Rachel’s Rainbow: The Attack of the Macarons

“So she packed her favorite lunch – a peanut butter sandwich and chocolate chip cookies. Then she set out on her search for her own rainbow.” - Rachel's Rainbow

May’s Mactweets Mac Attack Challenge was to create a French macaron inspired by a favorite childhood book, character, passage, etc. “Rachel’s Rainbow” was probably one of the first books I ever had (it was published a year after my birth), and it occupies a very special place in my heart.

Rachel walks through the woods in search of a rainbow, collecting the odd apple or leaf in the process. Only she finds in the end that she has the real rainbow she collected right there in her basket. Yes, it’s the typical hokey children’s literature, but it also speaks to a profound appreciation for nature and the gifts of the Earth. I think we often go searching for things and forget to take count of what we already have, and note the wonders that surround us in everyday life. This scrawny, 23-page book uses the eyes of a child to show the reader the beauty and dynamism of the natural world.

In honor of that rainbow each of us searches for – and the peanut butter sandwich and cookies each of us longs to eat – I made a rainbow of macaron peanut butter sandwich cookies. Only the red veered off a little from a standard macaron recipe, in that I used ground dehydrated strawberries for some of the color and to make a PB & J (because I don’t like plain PB sandwiches too much). Also note that my purple is actually brown (and chocolate), as I forgot one of the colors on my rainbow spectrum. My sister also commented that the peanut butter filling is particularly un-photogenic - though I don't know what you can do about that!

Notes and Other Macaron Adventures:

Cashew Macarons with Coconut Cream and Lime Curd Fillings. Left: Curry Powder; Plain; Garam Masala.

After some trial and error over the past few months, I think I have landed a recipe that works for my climate and my oven. Syrup and Tang’s proportions suit a damp climate well, because of the high dry ingredient proportions. Eat4Fun’s chocolate macaron recipe also turned out marvelously. Not So Humble Pie has a new Macaron 101, and Tartelette seems to have an endless supply of macaron variations. I also realized that 300-315F is the proper temperature for my oven, but ovens vary and you should experiment with your own.

Strawberry Lemonade

Minty Dark Chocolate

Dare to Bake … or rather, Steam!

Wow, does time fly! It is already the end of April, and time for another Daring Baker's Challenge to come to a close.

Let us preface this post by saying that I’m a bit of an Anglophile. I fantasize about Jane Austen’s English country-side; British (well, the slew of UK and English-influenced) accents make me melt; And, words like ‘lovely’, ‘rubbish’, and ‘cheers’ seem to work their way into my vocabulary. But I never felt particularly drawn to classic British cuisine – it always seemed too meaty and fatty.

Well, who knew that this period of my life was about to come to a close? The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

First of all, what is suet? It is a “hard, flaky fat” from cows or sheep that is not going to make an appearance on my blog. While I applaud the use of every part of the animal if you are going to make the choice to consumer meat, I think I will stick with my vegan version.

Ok, ok, let’s talk pudding, instead. No, I did not make a creamy dish of the Jello-style chocolateness that more appropriately goes by the name of custard. In England, pudding generally refers to desserts, in addition to any dish cooked in a pudding bowl or pudding cloth and steamed or boiled (but sometimes baked). This boat I’ll jump on; I have been dying to try a steamed cake for a while now! That said, I may have gone a bit steam crazy…

The first and my favorite was a savory (*gasp*) pudding with Indian influences and a protein-filled crust. All of my recipes serve two (portion control...so that I don't become a chubby little blogger), but can pretty easily be scaled up!

Savory – Aloo Gobi Pudding

Crust

¼ cup besam or garbanzo flour

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

½ tbs mild flavor oil (like canola)

1/3 cup water

Filling

¼ large onion, coarsely chopped

¼ cup peas

1 med potato

½ tbs vegetable oil

1 clove garlic

pinch of mustard seeds

¼ tsp curry powder (with turmeric and cumin in it)

1 tsp tomato paste

water as needed (left over from boiling potatoes)

1. Mix crust ingredients together until all ingredients are incorporated and the dough easily forms a ball. Stick in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

2. Boil some water and add potato. Cook until JUST fork-tender.

3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add mustards seeds and fry until they start to 'pop'. Add onions. Cook until translucent. Add garlic, potato, and peas. After a few minutes add curry powder, tomato paste, and a little bit of water from the potatoes to lubricate. Turn off heat.

4. Take out your crust. Chop off about 1/3 of the dough. Roll each into a circle, one that will cover the bowl you are using to steam (mine was the smallest size glass mixing bowl), and the other to fit on top. Place first circle in the bowl. Dump in your filling. Place second circle on top and seal the edges.

5. Ok, I don't feel like explaining the actual steaming process, so I will defer to this explanation to get you started! Sound good? Mine took an absurdly short period of time to cook, so just be flexible...

