Matzoh Bsll Soup

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup soft (silken) tofu
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer
• 4 sheets egg-free flat bread (matzo), crumbled fine
• vegetable broth or soup

Preparation:

In a medium bowl, mix tofu and oil together until smooth. Set aside.
Combine remaining ingredients (except vegetable broth) in a mixing bowl. On low speed, blend in the tofu mixture for 1 minute. Scrape sides and mix another 3 minutes at medium speed. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

In a saucepan over medium or medium-low heat, place matzah ball mixture in broth by the tablespoonfuls. Let the broth boil for 35 minutes, covered.

Chocolate Matzoh

Prep Time: 5 minutesCook Time: 18 minutesTotal Time: 23 minutes
Yield: 12-16 servings

Ingredients:

• 3-4 boards matzoh
• 3/4 cup Passover margarine or butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1-1/2 cups semisweet or dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, hazelnuts or pecans (optional)
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt or sea salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Spray with cooking spray.


2. Spread the matzohs in the pan in a single layer, breaking them to fit if necessary.


3. Heat the butter or margarine and brown sugar in a medium saucepan to a boil. Pour evenly over matzoh, spreading with a knife to make sure the matzoh is well covered.


4. Bake 10-15 minutes, until the caramel is a golden brown. Turn off the oven, and remove the matzoh.


5. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the matzoh. Return the matzoh to the oven. Let it sit in the warm (turned off) oven for 2 minutes. Remove and spread the chocolate evenly with the back of a flat spatula or a knife. (I like to use a cookie spatula (compare prices).


6. Top with nuts, if using. Sprinkle with kosher salt.

Easy Enchiladas with Easy Cashew Cheez

more enchiladas
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

The cashew cheese we made the previous night was so delicious, we decided to try it atop some enchiladas. This is the easiest enchilada recipe ever since it consists of a lot of pre-made elements (the enchilada sauce, the black beans, salsa, etc).

In future incarnations, I imagine we'll stuff these enchiladas with roasted veggies (cauliflower, chickpeas, broccoli, carrots) and even different kinds of rice (spanish rice, etc.). It's very quick and easy to make and tastes really gourmet.

Ingredients

• 1 package of corn tortillas
• 1 can of enchilada sauce (we used green enchilada sauce)
• 1 recipe of cashew cheese
• salsa
• 1/4 cup cilantro (for garnish)
• 1 can of black beans
• 2 cups of cooked brown rice
• a little canola oil for heating the tortillas
• Native Kjalii Foods Roasted Fig Mole (totally optional--we found this at our local health food store, but it does not seem to be widely available)

Prepare 2 cups of cooked brown rice per the package instructions.

When the rice is within 10 minutes of being done, start heating the tortillas. Heat the oil in a 8-inch pan and when it's hot, heat the corn tortillas for 5 seconds on each side.

Dip the heated tortilla into the enchilada sauce.

Add ~1/4 cup or rice and ~3 tbsp. of beans into the tortilla (the amount of the filling is really up to you).

Add a line of salsa and a line of mole sauce and fold the sides of the tortilla up.

Zig zag cashew cheese on top and add cilantro to garnish.

Cashew Cheese

We love us our cashews in this household and when Dylan came home from school yesterday, he was craving them, so I decided to try my hand at a raw cashew cheese. This recipe is based on the one here and the making of it was inspired by another mommy friend. The consistency is suitable for nachos or a rich, creamy sauce. Tonight, we drizzled it over brown rice and black bean enchiladas.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cashew nuts
• 1/4 c. roasted red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup shallots
• juice from 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp. Bragg's Liquid Amino Acid
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• salt to taste

Place everything into a food processor and blend until smooth.

Adjust consistency to your liking by adding more water to make it thinner or more nuts to make it thicker.

Tom Kha Soup

They're serving soup at Dylan's school tomorrow and it's a super rainy night, so I thought a Tom Kha soup could nicely serve a dual purpose!

We were able to find Thai Taste Minced Galangal and Thai Taste Sliced Lemon Grass Stalks in our local Whole Foods. If you can't find them locally, the company's website is www.thaitaste.us.com

Ingredients

• 1-14oz. can of coconut milk
• 2 cups vegetable stock (we use 3 tsp. Better Than Bouillon Organic Vegetable Base per 2 cups water)
• 7 kaffir lime leaves (obtained from our tree, but also sold on eBay)
• 3 tbsp. sliced lemon grass
• 2 tsps. minced galangal
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 cup white mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4-1/2 cup of tofu, diced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Bring water, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and lemon grass to a boil.

Let simmer for 5-10 minutes or until your kitchen smells pretty yummy.

Add coconut milk and simmer for another 20-30 minutes. (You may want to strain out the kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass before adding in the veggies -- I usually only strain it out upon serving, so that the flavors can continue to steep).

