45 posts tagged “brunch”
But the recipe I used this time is simplicity itself. I found it on Bryanna's blog and it is Julie Hasson's Yummy Tofu Scramble. I cooked it in 15 minutes and it is yummy without too many additions or spices. Sometimes, keeping it simple is the sure way to make it tasty. This tofu scramble sure beats all the other versions I tried in any restaurant so far (and we have tried many across the country).
I used King Arthur Flour's recipe. The batter is so easy to put together, especially if you have a stand mixer. I don't know where I have been, having made no attempt to make these beauties before. The below photo really doesn't do crumpets justice. I have been thoroughly enjoying those holes smothered with butter and jam for the past two days.
September's Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by Debyi of Healthy Vegan Kitchen. She has chosen Indian Dosas, a vegan and gluten-free delicacy to suit everyone's dietary needs.
Indian Dosas
This recipe comes in 3 parts, the dosas, the filling and the sauce. It does take awhile to make, but the filling and sauce can be made ahead and frozen if need be. You can serve them as a main course with rice and veggies, or as an appetizer. This does take a little planning ahead, so make sure you read the recipe through before starting (I forgot & didn't start making the rice until everything was ready, oops).
Serves 4
Equipment needed:
large bowl
whisk
griddle or skillet
ladle (or large spoon)
spatula
vegetable peeler &/or knife
large saucepan
food processor or bean masher
Dosa Pancakes
1 cup (120gm/8oz) spelt flour (or all-purpose, gluten free flour) [I used chickpea flour instead]
½ tsp (2½ gm) salt
½ tsp (2½ gm) baking powder
½ tsp (2½ gm) curry powder
½ cup (125ml/4oz) almond milk (or soy, or rice, etc.)
¾ cup (175ml/6oz) water
cooking spray, if needed
Dosa Filling
1 batch Curried Garbanzo Filling (see below), heated
Dosa Toppings
1 batch Coconut Curry Sauce (see below), heated
¼ cup (125gm) grated coconut
¼ cucumber, sliced
Dosa Pancakes
1.Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, slowly adding the almond milk and water, whisking until smooth.
2.Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray your pan with a thin layer of cooking spray, if needed.
3.Ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the center of your pan in a circular motion until it is a thin, round pancake. When bubbles appear on the surface and it no longer looks wet, flip it over and cook for a few seconds. Remove from heat and repeat with remaining batter. Makes 8 pancakes.
Curried Garbanzo Filling
This filling works great as a rice bowl topping or as a wrap too, so don't be afraid to make a full batch.
5 cloves garlic
1 onion, peeled and finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 green pepper, finely diced (red, yellow or orange are fine too)
2 medium hot banana chilies, minced
2 TBSP (16gm) cumin, ground
1 TBSP (8gm) oregano
1 TBSP (8gm) sea salt (coarse)
1 TBSP (8gm) turmeric
4 cups (850gm/30oz) cooked or canned chick peas (about 2 cans)
½ cup (125gm/4oz) tomato paste
1.Heat a large saucepan over medium to low heat. Add the garlic, veggies, and spices, cooking until soft, stirring occasionally.
2.Mash the chickpeas by hand, or in a food processor. Add the chickpeas and tomato paste to the saucepan, stirring until heated through.
Coconut Curry Sauce
This makes a great sauce to just pour over rice as well. This does freeze well, but the texture will be a little different. The flavor is still the same though. My picture of this sauce is one that I had made, had to freeze, then thaw to use. It tastes great, but the texture is a little runnier, not quite as thick as it was before freezing.
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic
½ (2½ gm) tsp cumin, ground
¾ (3¾ gm) tsp sea salt (coarse)
3 TBSP (30gm) curry powder
3 TBSP (30gm) spelt flour (or all-purpose GF flour)
3 cups (750ml/24oz) vegetable broth
2 cups (500ml/24oz) coconut milk
3 large tomatoes, diced
1.Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic, cooking for 5 minutes, or until soft.
2.Add the spices, cooking for 1 minutes more. Add the flour and cook for 1 additional minute.
3.Gradually stir in the vegetable broth to prevent lumps. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the coconut milk and tomatoes, stirring occasionally.
4.Let it simmer for half an hour.
Verdict: This dish is very easy to put together. You can make the sauce and filling in advance. Totally a keeper!
Needless to say, it was seriously good. If you have Veganomicon, and have been waiting just like me, it is high time that you opened it and made this baked pasta dish. The sage crumb topping mixed really well with the pumpkin flavor and you can never do wrong with the caramelized onions.
The pop overs might just put me over the top and get that popover pan in the store. I saw a really good one the other day, but thought to myself I would have very little use of it. Who knew that I came straight home and wanted to make breakfast popovers all of a sudden? And I fell in love immediately (even though I had to use my muffin pan). The recipe is by Susan of She's Becoming DoughMessTic. Kudos to Susan! The only change is that I used Ener-G egg replacers to replace eggs.
