174 posts tagged “life”
Asheville is really a cool funky small city. It's more or less a smaller version of NYC but full of hippies and weird things. "Keep Asheville weird", so say the bumper stickers everywhere. We have fallen in love with this area and we just found our "vegan's heaven" - Earth Fare the healthy supermarket. We found a few different vegan cakes, all kinds of vegan eats and treats ready to go, and even baked vegan pot pies. The prices are rather reasonable, but I know that's because we just left Vermont not long ago where everything seems so dearly priced. I still have no time or will to cook, but Earth Fare is going to sustain us in the meantime besides hubby's decadent pastas. Until then, life is good, and I wish all of you well.
The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.
These are not the macaroons we usually think of. These are the real thing - French macarons. You can find the original recipe here. I based my vegan version on David Lebovitz's recipe and instructions. I used Ener-G egg replacers to substitute egg whites with great success. The vegan macarons have a very similar texture to the original ones, and they are totally decadent.
For more delicate and beautiful macarons, check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll.
We are moving early next week, so I don't think I will be able to keep up with the blogging. It is a shame but I will try my best. If we can survive October, we will be able to have a breather then.
You can see a full list of participants over at Kittee's blog.
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.
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!
I would also like to say Thank-You to Angela of Isolated Foodie for picking The Peaceable Kingdom as a "Kreativ Blogger". It is very sweet of you! It has been fun baking and cooking with you in the Daring Kitchen as an alternative baker/cook. I also talk to plants in the wild.
Both blogging awards came without me noticing them for days since I have really been neglecting everything outside work. Now I have some extra work cut out for me, though I feel very happy to do these tasks. I have to list 13 blogs for the "One Lovely Blog Award" and 7 others as Kreativ Bloggers. I follow so many blogs and many of them inspire my cooking and baking but listing 20 in total may not be so easy as I originally imagined.
Let me first pass on the "One Lovely Blog Award" to 13 bloggers out there who generously share their recipes, cooking experience, wisdom, humor, and a little fun with us. I would love to give everyone I know or do not know this award, but here is the list of 13 blogs for this time. Please feel free to pass on this "One Lovely Blog Award" to 13 other bloggers of your inspiration!
1. Purplesque from Purplesque
2. Lisa from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives
3. Aparna from My Diverse Kitchen
4. Susan from Wild Yeast
5. Hannah from BitterSweet
7. Shelly from Musings From The Fish Bowl
8. Debyi from The Healthy Vegan Kitchen
9. Vegan Dad from Vegan Dad
10. Tofu from what the hell does a vegan eat anyway?
11. Yasmeen from Health Nut
12. Mary from One Perfect Bite
13. Elly from Elly Says Opa!
Now, the Kreative Blogger Award comes with a second task: I have to list seven interesting things about me (though I really do not fancy anyone will find the following seven things interesting). But before I list the seven Kreative Bloggers (which is a harder task), I shall share the seven odd things about me.
1. Favorite pastime: road trips
2. Favorite food: bread and butter (vegan)
3. Favorite pets: my husband's feet
4. Favorite activity: go to Coinstar
5. Favorite author: Marcel Proust
6. Favorite OS: Linux (Ubuntu specifically)
7. Favorite music: classical
Finally, I get to list the below seven bloggers as the Kreative Bloggers of my choice. These exceptional bloggers have demonstrated unrivaled creativity in their recipes, writing, as well as food photography. I have learned many skills and acquired much knowledge by reading these blogs. If you are not already familiar with these blogs, it is high time that you checked them out.
1. Audax from Audax Artifex
2. Deeba from Passionate About Baking
3. Natashya from Living in the Kitchen with Puppies
4. Bellini Valli from More Than Burnt Toast
5. Angela from A Spoonful of Sugar
6. Jenny from Jenny Bakes
7. Rebecca from Ezra Pound Cake
I must also post the rules for the Kreativ Blogger Award below:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.
What's one thing you can't say no to?
The sunshine. I need sunny days, especially now. I can say no to any of my favorite sweet treats, but I can't say no to a beautiful sunny day. We had only two summery days here in Vermont this summer, and I can see that the fall is already coming. We had frost a couple of nights ago. I need more sun! Everything feels sluggish and languid, otherwise.
Thank you so much for bringing so many beautiful and soul-touching songs to us! I hope you can finally have an everlasting carefree childhood now. May God rest your soul! Peace and love.
I never thought that we would turn into a couple of snowbirds, but there it is: the Florida summer sufficiently scared us. The unrivaled beauty of Vermont should cure us this summer. It is still very cold at night now. We got frost last night. The backyard is full of wild life and budding trees. I believe we actually have a chipmunk living under our hot tub on the deck.
After almost eight months of trying different vegan/vegetarian restaurants in the country, I must admit NYC is still the place to find the best vegan food. So much ethnic diversity and spoiled palates absolutely help to make NYC the one and only true vegan paradise. Even Long Island is up and coming in the vegan food scene. Cornucopia Natural Foods, a local healthfood store in Sayville, has just expanded its business to include a cafe. We have been really happy with the vegan food there, especially the juicy and tasty veggie burger is so delightful. We are determined to try to recreate the burger at home to satisfy our stomachs.
Back to NYC, it is a pity that we haven't had an opportunity to get some falafels yet, mainly due to the worsened traffic condition and time constraint. We did, however, visit the much renowned Candle Cafe. A pre-warning first: if you don't want to spend much money, skip this place and try the falafels sold on the street. Even though Candle Cafe is considerably cheaper than her sister restaurant Candle 79, you will not be able to walk away without at least spending 70 to 80 bucks for a proper meal. It is in Manhattan after all. We liked the food much better than in Candle 79.
We ordered French fries and sauteed broccoli (with a creamy basil sauce) as sides.
I was going to order the Pomegranate Grilled Tofu at first but changed my mind completely once I saw Tuscan Lasagna on the menu. So far this is the first vegetarian restaurant we have been to that actually serves lasagne. I figured that I had to try it once. I was rather disappointed with the lasagna though. The tofu ricotta was too wet and the whole thing was quite bland and watery. The only thing I liked was the Swiss chard underneath the lasagna. We did get the Pomegranate Grilled Tofu (with couscous and roasted veggies) as takeout which was great. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo before digging in.
Hubby ordered the Artichoke Wrap, which was really good. It was very vegetable-oriented and the soy cheese was not over-powering. The avocado and tofu inside created a good balance. We highly recommend it.
Besides all this, we also ordered a sweet potato soup and a split pea soup for takeout. They were both very tasty as well.
Now we are still in NY and I am recovering from a sore throat (not swine flu). Hopefully we can drive up to Vermont in a couple of days. Until then, take care and God bless.