Add in carrots, mushrooms, and tofu and simmer until vegetables are done.

Add lime juice to taste and garnish with cilantro.

Cauliflower-Carrot-Peas and Marinated Tofu Masala

This recipe is a little more time-intensive, but it's so worth it (the tofu needs to bake for 45-60 minutes). It's delicious and it makes enough for 2 meals (for our little family of 2 adults and 1 pre-schooler) and Dylan really loved the tofu!

We can easily see adding/using other veggies that work well in curries (e.g., potatoes and chickpeas).

We also had the opportunity use some more of the tomato sauce we made last summer!

Tofu and Marinade Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package tofu
• 1/2 c. plain soy yogurt
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. garam masala (we got our's from Penzey's)
• 1 tbsp. fresh minced ginger root

Curry Ingredients

• 1/2 can of coconut milk
• 1 tbsp. Earth Balance
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced
• 2 tsps. ground cumin
• 2 tsps. garam masala
• 1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)
• 16 oz. of tomato sauce
• 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 1 carrot, quartered and sliced
• 1 c. frozen peas
• 1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped

Press as much water out of the tofu as possible by placing it on a plate or cutting board, putting another sturdy cutting board on top of it and placing a 3-5 pound weight on top (we used our kettle).

Preheat oven to 375F and start marinade.

Whisk yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika, 1 teaspoon garam masala, and minced ginger together in a bowl.

Cut tofu into 1/2-inch cubes

Gently stir tofu into the yogurt mixture.

Place marinated tofu cubes on a lightly greased baking sheet making sure that they do not touch each other.

Bake the tofu in the preheated oven until the tofu has firmed and the sauce is no longer sticky, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Gently turn the tofu every 15 minutes during baking.

While tofu is baking, heat Earth Balance in a large pan over medium heat.

Add garlic and serrano peppers and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the coriander, 2 teaspoons cumin, 2 teaspoons garam masala, and salt and cook for another minute.

Add the tomato sauce and cauliflower florets; cover and cook, stirring frequently until the cauliflower is tender, about 15 minutes.

Once the cauliflower is tender, stir in the coconut milk, peas, cilantro, and baked tofu cubes.

Bring to a simmer, and cook 5 minutes, or until desired consistency.

Serve over basmati rice.

A Classic Minestrone

You just know that if I'm cooking, it's gotta be a simple dish. Fast, easy, nutritious, filling, delicious, and excellent for this rainy weather we're having...! It's also pretty flexy -- add different vegetables (e.g., broccoli, green beans) or different beans -- use alphabet pasta instead, etc.

The crushed tomatoes give the soup more body, but feel free to use an equivalent amount of fresh, diced tomatoes instead.

45 minutes, tops, from prep to table.

Ingredients

• 4 cups vegetable stock (or 4 cups water with veggie bouillion added)
• 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes (or stewed tomatoes)
• 1 can of garbanzo beans
• 1 can of white beans (or beans of your choice)
• 2 tbsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 cup of orzo (or shell pasta)
• salt and pepper to taste

Add stock, onions, carrots, celery, crushed tomatoes (not drained), and Italian seasoning to a pot and bring to a boil.

Once it comes to a boil, lower the temperature and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

Add beans, chickpeas, and orzo and simmer for another 10-15 minutes, until veggies are tender and orzo is done.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Asian Noodle Soup

This is always a hit at our annual soup party. Very kid-friendly and so easy to make.

Ingredients

• 8 cups vegetable stock (best if stock includes ginger)
• 1/4 cup soy sauceM
• dash of ground pepper
• 4 oz dried thin Chinese wheat flour noodles
• 8 oz spinach (fresh or frozen)
• 2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
• 2 green onions, including green parts, finely chopped
• toasted sesame oil

Combine the stock, soy sauce, and pepper in a large pot. Cover and bring to a boil.

Add the noodles, corn, spinach (if frozen), and green onions. Return the soup to a boil and cook until noodles are tender. (Check the package for approximate cooking time, but it should be about 8 minutes.)

Stir occasionally with a fork to separate the noodles.

When the noodles have about two minutes left to cook, add the spinach (if fresh).

Taste and adjust seasonings.

When serving, finish soup with toasted sesame oil to taste.

canning tomatoes

20 pounds cut and ready for cooking
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

We got a hot tip from a good friend about some u-pick tomatoes and then end of season batch buys for some San Marzano tomatoes!

San Marzanos are the chef's choice sauce tomato and, from our own experience growing them in our backyard, we agree! So, we really couldn't turn down the opportunity to load up on them while they were at their peak of flavor. We ended up with 120 pounds, all told and cooked them down into a nice base for curries and pizza and pasta sauces.

