Dare to Bake - Challenge #2

I would like to start out by apologizing for my tardiness, but I happened to have just returned from Vancouver, BC!!! I love the Olympic Games!

Anywho, this month on Daring Bakers, I was posed the challenge of creating a vegan tiramisu. Now, this is the dessert I most strongly regret not trying while in Italy. However, I pledged to make a concerted effort under my re-imposed dietary guidelines. Here goes my Vegan Pear Hazelnut Tiramisu:

Lady Fingers (Adapted from chocolate lady fingers in "Love, Eric")

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

3/4 tsp baking soday

1/4 cup vegetable or nut oil

1/3 cup soy milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup maple syrup, agave nectar, or brown sugar simple syrup (cooled!!!)

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1. Mix wet ingredients together with a whisk.

2. Sift in dry ingredients. Mix together with the whisk. It will be thick, but if must be spread add a tad more oil and milk.

3. Pipe batter into about 4-inch long fingers onto a baking pan (use parchment paper or a silpat).

4. Bake at 325F for 20-30 minutes until set. Cool and store in an air-tight container.

Notes: These were a lot denser than I had anticipated. They tasted really good, but weren't the light and fluffy cookies that they are supposed to be - if you have any tips for vegan lady fingers, I'd be glad to hear it.

Pastry Creme (Inspired by mascarpone recipe in "Nonna's Vegan Italiano" and tofu cream in "Love, Eric")

12 oz silken tofu (completely drained)

2/3 cup raw or toasted hazelnuts (depending on your flavor preference)

2 tbs lemon juice

1/2-3/4 cup brown sugar + 2 tbs maple syrup

2 tbs tapioca starch

1 tbs tahini

pinch sea salt

1/2 tsp hazelnut extract (if the nuts are untoasted)

1. This is super easy. Food process everything until smooth!

Pear Compote

2 ripe pears, any variety

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tbs brandy

1. Bring water and pears to boil in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. Simmer all the ingredients over low heat until pears are super soft. Continue to add water as it boils away. Mash/blend to smooth-ish.

Assembly

1. Take a glass casserole dish. Dip lady fingers in brandy (I used pear brandy, because it is more mild. Line bottom of dish with cookies (I had to cut them to fit).

2. Thinly slice another half of a pear and place around the edge of the bowl.

3. Spread a thick layer of the pastry creme. Spread a thin layer of the pear compote. Add another layer of spiked lady fingers. Repeat.

4. Refrigerate for at least a day. Garnish top with pear slices and crushed hazelnuts.

The results, tasty, but not tiramisu. As usual, the creme was too tofu-y. The flavors melded nicely, but I have to say I think I would prefer the classic, with a hint of chocolate! Still, fun challenge - and definitely a challenge! See the blogs below for the original, and far more complex, recipes.

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Homeand Baking Obsession.

When Life Gives you Apples...Make Applesauce!

Produce of the Week: Apples

While I have tried for the past few weeks to focus on vegetables that often get a bad rap, I could not ignore the twenty-pound box of apples that replenishes itself every two or three weeks sitting in my garage. I mean, who does NOT like apples? So, here we are with some tantalizing recipes that use this little sphere of delight.

Apples are the quintessential lunch fruit. The daily dose of fiber and sugar that will keep the doctor away. They are one of the top cultivated species of tree fruit and span approximately 7,500 varieties. Today, we stick to a few major flavors, like Red Delicious and Granny Smith, but the market is expanding to include a wider selection (I think Pink Ladies take the cake). This popular fruit originated in Central Asia, probably in Turkey, and has been a staple in Asia and Europe for millennia, it didn't make it out to the North American continent until the 17th century. I could expound upon the history and qualities of apples, but you are probably here for the recipes. To learn more, visit Wikipedia or go hunt down Botany of Desire on DVD or in print.

Old picture of applesauce!

While apples aren't the most nutritious fruits around, they are delicious, and can be used in so many different ways. Applesauce is probably my favorite end product of bruised or otherwise marginalized apples. I feel no need, whatsoever, to add sugar to these stewy fruits:

5-7 (depending on size) Fuji and Gala apples. Coursely chopped with skins on (can peel if you want but the skins provide extra flavor)

1 cup water

Cinnamon to taste

1. Bring water and apples to a boil in a large-ish sauce pan. Lower heat to low.

2. Add cinnamon stick or ground cinnamon.

3. Let simmer/stew with lid mostly on until fruit is really soft (about 1-1.5 hours)

4. If you like chunky applesauce, mash with a spoon or fork. If you are an immersion blender addict like me, go wild!

5. Revel in the delicious flavors of homemade applesauce!

However, there is only so much applesauce a person can eat. So let's expand our apple adventures to a more mainstream course. Kugels are sort of the Ashkenazi Jew's version of a pudding - meaning it could include anything from noodles or bread to simply eggs. This Comforting Cabbage-Apple Kugel was adapted from "Passionate Vegetarian" by Crescent Dragonwagon (a monstrous tome and vegetarian bible).

