Buddha's hand | fabulous recipe testing | Portlandia

I was walking through Whole Foods with my shopping list, because you know if you go to Whole Foods without a list, you may leave without your wallet. It's not that I think (like so many others) that Whole Foods is excessively expensive, it's just that there is so much temptation in my path. Even if I stay away from the deli counter, and buy only real food, there's SO MUCH real food, and it all looks so good.



If I stick to 365 brand and focus on specials, the food prices aren't bad. But like I said, there's temptation at every angle. Unexpected temptation. And I'm weak.



A few weeks ago, for example, I was wandering among the fruits and vegetables when I happened upon the most bizarre item I've ever seen in a produce department.



I was looking at citrus fruits and WHAT??? I couldn't believe my eyes at the weirdness I was seeing. It took me a while to understand that I was looking at a citrus fruit. I spent quite a lot of time admiring the selection of Buddha's hand, but at $6.99 each, I decided it was an extravagance I should live without.



But as soon as I got home I was distressed that I'd left the incredible thing behind. Naturally, whenever we went back to WF, there was not a Buddha's hand to be found. Until just the other day, when I was there as I said, with my list, searching out an organic orange to use in an orange bundt cake. There they were — two little ones, a big one and a freaking enormous one. They're all the same price, so I went for huge. I justified the purchase by thinking I could use one of the fingers for the zest in the cake. Oh yeah. Sometimes you just have to give in.



Buddha's hand, it turns out, is a variety of citron. It is basically thick peel and pith, but unlike oranges and lemons, the pith isn't bitter. It is very fragrant and is used for perfuming rooms or clothing, or in cooking for making jams and jellies, for zest in baked goods or for scattering onto salads or on top of sweet or savory dishes. You can slice the fingers in half and eat them, but I have to admit, I had a hard time cutting off one of the fingers for my cake. It just seemed wrong. The cake, however, was great, and will be the subject of a future post.

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Testing 1, 2, 3

Non-traditional arroz verde (with a link to the recipe!)


I've been testing recipes for cookbooks again. Above is a non-traditional arroz verde created by Michael Natkin of Herbivoracious Blog. Michael is sending me only vegan recipes to test, and this one is wonderful. It's kind of like a fresh herb pesto with rice. I'm giving you the link to the recipe on his blog, but I have to tell you that I doubled the amount of rice but not the herb topping. I prefer much less oil in my food than some people so I needed to reduce the fat content, but I highly recommend that you try this, whether you decide to make it full strength or not. It's easy and amazing.



I'm also testing recipes for the new Urban Vegan cookbook and the first thing I tried was Tuscan bean dip. It was so delicious I couldn't believe it had so few ingredients and was so fast and easy to make.



This is hearty and humble vegetable soup — a great use of barley and so delicious.



I also made cream of broccoli soup — another winner. I feel so lucky to be making these wonderful recipes.

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Portlandia
I know all the folks in Portland have a good sense of humor, so I can post this video. The one thing I can't understand is how the makers of the video left out the vegan scene.

Simple foods

Me in my new apron.

To be honest, I prefer simple food. I would rather have a peach than a piece of peach pie. I don't like extremes of saltiness or sweetness, or heavy flavoring and spicing. But you know, I'm playing at a food blog, and no one wants to read about steamed cauliflower. So although most of what I eat is much simpler than you might think, my blog posts don't always reflect that. I blog about the more interesting or unusual dishes we eat, or restaurant food we've consumed, or vegan items I'm asked to review. But normally, we don't go out of our way to cook fancy gourmet meals or recreate elaborate meat or dairy dishes in vegan form, nor do we regularly use non-dairy cheese other than occasionally on pizza. So you see, our gustatory lives are quite boring.


Daiya cheese pizza with "pepperoni" (tester recipe)

In my last post I included a recipe for a kale soup typical of what we might consider a fine meal. Along with a salad or a crusty loaf of bread or maybe just some rice, that would be it. My husband will eat an apple for dessert, and I might have a small orange or a few dates. I'm telling you this because I've received a number of inquiries from new or aspiring vegans asking how difficult it will be to be vegan, or how expensive it might be. New vegans are more likely to try to recreate familiar foods as they transition to a new way of life. But I don't want anyone to think we depend on fake foods or complicated preparations for our meals. Nope. We love our veggies.