This first picture is one batch of tomatoes (each batch was 20 pounds!), cut and ready for cooking...!

canning ops
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

Canning equipment all set up. We have our water bath canner, the food mill, some cooked down tomatoes ready for the food mill, and a bowl for the skins and seeds.

ready for the food mill
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

These tomatoes were cooked down and are ready for the food mill which will separate out the bitter seeds and skins.

Since we just wanted a general tomato sauce base, we didn't add anything to the tomatoes while cooking them down although, if you want to make ready-made sauces, there are lots of recipes, including Barbara Kingsolver's Family Secret tomato sauce (pdf).

tomato sauce in the food mill
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

It takes a lot of cranking to get all of the seeds and skins removed.

solids from a 20lb. batch of tomatoes
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

We kept the solids for composting.

the final product!
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

And, finally, the final product! We got about 16 quarts of sauce from all of the tomatoes (minus some we used on the fly in dinners made while we were in the process of canning)! It took 3 days to finish the canning...it was a lot of time and work, but worth it for the good tomato sauces we'll have during the off-season!!!

tomato vegetable curry

curry
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

This is a quick variation of Yamuni Devi's vegetable curry from her book Yamuni's Table.

You can also mix up the veggie content a little. Sometimes we add carrots, sometimes potatoes, sometimes corn. It all works really well!

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. mustard seeds
• ~1 tbsp. ground coriander
• ~2 tsp. hot or mild curry
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 to 3 cups plain tomato sauce
• ~1/4 to 1/2 cup coconut milk or plain vegan yogurt
• lots of steamed vegetables and legumes (We just used a whole cauliflower, 5 oz spinach, and a 14 oz can of chickpeas. Carrots and corn kernels also work very well.)

Toast mustard seeds over medium heat (until they start popping--cover the pan!).

Stir the curry and coriander into a half cup or so of water.

When the mustard seeds have popped for about 20 seconds, pour the spice mixture into the pan over the mustard seeds.

Swirl around and and let the spice mix cook down. (If some of the spice mix remains behind in your cup, add a bit more water, swirl, and pour into the pan.)

When the spice mixture is almost dry, add the tomato sauce. Stir until well combined.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Then add steamed vegetables and legumes.

Continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so, occasionally stirring very gently so as not to mash the vegetables.

Finally, stir in the coconut milk or vegan yogurt, heat through, and serve over basmati rice.

padron peppers

padron peppers
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

We picked up these Padron peppers from our local farmer's market, cooked them up in a little olive oil, sprinkled sea salt on them and enjoyed...! They couldn't be easier to make and, amazingly, our 3-year old liked them!

The bigger ones tend to pack more heat -- but, even then, it's still a little like pepper roulette, some are hot, some are not -- so we gave him just the smallest ones.

We liked them so much the first time around, we got more and prepared them for a dinner we had on the beach (enjoyed while we waited for fireworks to light up the sky...)!

Ingredients

• Padron peppers
• about 1 tbsp. of olive oil
• sea salt to taste

Rinse peppers and pat dry.

Heat olive oil in skillet and add peppers when oil is hot

Remove from pan when skin begins to puff up and wrinkle.

Sprinkle with sea salt and enjoy!

post-rumpus meal at Saturn Cafe

sometimes, all we want is steamed veggies...
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

We went to a not-so-wild rumpus at the local Borders tonight (which included a reading of Where the Wild Things Are), so we ate out instead of cooking. I promise I will have a real post with us really cooking very, very soon!

But, for now, can I just say, we love seeing our 3-year old gobble up veggies?? It always makes us happy that, vis a vis veggies, we've set him off on the right path....

As for us parental types...Tom enjoyed a vegan burger and I had a bowl of Moroccan Stew. We all shared some skinny fries and a couple of vegan milkshakes for dessert (but, Dylan had eaten so well at dinner, he barely had any).

vegan mofo day 1 - pasta pomodoro

pasta pomodoro
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

I'm attempting to post our vegan meals for the entire month of October as part of Vegan Mofo 2009. I can't make any promises or guarantees since having a 2-month old and a 3-year old can sometimes get pretty hairy! But, we'll see how it goes.

Expect to see mostly pictures of our meals as I'm mostly cooking from cookbooks these days...and expect easy-peasy and kid-friendly meals. But (!), for the meals I just throw together, I'll post my "recipe!"

So, to kick it off, here's our dinner from tonight: a simple pasta pomodoro. We had impromptu dinner guests who needed to be at an appointment only 60 minutes after we arrived at our house, so the meal had to be uber-easy and uber-quick!

Ingredients

• pasta
• minced garlic
• diced heirloom tomatoes
• basil, chiffonated
• olive oil

Toss cooked pasta with olive oil.

Add minced garlic and toss.

Top with desired amount of chiffonated basil and diced tomatoes. Add salt to taste (optional) and enjoy!