I planned to make a lot of the savory goodies in the book, but so far only managed to make the shiitake-dill frittata which was an instant favorite in our family. More to come in the near future...
I didn't make all three types of crêpes, and I used bananas as the filling because I'm a huge banana fan. The texture of the crêpes was excellent. The first two times I wasn't so good at flipping and burned my fingers a little, but as I went along, I got the hang of it. I'll have to make the other two fillings to enjoy these wonderful crêpes more.
I've decided to use my Blogger more from now on. So most of the posts here will be cross-posted there. Maybe one day I'll switch over completely. But for now, I'll keep both running until I figure out which one I like better.
x-posted on Blogger
Thanks to Purplesque's thoughtful recommendation, I'm so ready to make my first sourdough starter now. I just made my first sponge starter yesterday and now I am in the process of making my first Ciabatta. When my hubby picks up some rye flour in our next grocery shopping, I will make my first sourdough starter and we shall see what comes next. I am really excited about it, and hopefully I can participate in YeastSpotting very soon. I have learned so much about the art of bread making from Susan's Wild Yeast and Baking911 in the past two to three days. When all is said and done, my favorite thing to do in the kitchen is actually to bake a loaf of bread. Nothing beats that haunting aroma of the fresh baked bread right out of the oven. So here is to more bread baking in 2009!
In the meantime, I have another awesome scrambled tofu recipe to share. I probably should have made it during Christmas because of its festive colors. I guess when I feel lazy, scrambled tofu is my ultimate comfort food.
Red and Green Scrambled Tofu
(Makes 4-5 servings)
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
8-9 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
1 1/2 cups portobello mushrooms, finely chopped
2 roasted red peppers (roasted or jarred), diced
1/2 cup sliced green onions
4 tsp. parsely
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. garam masala powder
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. dill
1/4 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
1 3/4 packages extra-firm tofu, cubed
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 tsp. red curry paste
1 bunch asparagus, rough ends discarded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces, tips reserved
4 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper to taste
1.
Saute onions, garlic, mushrooms, roasted red peppers and green onions
over medium heat for 10-11 minutes, until onions are translucent and
mushrooms have released the juice.
2. Add in the spices from parsley to Chinese five-spice powder. Mix well and cook for another one minute.
3. Add in tofu and diced tomatoes and cook for about 4-5 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to release their juice.
4. Stir in red curry paste and mix well. Add in asparagus and cook for 3 minutes.
5. Add spinach in by handfuls, and cook for just one minute to heat through.
6. Remove from heat. Pour in nutritional yeast, and season with salt and pepper according to your taste. Serve warm.
Before I have completely turned against "pan breads", I did make a loaf of beer bread - a real quick bread which gives you a buzz without getting you into trouble. The recipe is by Eat'n Veg'n Vegan Food and Recipes.
And I happened to make a batch of peanut butter jam thumbprints (recipe by Jonimarie of 'Just the food') right before the peanut butter recall sufficiently scared us. I used creamy peanut butter and black raspberry preserves, which is a wonderful combination. These cookies were so great that before they cooled off, one was snatched by my hubby. My usual attitude towards peanut butter is very stern; I mean peanuts are not nuts. Nor are they peas. Why should they be called peanuts? And so many people are allergic to peanuts. But I figured this time, what the heck. But then the peanut butter product contamination became bigger and bigger. We ended up throwing out all the rest of the cookies and two jars of peanut butter that we just bought. So here is the last photo that we can savor without possibly getting sick physically or emotionally.
We have been trying to entice more squirrels to come visit our yard more often by leaving mixed nuts on our lounge chairs and on the ground outside our lanai. So far, the first batch of nuts were consumed by one single squirrel a week ago; I watched the little fellow eat most of them and bury some in different holes. The second batch of nuts were mysteriously "stolen", on two consecutive nights, by some nocturnal animal. I haven't found any evidence of a raccoon living in the neighborhood, but I have seen a few cats wandering in our yard every day. Do cats eat nuts too? The mystery is that whatever animal ate the nuts, it also left a lot of white powder around the site. Since yesterday we had a lot of rain, unending. Now that the white powder is gone, the nuts gone, and it is super wet outside, I haven't seen any squirrel out in the yard yet. By the way, our nuts have a serious competition. My hubby told me that there is a lady living a street down who has some squirrel feeders that attract at least a dozen squirrels every day.
While waiting for the squirrels to come, I concocted a dish that combines my two favorite staples: scrambled tofu and tofu paprikash. So I named this Scrambled Tofu Paprikash. It is by far the best tofu dish we have ever tasted, since it combines the sweet paprika and tangy tomato taste and lots of fresh vegetables like cauliflower and yellow squash.