Salted caramel wheat treats. Yum. (tester recipe)

Lately I've been testing recipes for a cookbook being developed by Celine and Joni. The cookbook is about substitutions — vegan for omnivorous. So, you've been seeing lots of, well, substitutions. Some are things I would make anyway, like chickpea salad, and some not so much, like baby back ribz. It's fun to make stuff like this, or to serve it to company, and we've been enjoying our testing a lot. Besides, it's never a bad idea to have a few good seitan recipes on hand. (Seitan was used by Buddhist monks in the 7th century so it's not a weird "new" vegan food.) I usually cut back on the salt used in the recipes because I'm pretty health conscious and excess salt can cause health issues. But also, because I don't eat a lot of processed foods, I've become very sensitive to the intense natural flavors of fruits, vegetables, grains and beans, and it takes very little additional salt or sugar to make things taste perfectly seasoned. I'm not saying we only eat barely seasoned food — sometimes we make things very spicy — but usually our foods are less seasoned than what might be considered average.


Baby back ribz try #2 (tester recipe) Still not sticky and gooey but closer!

I enjoy some very salty things like olives, as an accent to a meal, but if everything is salty, I find it distasteful. It almost burns my tongue. The same is true of very sweet things; they don't taste good to me. When I bake for others, I usually use more sweetener so my baked goods will be more like what other people enjoy. I'm always surprised, when I think I've made something much too sweet, to hear someone say, "I really like this. It's not too sweet." Oh well.

Just so you can see how truly boring our eating can be, here's a soup I made for lunch on Saturday. But really, it was delicious. And so simple. You can flavor it any way you like to suit your own palate.



Simple cauliflower, carrot, potato soup

• 1/2 large head of cauliflower, cut in large pieces
• 1 large potato, peeled and cut in small dice
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut in small dice
• 2 cups water
• 1 to 3 teaspoons mellow white miso (to taste)
  
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  
• low sodium vegetable broth
• fresh ground pepper

optional

• sliced scallion
• minced parsley
• fresh or dried herbs

1. Place the vegetables and water in a pressure cooker. Bring to pressure and cook 5 minutes. Release pressure.
2. Use a hand-blender in the pot or add cooked veggies and cooking water to a blender bowl along with miso, onion powder and vinegar, and blend until creamy. Add broth to desired consistency, and blend. Adjust seasoning if needed.
   
3. Return to pot and gently reheat if needed. Place in bowls and add a grind of pepper. Add garnishes as desired.

Along with the soup we had leftover polenta which I sautéed in the wok, and a salad, and our adorable granddaughter who was visiting, had tofu fingers. She used the soup as a dip for the tofu, which had been dredged in potato starch and sautéed.


My new apron up close.



We went to our son and d-i-l's house for dinner Saturday night, and our dil made a delicious Caribbean stew called Island Gumbo from "The Urban Vegan" cookbook. It was just right for a cold, damp winter evening. I brought some cookies and bars culled from the stash that went to the bake sale on Sunday.



Now here's something my husband made all on his own. He's not really into plating, so it's a little hard to see what it is, but it's a stacked portobella mushroom dish he adapted from "Real Food Daily." It had a layer of baked polenta on the bottom, and portobella, carrots, red pepper, onions and a light tomato sauce on the top. It was amazingly delicious.

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Bake sale for Haiti





Today there was a vegan bake sale for Haiti and I contributed some baked goods. Yes, genuinely sweet ones! I made Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies, and one of the tester recipes from the cookbook. Instead of just packaging the goodies in plastic baggies like I usually do for bake sales, I made cellophane packages tied with ribbon. They looked very cute if I do say so myself.

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Valentine's Day idea

Meredith from Farm Sanctuary asked me to post this, and I'm happy to do so. Sponsoring an animal is a gift of love that fits well with Valentine's Day — or any day.

This Valentine’s Day, open your heart to the rescued animals at Farm Sanctuary. Each of these individuals has a huge capacity for love and a story to share that will fill you with hope and inspiration.

Sponsor an animal for yourself and share your Valentine’s Day spirit with one of the sweet animals at our shelters. Or, give a sponsorship as a gift because there’s no better way to show that someone special in your life how much you care. All of our sanctuary residents depend on sponsors to provide them with nourishing food, safe refuge, veterinary care, and everything else they need for a happy and healthy life.

Sponsors receive an adoption certificate with a color photograph of their adopted friend, an adoption card, an invitation to schedule a VIP tour to meet their sponsored animal, and other benefits depending on the animal selected. Click here to see a list of our sponsorship packages.

In the name of love for all beings, sponsor one of the farm animals below this Valentine’s Day! Or, sponsor them all to receive or share a whole barnyard full of love! You can also make a special one-time gift to the animals.