5-minute strawberry ice cream

The best 5-minute ice cream ever. You need a really high-powered blender (we have a VitaMix) to make this, by the way. The results are amazing. Yields about 4 cups.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of coconut milk
• 18 oz. of frozen strawberries (or peach or mango, etc.)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• ~1/2 tsp. each of vanilla extract and almond extract

Put all ingredients into the VitaMix. Begin at the lowest setting and slowly crank it up to high. Blend until 4 peaks form (just as the VitaMix recipe book states!). Enjoy!!

Easy Kale and Coconut

kale and coconut with figs
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

This is one of our favorite ways to eat kale. The coconut adds a nice nutty flavor that complements the taste of the greens really well (or, at least, we think so!). It's dead easy to make, takes about 10 minutes to prepare, and our 2-year old gobbles it up and almost always asks for more!

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of kale (our favorite is dinosaur kale)
• ~1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes or shredded coconut
• dash of salt
• ~1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp. olive oil

De-rib kale and cut in coarse chiffonade.

Sautee kale in olive oil over medium heat until slightly wilted (approx. 2-3 minutes).

Add in coconut and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Add lemon juice and a dash of salt to taste.

Enhanced Hot Cereal

enhanced hot cereal
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

We're always looking to bump up the nutritional profile for many of the things we feed our 2-year old toddler. One of the ways we do this is to just make a basic hot cereal (we like Bob's Red Mill multi-grain cereals -- 7-, 9- or 10-grain) and then add coconut milk (our own idea) and a little flax seed oil (inspired by Le Pain Quotidien's Omega-3 Oatmeal).

The coconut milk adds a nice nutty flavor to the cereal as well as adding extra fat (essential to toddler development) while the flax seed oil adds extra protein and omega-3's.

Dylan loves it!

Ingredients

• hot cereal (prepared as usual)
• 1 tbsp. coconut milk
• 1 tbsp. flax seed oil

Prepare cereal as you normally would.

Stir in some coconut milk and drizzle on some flax seed oil and enjoy!

Chickpea-Quinoa Pilaf with Steamed Broccolini

chickpea-quinoa pilaf with broccolini
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

The quinoa is the first recipe we tried from Veganomicon and it was super good and super easy to make (that means it tasted good even though I cooked it!).

Having some steamed broccolini from this week's farm share was the perfect accompaniment (and Dylan loves broccolini!). The quinoa was a little on the salty side for our taste (we'd probably reduce salt a smidge next time) and the broccolini helped cut through the salt hit.

We'll post a modified version of the recipe soon....We are planning on adding butternut squash or sweet corn to make it even more interesting next time.

Bananas in Coconut Milk

This is a super easy variation of a Thai dessert called Kluay Buat Chee and is basically a minimalist version of Filipino ginataan. It takes all but 10 minutes in total to make! And, if you're wary about the coconut, rest assured that coconut milk has many health benefits.

Ingredients

• 1-14oz. can of coconut milk
• 1 or 2 medium bananas cut lengthwise and then cut across into about 4 pieces
• 1 tsp. maple syrup

Bring coconut milk to a boil over medium heat.

Add bananas and cook until soft (about 3-4 minutes).

Add maple syrup.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

cookies pictured with cupcakes
(no picture of the cookies alone!)
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

Adapted from VegNews (December 2007). The original recipe called for pecans, but since Dylan still hasn't had pecans (a high-allergen, tree nut), we used almonds instead.

It was completely delicious and got good reviews from the fam.

Ingredients

• 2 sticks non-dairy, non-hydrogenated butter (we use Earth Balance buttery sticks)
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar
• 2 tsps. vanilla
• 2 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour, sifted
• 2 c. raw almonds finely chopped
• 2 c. powdered sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 300F.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or use a non-stick baking sheet.

With a mixer, cream the non-dairy butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).

Add the flour, mixing until thoroughly combined.

Add the nuts, mixing well.

Measure out generously rounded teaspoonfuls of dough and roll into balls.

Place 1 inch apart on the baking sheet.

Bake until cookies start to turn golden, about 30 minutes.

Test cookie doneness by cutting one cookie in half and making sure that center is not doughy.

Roll cookies in the powdered sugar while they are still hot.

Cool before serving.

Chocolate Almond Brittle

Adapted from VegNews (December 2007). This has a brittle taste but a much softer texture (which I happen to like as it makes me feel like I won't chip any teeth in the process of eating....) and is pretty quick and easy to prepare.

I'm eager to try some different nuts (cashews or pistachios) some time in the future, too.

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. non-dairy, non-hydrogenated butter at room temperature
• 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 4 oz. of graham crackers (about 6 rectangles), broken up into small bits (but not crumbs)
• 1 1/4 c. almonds, toasted and chopped

Lightly grease a 9-inch pan (square, round, no matter).

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over medium heat.

Once chocolate is melted, remove from heat and stir in the graham cracker bits and the chopped almonds.

Spread the mixture into the pan and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.