C is for Cookie! Vegan cookie that is...

I don't know about you but lunch without a treat just isn't lunch. So last night I flipped through my new Spork Fed cookbook. If you don't know about these two L.A. based vegan cooking instructors check out their website www.sporkfoods.com. (I'm thinking of joining their online classes and a friend of mine already has.)  They share their knowledge of the medicinal side of foods which is very informative.  But getting back to the cookies... I wanted to make something different but that would be light and tasty to snaz up my boring lunch (don't need to bore you with these details).  I came across their recipe for Crispy Green Tea Cookies and had all the ingredients so I was ready to bake.  Boy, did these hit the spot!  Last night, I ate about 8 of them (they were about an 1 1/2 big don't get worried folks). They were crispy (I didn't need to bake them as long as the recipe suggests most likely because of the size) and tasty. Not too sweet but sweet enough to satisfy.  BUT as you know by now, I like to improvise in my baking/cooking.  Since I did not have any green tea, I went with a tea that I had (which is loads), by The Republic of Tea called Twenty Herbs.  I added 4 of the tea bags to the mix.  I also used strawberry syrup by Sonoma Syrup Co. to substitute for the the maple syrup.  Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Here's their recipe:

Ingredients:
1/3 cup non-dairy butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 T maple syrup
1 heaping T green tea leaves, finely ground (or 2 tea bags)
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter, sugar, vanilla, and maple syrup.
With a mortar and pestle (or some other chopping device), grind tea. Add tea to the mixture.  Slowly incorporate flours and salt.  Mix until the dough is uniform.  Do not over mix.
Place on a floured surface (I did not feel that I needed this step) and roll with a rolling pin until 1/8 inch thick.  Using a cookie cutter of any shape, press into dough.  Place formed cookies on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake about 22-24 minutes (use your judgement on the time, when I can smell them usually that's when they are ready).  Bake until golden around edges. Cool on a rack and store in a metal tin for up to 2 weeks.

Some tid bits from the Spork girls: What's the difference between whole wheat pastry flour and regular whole wheat flour?  Pastry flour is cut very fine and made from a soft wheat berry that is higher in carbs and lower in protein. The result is a more delicate tasting flour, which makes it great for baked goods.

Both green and black tea come from the same little shrub.  Green tea is a powerful cancer preventive because of its flavonoid content, and it is known to have more health benefits than black tea.

Thanks, Spork Girls for making vegan baking so tasty!!

Fiery Dan Dan Noodles- improvised

Everyone who knows me, knows I'm IN LOVE with Jamie Oliver. If Jamie ever knocked on my door saying, "Kerry, I remember you from my book signing in 2003 in London and I haven't stopped thinking about you.  I will give up Jools if you say you'll be mine."  Ok, I'm in!  There's no doubt about it, not that I want to be a home wrecker or anything or wish that on anyone. I'm truly happy that he has found his soulmate and has 4 beautiful children (grumble, grumble).  But I'm sort of going off on a tangent here, so where was I.  Oh, yes... so tonight I made his Fiery Dan Dan Noodles recipe from his cookbook Jamie's America.  Except (always an except) I improvised a few things.  I don't eat red meat so I substituted salmon (slice the meat from the skin and cut into cubes; these will break up as you fry them with the vegetables).  Nor did I have any of the veggies found in his recipe.  So, I cut up one purple and one orange carrot (into coins, yes speaking like a true chef), some bell peppers in various colors (having an array of colors in your food is always fun) and sliced up some brussel sprouts (rather than making one cut down the center, I cut it like you would cut up a head of lettuce) to replace the bok choy.  For seasoning I added,  a little ginger, some Chinese Five Spice, a bit of Sumac (still don't really know what this spice does but I do like it), a wee bit of basil, some Old Bay and a new one called Marrakesh Za'atar (just wanted to see how this tasted).  I used buckwheat noodles and followed everything else from his recipe (oh, no garlic or onions but put them in if you like them).  Totally simple and quick!

Here's Jamies original recipe:

Recipe serves 4.

500g minced beef

2 tablespoons runny honey

500g wheat noodles

4 handfuls mixed green vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, bok choi, etc), cut into 1cm strips

4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

3 tablespoons dark soy sauce

2 teaspoons Szechuan pepper

4 tablespoons chilli oil

1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped (you might want to omit this if you don't have a good tolerance for chilli, as it's quite hot already if you only use the oil)

2 spring onions, trimmed and sliced

1 lime, quartered, to serve

• Throw the beef into a dry pan on a medium to high heat. Keep it moving about for about 10-15 minutes, or until it's becoming golden and crispy. Drain out any excess fat and stir in the honey, mixing it in well, and continue to heat for around 40 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat.
• Cook your noodles on the hob according to packet instructions. When they have about a minute to go, chuck in the green vegetables. They should be heated through but still really crunchy.
• Drain the noodles and vegetables in a colander. Tip them back into the hot pan with a mugful of water. Add the garlic, soy sauce, Szechuan pepper, chilli oil and fresh chilli. Give it all a good stir.
• Put the beef back on the heat for 30 seconds so it's piping hot.
• Divide the noodles into 4 bowls. Sprinkle the crispy beef on top. Throw on the spring onions and serve with a lime quarter.
  Enjoy!!