Scrambled Tofu Paprikash
(Makes 5-6 servings)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
7-8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2/3 cup carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 cup sliced green onions
4 cups cauliflower florets, cut into bite size
4 small to medium yellow squashes, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
3 tomatoes, chopped and juice reserved
1 block extra-firm tofu, drained and cubed
1 Tofurky Italian sausage, thinly sliced
5 tsp. sweet paprika
3 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1. Saute onions, garlic and carrots in olive oil over medium heat for about 7 minutes.
2. Add cauliflower, yellow squashes and tomatoes and mix well. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Uncover. Add paprika, parsley, cumin and red pepper flakes and cook for another minute or two.
4. Add tofu and sausage pieces and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat. Mix in salt and pepper and nutritional yeast and adjust the spices if you want. Serve warm.
I have been completely absorbed in reading lately, which is the reason why I haven't had much time for cooking. I am currently reading the last volume of In Search of Lost Time (Marcel Proust) and To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf). I just finished Mrs. Dalloway (Virginia Woolf) 2 days ago. Marcel Proust and Virginia Woolf are my two favorite authors, and I can't read enough of their books. So, I only have two food photos to share this time.
Marinated Italian Tofu (Veganomicon). This is still one of my favorite ways of eating tofu.
Maple Snack Cake (recipe by Gretchen Noelle of 'Canela & Comino'). This is a must-try recipe for anyone who loves maple syrup. And who doesn't love maple syrup? It is a very dense and moist cake perfect for afternoon tea.
I have been cooking but it has become rather hard to keep up posting more often. We always seem to have many things piling up onto the to-do lists. "It's always something" has been such a cliche in our household now. I didn't have time to come up with any new recipe. Nor did I participate in any cooking contest like I planned. I cooked from cookbooks and my recipe collection. Alas! 'Tis life. We ought to be grateful for what we have though. My husband and I have begun our little "self-compliment" group, inspired by LaidOutInLavendar. It is not easy at all. Gosh, I never knew it could this hard to say a few nice things about ourselves without feeling weird or discouraged. But we are trying. It's much easier to compliment each other, but when it comes down to the self-compliment... I guess we just don't know ourselves well enough.
Anyway, here comes the food porn, as usual. The first thing is from VwaV, page 28, "Fronch" Toast. It was great, but next time I will definitely add some cinnamon and nutmet to make it more traditional.
The second thing is Bryanna's Hunan Tofu. I made this before, a long while ago that I can't even remember. This time I didn't even fry the tofu beforehand because I wanted more of a soft and juicy texture. It turned out even better than I remembered. Surely a keeper!
Finally, a recipe from one of my favorite vegan cookbooks, Eat, Drink & Be Vegan - Monkey Minestrone (page 97). I totally adored this soup, but my husband actually preferred my own minestrone. How sweet! I didn't use any corn, but added some potatoes and soy beans. I think the soup was made more earthy and meaty this way. I also added three tablespoons of tomato paste to make the soup thicker.
How was everybody's Thanksgiving? I hope that you all had fun and lots of really nice food. Did you overeat like last year and the year before last year...? Here are a couple of things that you can eat when you're so sick of food or thinking about cooking anything.
Scrambled Tofu with Cauliflower and Green Beans
(makes 3-4 servings)
1 large yellow onion, quartered and thinly sliced
7-8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
9 large button mushrooms, wiped clean and thinly sliced
4 cups cauliflower florets, cut into bite size
4 cups green beans, ends discarded and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 1/2 blocks extra-firm tofu, pressed beforehand and cut into cubes
4 tsp. thyme
3 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. marjoram
1/2 tsp. sage
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Saute onions, garlic, green onions, mushrooms and cauliflower over medium heat for about 12-13 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften and mushrooms release some juice.
2. Add green beans and tofu cubes. Mix in well and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add spices except for the nutritional yeast and salt and pepper. Cook for another 10 minutes until green beans are fully cooked. I like them crispy. If you want them to be soft, cook for 15-20 minutes.
4. Remove from heat. Add in the nutritional yeast and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
I bought a few too many sweet potatoes so I decided to finally hit the "Knish Madness" recipe (page 76) in Vegan With A Vengeance. I have no idea what I got myself into. I don't know why the recipe says the baking is altogether 70 minutes while I spent almost 4 hours baking the potatoes at a higher temperature too. I mean I made other pies and baked other things so it seems that my oven is that off. I really don't know what happened. Then the kneading completely wiped me out. By the time I put the knishes into the oven to bake, I was so glad that it was all over I didn't even care if I ever got to eat them. And I didn't make any potato-spinach knishes after all that preparations. But the final products were really good. I think I still said that it was worth the effort - 6-7 hours of working in the kitchen.
I don't think I will make these knishes any time soon though. It's a little too much work for one day no matter how good they have turned out in the end.