My starter has been feeling neglected lately! Here it is after a couple days of pampering out of the refrigerator. Mine is a little less that 100% saturation (50/50 water/flour)

Sweet – Upside Down Rubarb Sourdough Pudding

Inspired by Best of Bloodroot Vol. II

1/3 cup goopy starter (~75-100% hydration)

1/3 cup water

2-3 tbs oil (I used walnut)

½ tsp vanilla

1/3 cup unrefined sugar

½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1/3 cup cornmeal

Zest of one orange

1 tbs agave nectar

1 tbs orange juice

3 large rhubarb ribs, chopped

1. Mix starter and water until well combined. Add other liquid ingredients, zest, and sugar. Combine dry ingredients and then mix well (but not too much) with the wet.

2. The last three ingredients are for the topping. Mix those together and then fill the bottom of two greased ramekins. Evenly distribute the batter. Then steam!

Sweet – Gluten Free Chocolate Pudding

¼ cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs coconut creamer

2 tsp kahlua (or 1 tsp vanilla)

1 tsp red wine vinegar

2 tbs agave nectar or 2 tbs brown sugar (add an extra tbs liquid)

1 ½ tbs cocoa powder

10 g good quality bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, shaved

GF Baking Mix:

3 tbs cornmeal

3 tbs rice flour (white or brown)

2-3 tbs almond meal

1 tbs tapioca flour

1 tbs potato starch

½ tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1. Combine all ingredients except the "baking mix" and chocolate shavings. Try to make sure the cocoa powder is well incorporated.

2. Add dry ingredients. Mix in the chocolate shavings - or you can put 5oz in the center of each pudding (fill half batter, add chocolate, cover with second half batter).

3. Pour batter into two greased ramekins. Steam!

If anything, this challenge has converted me to a steamer. This method locks in the moisture, creating a decadently lush cake to dig your fork into. While it doesn’t create the lovely crust that baking does – and for that reason, brownies will always be baked – it can yield a gooey center and puddingy goodness. Plus, it is just so hard to screw up!

Produce of the Week: Miner’s Lettuce

I want to start out by apologizing for leading you astray with last week's produce. While the basil in my backyard is technically local and seasonal, after the cold snap last week it is now pockmarked in brownish spots and curling in on itself. For those of you in the northern regions of the United States, basil is just not in the stars this early in the year. Sorry.

Ok, moving on to something readily available right now. Also known as Winter Purselane and Spring Beauty, Miner’s Lettuce is a native of the Western United States, from the southern bit of Alaska down to Central America. Most common in the early spring (that's now), the tender plant loves cool, damp climates (that's Seattle). In fact, it seems to like the Pacific Northwest so much, that the little lettuce is making an appearance at every produce stand at the Saturday farmers market!

Salads appear to be the most common use of this green. Let's start there. It just so happened that this weekend I gave my little arugula patch a trim, so I had a lovely salad of purselane, arugula seedlings, and sunflower-lemon dressing.

Creamy Lemon Dressing:

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup sunflower seeds (soaked for 2 hours)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp agave nectar

Blend together at a low speed.

Miner’s Lettuce Hummus (based on Spinach and Artichoke Hummus):

2 cups chickpeas (or one can rinsed and mostly drained)

4 cups miner’s lettuce, pretty loosely packed

2 tbs tahini

2 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs flaxseed oil (has a strong flavor, so use olive oil if you'd prefer)

2 cloves garlic, roasted w/olive oil in a 350F until soft (15-20minutes)

salt and pepper to taste

Food process until smooth and greenish throughout.

Late Spring Stirfry (Adapted from The Farm to Table Cookbook by Ivy Manning):

2 tsp cornstarch, arrowroot, or tapioca starch

2 tbs rice cooking wine

¼ cup orange juice

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tbs soy sauce or tamari

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbs minced ginger

1 tbs minced garlic

1/2 cup broccoli

1 large carrot, diced

1 cup miner’s lettuce stems

1 oz seitan (vital wheat gluten) or other veggie chicken-y thing

1. Mix all ingredients together except vegetables and starch. Marinate the seitan in the mixture while cooking the veggies.

2. Stir-fry up the veggies (add water as needed). Add the seitan to the frying pan. After they have browned a bit, add the marinade mixed with the starch.

3. Cook a bit more and serve by itself or over rice or quinoa.

So that's all. Some day, maybe I will go mine for my own lettuce (it's actually called that because men ate it during the gold rush to get vitamin C and fend off scurvy...or something like that). For now, this is another Produce of the Week brought to you on My Munchable Musings!

Chocolate: How it Can Help (and Harm) People and the Planet

Cacao pods are colorful fruit...truly tropical!

I think you have gathered by now that I love chocolate. As such, I am always looking for reasons to justify my consumption of cacao products. My excuse for yesterday and today's chocolate shenanigans is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day! Wednesday evening found me walking the factory floor at Theo Chocolate, while last night I hung around with one of the founders of Madecasse.

Unfortunately, chocolate happens to have a split personality, a little Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde going on. It can wreak havoc on ecosystems and developing nations' poor farmers, while at the same times has the potential to preserve certain habitats and support local economies. Like most social/environmental dilemmas these days, it really depends on how you do it!