Recipe testing / tofu and cabbage /Texas caviar

Where oh where has the week gone? Wherever it went, it went quickly. I can't even remember eating but I've got the photos to prove we did. I tested more recipes and threw together random meals, and I'll share those with you but as far as personal, creative cooking. Ha. Nothing. At the top of the page you see a butternut squash-pasta bake tester recipe.



Above you see a super-fast baked seitan tester. Too bad I can't share this!



Some of the seitan was used to make a seitan and kale stir-fry that was delicious. It was served alongside the baked pasta and squash.



This was a thrown together lunch of humble origins but wonderful taste. I stir-fried extra-firm fresh tofu cubes with a small amount of tamari. When the tofu was sizzling and brown, I added a prodigious amount of grated ginger and some finely sliced green cabbage. The cabbage was cooked to the crisp-tender stage and the the dish was further seasoned with a grind of pepper. You can really pull a lot of flavor out of simple ingredients when necessary.

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Texas Caviar: black-eyed pea salsa

Way back back in 2007 when I first started blogging, I ran a recipe for a traditional black-eyed-pea dish that's supposed to bring good luck if you eat it on New Year's. You can find the original post here. I hope the two people who may have read that post will forgive me for posting it again. I love this dish and think everyone should make it!

Texas Caviar
2 cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
4 scallions, finely sliced
3 jalapenos, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
1/4 cup olive oil,
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Fresh gound peppercorns

Rinse and drain the beans and place in a bowl with the scallions, cilantro and peppers. Put the oil, vinegar, lime juice and salt in a one cup glass measuring cup and mix together. Add the liquid to the beans mixture and combine. Place in a shallow glass (or other non-reactive) dish. Cover and place in the refrigerator for a few hours or a few days. Mix occasionally to distribute the marinade evenly. Grind some peppercorns over the top just before serving.

notes: I thought the mix looked a little too green and beige so I went looking in the refrigerator for a few grape tomatoes to chop up. They were gone so I got a few slices of the tomatoes I dried last summer (and keep in a sealed freezer bag in the fridge). I chopped those up and added them for color and tang. I also used jalapenos from last summer's garden. I always freeze bags of whole, hot peppers from the garden to use in cooking during the rest of the year. This was the first time I tried to use them uncooked. Couldn't tell they weren't fresh.

Fresh squeezed lime juice makes a superior salad but I would understand if you kept a bottle of lime juice (like Santa Cruz organic) in your refrigerator for "emergencies." The beans will still taste great.

I like to rinse and drain canned beans in a wire wok skimmer that I got in an Asian market years ago because I liked the way it looked. It's easier to clean than my fine mesh strainers and holds about one can of beans at a time.




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Today we're heading south towards warmer and, hopefully, dryer weather. I won't be cooking much but I'll photograph our culinary adventures to share when we return. Until then have the happiest of holidays and remember to share your bounty with those who have less.

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Oh, and by the way, we watched the original version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and I wasn't scared witless. In fact, I slept very well after seeing it. Still, it's a cool, cult classic that you might want to watch.

Body snatchers and other testy things

Baked corn pudding, cauliflower in spicy vinaigrette, steamed brussels sprouts with carrots

More years ago than I care to admit, I attended an all-girls, all-academic, public magnet school in a large East Coast city. Standards were high and my fellow students, for the most part, were studious and well-behaved. We were such an easy-to-teach bunch of high-achievers I think the school became kind of a last-transfer station for teachers heading towards retirement. Most of the faculty was, from my point of view as a teenager, old. I mean really old. I couldn't believe the school district even let such old people teach. Don't misunderstand, many of the teachers were terrific and well-loved, but some were horribly boring, and even ... unbalanced. And most were, in my opinion, very, very old. (I don't think that now, but what did I know?)

My 10th grade English teacher was one of the oldest in the school. I knew she was intelligent and well-intentioned but her classes could put an insomniac to sleep in five minutes. She always wore a large pendant which she held onto and dragged back and forth along its chain, adding hypnosis to the already powerful narcotic effect of her droning voice. The only thing that could bring some relief to the class was if someone would raise a hand and ask a question about bombs. Then she'd begin to wave her arms, raise her voice, and rant about the dangers of war. What I didn't realize then was she was a nationally known figure in the Quaker anti-war movement of the 60s. Had I known that, I probably would have been far more respectful. All I knew at the time was she was a dreadful teacher making the exciting subject of literature almost unbearable.