Two Potato Vindaloo- changed

I received the cookbook Plenty for Christmas and was very excited to try some of the recipes. Tonight I made the two potato vindaloo. Of course, I changed somethings, one being I'm cooking for only myself so I halved the recipe (maybe a little more than half). The second, I used half of a sweet potato, half of a small red potato and half of a small yellow potato.

I also added 1/4 of a small pumpkin, cut into one inch cubes. I didn't have any cider vinegar so I used pomegranate vinegar. The most amazing aroma wafted throughout my kitchen, when I added this! Last, I used red pepper flakes instead of chili, again just because I didn't have any in the house, about 2 Tablespoons of curry powder instead of the leaves and about a teaspoon of cardamom powder. Remember, when cooking for one person, use about half of the required measurement. These were the only changes I made. Oh, except I added whole wheat naan, not crazy about white rice. LOL! I mean if you want the starch... go for the Naan! The scent of curry and coriander still linger in my house, BTW. How I love that aroma!

Here is the original recipe:

The longer you let this curry sit, the deeper the flavours will become, so it's well worth making it in a larger quantity and refrigerating any excess for a later date. As always, thick, cool yogurt makes an excellent condiment. Serves four.

1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
8 cardamom pods
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large shallots (about 150g each)
½ tsp brown mustard seeds
½ tsp fenugreek
25 curry leaves
2 tbsp chopped ginger
1 red chilli, finely chopped
3 ripe tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 C cider vinegar
1 3/4 C water
1 tbsp caster sugar
Salt
2 1/2 cups (net weight) waxy potato, peeled and cut into 2.5cm dice
2 small red peppers, cored and cut into 2cm dice
2 1/2 cups (net weight) sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2.5cm dice
Mint or coriander leaves, to serve

Dry-roast the cumin, coriander and cardamom in a small frying pan until they begin to pop. Transfer to a mortar, add the cloves and work with a pestle to a fine powder, discarding the cardamom skins once the seeds are released. Add the turmeric, paprika and cinnamon, and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pot. Add the shallots, mustard seeds and fenugreek, and sauté on high heat for eight minutes, or until the shallots brown. Stir in the curry leaves, ginger, chilli and ground spices, and cook for another three minutes.

Add the tomatoes, vinegar, water, sugar and some salt, bring to a boil and leave to simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add the potatoes and peppers, and simmer for another 20 minutes. Now add the sweet potatoes, make sure all the vegetables are just immersed in the sauce (add more water if needed) and continue cooking, covered, for about 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Remove the lid and leave to bubble away for about 10 minutes, to reduce and thicken the sauce.

Serve hot with plain rice and garnished with the herb leaves.

• Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi in London.

It's Roasting in Here!

I went to a cooking class the other night in which the chef gave a great suggestion on how to get people to eat cauliflower.  Roast it!  I honesty never thought of doing this.  I've roasted carrots, parsnips (Yum!), brussel sprouts, potatoes, butternut squash but never cauliflower.  But then again, I'm not a big fan of this vegetable.  Since the chef said it was the only way to get her children to eat veggies, I thought I would try it.  OMGoodness!!  Can I say... awesome!  Its made a believer out of me.  I've made it as a side dish the last two nights.  Give it a try!

All you need are three side staple ingredients:

-Oil

-Salt

-Pepper

Oh! And some cauliflower (you can do this with broccoli also)

Preheat oven to 400- 450 degrees (depending on how hot your oven gets)  

Cut the cauliflower into bite-size pieces.

Drizzle with oil (I used grape seed oil)

Sprinkle with salt

and Pepper.

Place in oven and roast 10-15 minutes-ish. 

Turning once halfway through.

And Viola!

Enjoy!

For the Love of Brussel Sprouts

Most people cringe when one mentions brussel sprouts.  Thoughts of a greyish, mushy vegetable that has been boiled for hours and has a smell of dirty socks comes to mind.  But I have to admit, I LOVE brussel sprouts.  I first started eating them around 10 years ago.  Now keep in mind, growing up my idea of vegetables were french fries, potatoes, peas, corn and cole slaw.  Yes, I grew on the East Coast where it seems that most entrees were accompanied by one of the above side dishes.  I was skeptical at first when I was asked to prepare them for a meal one day. I had never heard of this strange, funny looking vegetable that grows on some type of a stalk.  I scanned the internet for recipes and found one that combined the sprouts with bacon. How could you go wrong when something is mixed with bacon, right?  After trying a few others recipes I created my own.  Nothing extravagant but decidedly delicious!

Cut the ends of the sprouts them cut them length wise.
Add olive oil to the pan.
Next set the sprouts cut side down in the pan and fry a few minutes.  I like to get a caramelization on mine before adding thyme and a bit of nutmeg.  Season with salt and pepper.  Viola! Taste-y little morsels to go with any meal.

Here's a bit of history on brussel sprouts curtesy of Wikipedia.
  Brussels sprouts as we now know them were grown possibly as early as the 13th century in what is now Belgium.^[2] The first written reference dates to 1587.^[2] During the 16th century, they enjoyed a popularity in the southern Netherlands that eventually spread throughout the cooler parts of Northern Europe.  Production of Brussels sprouts in the United States began in the 18th century, when French settlers brought them to Louisiana.^[3] Thomas Jefferson grew them atMonticello.^[1] The first plantings in California's Central Coast began in the 1920s, with significant production beginning in the 1940s. Currently there are several thousand acres planted in coastal areas of San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Monterey Counties of California, which offer an ideal combination of coastal fog and cool temperatures year-round. The harvest season lasts from June through January.^[