1 small cabbage head (I used purple, but it left the kugel with an unappetizing bluish hue)

1/2 large onion, diced

2 medium apples, peeled and finely diced

2 tbs honey (I preferred it savory and would have left out the sweetener)

1 tsp salt

2 cups cubed and toasted whole wheat bread (I used my slightly stale sourdough baguette)

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup potato starch

1/3 block of firm tofu, smashed or pureed*

1/4 cup coconut milk w/1 tbs tapioca starch and 1 tsp baking soda dissolved*

1 tbs olive oil

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cabbage. Cook for about 20 minutes, until cabbage is starting to get tender and onions are translucent.

2. Add sweetener, salt, and apples. Cook for another 10-15 minutes. Take off heat.

3. While cabbage cooks, place bread in casserole dish and pour boiling water over. Let it soak until cooled enough to handle. Squeeze out and discard water.

4. Mash soaked bread with milk mixture and potato starch. Stir in cabbage mixture and tofu.

5. Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes or until starting to firm up. Let cool slightly before serving.

*The original recipe called for 3 large eggs, separated. The final dish is supposed to be kind of souffle-like, so if you want to keep the eggs, mix in the yolks for the coconut milk mixture. Beat the whites to stiff peaks and fold in at the end.

Apple pie, pre-crumble topping

Caramel (from my leftover vegan salted caramels) crumble apple pie!

And, then, there is always a classic apple pie! Make a simple vegan pie crust - I like to add a bit of food-processed brazil nuts to add a little oomph.

Filling:

3-4 apples, chopped

Lotsa cinnamon

1 tbs honey or other liquid sweetener

Crumble:

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3-1/2 cup canola oil

Um, pretty straight forward. Make pie crust. Roll out and transfer to pie pan. Fill with apples. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, until apples getting soft. Add crumble. Bake at 325F for another 15-20 minutes until browning and apples are soft. Drizzle with caramel if so desired. Let cool. Enjoy!

Produce of the Week: Cabbage!

With a couple of beets, a few bedraggled carrots, and a half of a rutabaga, my refrigerator's produce bin was looking pretty pitiful. It had been three weeks since my last farmer's market excursion, and I was definitely suffering the consequences. I don't know how long I could have kept up my chocolate and apples diet (since, that is what it seemed to be turning into). But, thankfully, Saturday arrived and I had my favorite weekend excursion: the U-District Farmer's Market! Among the bounty of roots, leafy greens, and baby delicatas, I picked up this gem - a beautiful, Rachel-sized, purple cabbage!

Ok, now most people I know hear the word cabbage and immediately mime gagging. For some reason (like many of the veggies I love), it has this bad reputation. Maybe it is the pungent aroma given off when cooked...maybe it is the result of one too many bad experiences with the "Cabbage Soup Diet" (well, of course you'll lose weight if all you eat is cabbage!)...I don't know. But my hope is that if you are one of the cabbage knockers, you will give it another chance.

Cabbages are the quintessential Brassicas, and actually the same species as kale, broccoli, and brussel sprouts (its "Mini Me"). This star of today's cole slaws, has a long cultivation and culinary history, spanning civilizations and continents. I am not going to go into the detailings of centuries of cabbage evolution, but if you are interested, check this out.

Anywho, I am a recent cabbage convert. It's not a super-food like some leafy greens or anti-oxidant-rich berries, but it has some redeemable qualities with plenty of Vitamin C and anti-inflammatory properties. Plus it is a hardy, filling meal, that - due to its neutral pH - helps ease acidic stomach problems.

A couple of weeks ago, I made an absolutely scrumptious Indian Stir-Fried Cabbage. Pair it with some naan, dal, or other Indian food stuffs. I am loathe to include a slaw recipe in this post, but as long as I steer clear of our American version and stick to a light Asian-inspired dish, I think I will pull through. For dinner tonight, I thought I would make Purple Cabbage, Winter Squash, and Tofu, compliments of last week's NY Times dining section!

If you happened to be overflowing with apples and parsnips, I also recommend this soupy delicacy!

And in the Morning, I'm Making Bagels!

Hail to the all mighty O!

Oh, that loveable, carb-laden, slice-able O! Smear it with cream cheese and layer it with lox (neither of which I eat anymore). Dip it in peanut butter or make a sandwich with cucumber and hummus. Oh, bagels, how I love thee. Last Saturday was not the first time I had tackled the challenge of baking bagels from scratch, and I am nearly positive it won't be the last. This time, though, my recipe didn't call for 6 hours of refrigeration prior to boiling! By actually following the directions, you can achieve reliably good results - and reasonably sized bagels, to boot! Eat them warm and toasty or freeze for later toaster action.

My little O's of dough rising in the afternoon.

Don't be afraid to let these boil for the full 3 minutes called for.

