’t get dry and try to stir it every minute or two.  You’ll spend most of the time hovering around the pan (which is why the other part of the bottle of wine is essential).

Add the wine towards the beginning of this process in place of a broth addition.  You know when it’s done because the little white center in the rice kernel goes away… or just taste it (stop where its not crunchy but not mushy).  When the rice is getting close to done add the mushrooms and milk.

I realize this was a terrible explanation of how to make risotto, honestly I think it just takes making it a few times to get it right.  I like mushroom risotto, but it also taste good with asparagus, sage, squash blossoms, butternut, etc.  The photo below is actually a chili pumpkin cranberry risotto.