On the surface I was quiet and cooperative, but sometimes I got bored, and sought diversions to enliven my own personal educational experience. These diversions were not always of the highest intellectual variety, and usually didn't advance my academic standing, but they did help my boredom. You understand. We had a book review assignment pending, and while pondering what book to read, I came across a "bargain book" display at the drugstore. I wasn't at the drugstore looking for books, but when my eye was captured by a paperback with giant letters screaming "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," I had a sudden inspiration. What if ...? I bought the book, snickering to myself. How could I resist?



I wasn't a science fiction buff at the time, and didn't really know much about the book I was about to read, but it was much better, and MUCH more frightening than I'd anticipated, and I couldn't put it down. This wasn't a problem because after I started reading, I was afraid to go to sleep. I think I stayed up all night reading that book. I was pretty sure there were pods growing in the basement but was too scared to go into the basement to look; that book completely freaked me out. By the time I wrote my review I was feeling very inspired, and wrote what I considered a fabulous report. To me it sounded professional and polished, and I couldn't wait to see if the teacher would like my writing or punish my book choice. I told a classmate about the book, and she wanted to borrow it, but I was uncomfortable lending it before the book reports were returned, in case I needed it for any reason. This was not the sort of book I usually chose for school reading, and I felt the need to have it nearby. But she begged and badgered me, and agreed to read it quickly and return it before we got the reports back (the teacher was notoriously slow at grading), so I gave her the book. She kept promising to return it but never did.

On the day the book reports were returned I was tense and excited. I just couldn't wait to see my grade. It was an "F." The comments said the writing was "too good" and sounded "too professional" for a student my age, therefore, I must have copied it from the book jacket, and she was failing me for plagiarism. Well, this was an angle I hadn't even considered. I was both thrilled and furiously indignant. I went to see her immediately to protest her accusation, and offered to bring in the book so she could see for herself that the writing was indeed mine. I begged my classmate to return the book but she said it was lost. I went back to the drugstore without luck. I tried the library. There were no computers, Internet, or Amazon to search. I was sunk. With painful effort I finally convinced the teacher to give me a passing grade but that was all I could manage under the circumstances. Even I could see my story sounded fishy. I never gave up hope of finding a copy of the book so I could redeem my reputation but strangely enough, I never found one. So much for being 15 and testing my teachers. I played it straight for the rest of the year — in that class, anyway.


Creamy polenta chili bake

I'm not testing teachers now but am up to a little testing of a different sort — testing recipes for Celine and Joni's newest cook book, and I thought I'd post about some of the things I've tried. At the top of the page, as a teaser, you see a lunch plate of leftovers. The corn pudding is a tester recipe and the cauliflower is from "The Vegan Table" by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

The photo immediately above is creamy polenta chili bake. This was so good. It reminded me of a dish I used to make from "Laurel's Kitchen" called Tennessee corn pone. I think we'll be "testing" this again, soon.



This photo is of another excellent corn-based dish called baked corn pudding. This was incredibly rich, delicious, very quiche-like and easy to prepare. We're making it again for family this weekend to see if they like it as much as we do.



The sweet treats above are sweet potato bars — chewy and full of coconut. I could go for one right now.



Above, you can see some French toast my husband tested and served with jam. He made it for me when my back was hurting. It was interesting.



Last but not least, we have creamy eggplant stew. While not much to look at, this was wonderful to eat. There were lots of leftovers and they got better and better each day, making some delectable lunches.
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Note: I'm pretty sure everyone by now is familiar with the book I mentioned in this post. It's a sci-fi classic. No fewer than four films have been based on it, and although it may seem slightly hokey now, the original film, which has achieved cult status, is still genuinely scary. You won't want to fall asleep after you see it. Here's a little more background information from Wikipedia:

"The Body Snatchers" is a 1955 science fiction novel by Jack Finney, originally serialized in Colliers Magazine in 1954, which describes a town in Marin County, California, being invaded by seeds that have drifted to Earth from space. The seeds replace sleeping people with perfect physical duplicates grown from plantlike pods, while their human victims turn to dust.

The duplicates live only five years, and they cannot sexually reproduce; consequently, if unstopped, they will quickly turn Earth into a dead planet and move on to the next world.

The novel has been adapted for the screen four times; the first film in 1956, the second in 1978, the third in 1993, and the most recent in 2007. Unlike two of the film adaptations, the novel contains an optimistic ending, with the aliens voluntarily vacating after deciding that they cannot tolerate the type of resistance they see in the main characters.

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I want to wish everyone a happy a holiday season, no matter which holiday you may be enjoying. I hope you all have a chance to celebrate special times with family and friends.

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For a wonderful holiday giveaway, visit Diet Dessert and Dogs and enter to win a great cookbook! You have until Dec. 24 to add a comment for a chance to win.