In the past couple of weeks, I also had excellent luck with this lovely sourdough ciabatta. It was even unnecessary to freeze the second loaf, because it was quickly consumed. These vegan chocolate chip cookies also made their debut for Love Your Library Week at my mom's school. With a hint of molasses, these are not your typical chocochippers, but they are even better if you throw in some oats and dried cranberries!

More to come in the ensuing weeks...or until one of these job things comes through.

What's Wrong with the Meat...Sir?

"I'll tell you one thing I'll never eat...hot dogs." Jonathan Safran Foer, writer extraordinaire, pulled off a coherent interview on the Colbert Report and conveyed his message: it's the meat. While our agriculture system has more than a few screws loose, what with pesticide-laden, nitrogen-slurried, monocropping growing culture that produces the majority of US crops, our obsession with meat is what is turning on the CO2 pump. Not only that - we don't treat those livestock so nicely, either. As he tries to convey in his interview, Safran Foer is not necessarily opposed to meat consumption (although he chooses not to take part, himself), but advocates for a modest and very conscious consumption of animal products. Be careful of labels and know where your meat comes from.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Jonathan Safran Foer
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Economy

Now, I could see that philosophy applied to just about any comestible product these days. Where animal products differ substantially, is both in the fact that these are cognizant beings and that it takes a hell of a lot of energy to produce one Calorie of an animal product. First, to address the animal rights issue, you have to consider that your average joe cow lives in a CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation - or - essentially a factory farm). Not only are these massive and crowded, but they basically necessitate feeding our ruminant friend a diet of corn, which wreaks havoc on the mooers digestive system. Corn also requires considerable energy to grow, produces sick and fatty cows without beneficial omega fatty acids, and is already found in almost everything else we consume (watch King Corn). Yuck. Look for grass-finished beef and limit your consumption! Remember, ruminant livestock contributes about 20% of the US methane (a greenhouse gas more potent than CO2) emissions. Furthermore, all the concentrated waste from these animals has to go somewhere, and often it ends up polluting waterways and the like instead of being integrated into a closed loop system where cows fertilize the grazeland and the crops on the farm!

Don't get too complacent, because you don't eat beef. Those chicken's eggs your packing down ain't so good for the environment or the chicken either. Free range gets you a chicken that at some point had access to a yard. Doesn't rule out large, cramped indoor holding space or the high probability that the door isn't open or the chickens can't get to it. Cage-free similarly holds very little clout. Certified humane or Animal Welfare Approved are your best bets if you can't get your hands on a dozen farmer's market eggs or some from your neighbor!

I think my rant has overstayed its welcome. So, take a look at the video, read "The Ethics of What we Eat" by Peter Singer, and start thinking hard about what you put in your mouth.

Food on Film

It looks like food is making it into the mainstream spotlight. This year's academy awards will feature two food-related nominees. In the same vein of your Michael Pollans and Marion Nestles, "Food Inc." presents an expose of the negative environmental and social implications of America's food system. Naturally in the Feature Documentary category, the film touches upon the same issues as many of the recent foodie lit. Unlike literature, though, this film reaches a wider audience and conveys the human element of our industrial food challenge with more poignancy. Take a look at the trailer; take a look at the film; take a look at the companion book that expands upon the stories discussed in the documentary. If you liked "Food, Inc." check out "Our Daily Bread" and "Botany of Desire".

If you are more into the fictional realm, "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is high on my list. With all the hype over "Up," I don't have much hope for a win, but this animated film is top notch. Based on the Roald Dahl book, FMF takes a critical look at big industry agriculture...even if it's only tangentially. While the farmers may have been justified in going after Mr. Fox for stealing, the film is almost a running commentary on the separation of our food-growing operations from the natural environment and its mechanization. Outside of that, this movie is fantastic in its own right! Cleverly put together, creative old-school stop-gap animation, and a funny dialogue. Highly recommended and my vote for best animated feature flick.

Produce of the Week: Beets!

Ah, beets. These hearty roots are versatile, beautiful, and delicious! Beet cultivation, like that of turnips, goes way back to ancient times - domesticated somewhere around the Mediterranean. Of course this was the leafy variety...little did I know that beets are actually the same species as chard, just bred for root rather than greens. According to my reliable reference, Wikipedia, the beet encompasses uses from your common table beet to fodder and sugar. As far as the kind of beet you would eat, they come in all sorts of varieties - candy cane and golden beets hold a particularly fond place in my heart.

These lovely little gems in gold and ruby make for excellent sides and main courses. The golden beet and blood orange salad I made the other night was a slightly downplayed version of Heidi Swanson's Roasted Beet and Blood Orange Salad and looked lovely.

Beets are also excellent incorporated into cakes, as they provide moisture and, if using Bull's Blood or other deeply colored roots, a rich color. Beet greens can be used like chard, understandable, as they are related. As an ancient Babylonian veggie, it is of no surprise that an excellent compliment is the luscious pomegranate. And, of course, beets are always excellent doused in olive oil and sea salt and roasted for an hour in the oven.