The Issues:

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

No matter what, if you want chocolate, it will have to travel from somewhere within the Tropics (15-20 degree bubble around the equator). Many chocolate manufacturers actually purchase chocolate from a large-scale distributor and then create their bars. This, of course, means an additional voyage from farm to processor to chocolatier. Producers that see their chocolate from start to and end product, are termed bean-to-bar manufacturers, but this isn't necessarily an indication of sustainability. Transportation isn't the only GHG culprit in chocolate making, though. The method of growing a cacao pod is actually critically important in chocolate's carbon footprint, but also in its impact on the surrounding ecosystems.

Habitat Destruction

Originally a tropical understory plant hailing from Latin America, cacao has now spread throughout the tropics and is for the most part grown like other plantation comodity crops. That means cutting own a forest (and releasing GHGs into the atmosphere) and planting a mono-crop of cacao. Some chocolate companies are now promoting their "shade-grown" chocolate, that capitalizes on traditional methods of growing cacao, while at the same time preserving canopy habitat for birds and arboreal creatures.

Soil Degradation
Similarly to coffee, cacao experiences initial growth spurts when grown in mono-cultures exposed to full sun. That does not last for long, though, because the soil rapidly degrades, losing nutrients and moisture. The crazy thing about tropical rainforests, is that their soils are extraordinarily poor, and most of the nutrients are locked up the vegetation. So, when you undermine the system in which these forests evolved, you end up with shorter-lived plants and an increasing need for added water and chemicals. Africa, which produces 2/3 of the world's cocoa, is currently experiencing this decline in yields.

Child Labor

43% of cocoa comes from Africa's Cote d'Ivoire, in which forced child labor is mainstream. Fair-trade certification prohibits the use of child labor...although, I think that allowing children to learn the trade by experience (much like small-holder farmers in the US years ago), has some merits - carries on tradition and local knowledge.

Unfair Wages
One of the biggest problems in human terms with commodity crops is the impoverished state many farmers find themselves in. Between large conglomerates and middlemen in the production line, very little of the actualized cost of a chocolate bar makes its way back to the farmer. A growing awareness of this inequity and increasing concern of consumers has lead to more efforts to work closely with growers, through partnerships, collectives, and cooperatives. To a large extent this is "fair trade."

So now I feel justified in spending Earth Day eve and the evening of Earth Day tasting, really tasting, chocolate with a mission. The livelihoods of about 50 million people in the world depend on cacao. For that reason, chocolate is probably not going away. But if we make more thoughtful decisions about what type of chocolate we buy, we can support more equitable ventures for the people involved and more sustainable growing systems for the planet!

Ok, so Black and White Ruffed lemurs don't live in the cacao-growing region of Madagascar, but they are the reason I love the island and feel so strongly about preserving diminishing forest.

Look for other brands like Theo and Madecasse. Both hold a special place in my heart for sourcing from Madagascar and supporting the extremely poor farmers and the dwindling endangered rainforests. I think I might go nibble on a bar of Fair Trade Organic dark chocolate (70% or bust), now with a little less guilt (and it's healthy - even less guilt).

Chocolate Resources:

1. The Nibble: High cocoa content bars and some possible health benefits

2. NPR: How Chocolate Can Change the Planet

3. CNN: Chocolate's Bitter Sweet Relationship with the Rainforest

4. Transfair: Fair Trade Certification

5. Chocopedia

6. Choco Guatemaya: A cool chocolate non-profit

7. The Nibble: Origin and Taste

Produce of the Week: Basilico

You might be thinking - "basil isn't in season, especially not in the great (but often chilly and grey) Pacific Northwest." Well, you can think that all you want, but that is not going to change the fact that there is a basil plant (actually five) growing in my backyard at this very moment. If that is not local and seasonal, I am not sure what is.

While appearing in Asian varieties such as Thai and Lemon basils, this tender herb is most well-known for its starring role in many Italian dishes. It is high in antioxidants, possesses antibacterial properties, and traditionally has been used to treat maladies related to stress and asthma. And of course, there are the many culinary traditions to which basil adds flavor and color.

Basil is my go-to herb. Usually I resort to the dried variety: it's available year-round, it packs a punch with more concentrated flavor, and can be steeped in stews and sauces. Oh, but fresh basil is heavenly!

Classic Pesto Genovese (with carrot linguine)

1 large bunch of basil

2-3 medium cloves of basil

couple of tbs of pine nuts

salt to taste

olive oil to create desired consistency

1. Food process all ingredients until smooth-ish. That's it!

2. My mother has this fantastic method of freezing pesto in ice cube trays to use for later. You just grab one or two little 'uns, heat it up with a tad bit of olive oil, and then coat your favorite pasta! Note: traditional pesto has a hard cheese like parmesan, but don't freeze it like this!

Carrot Linguine

1. Use a peeler to strip a few large carrots clean to the ribs.

2. Dump the carrot strands in a skillet with a bit of oil and water until starting to get tender.

3. Toss with the pesto or a roasted tomato marinara...mmm...

My Favorite Basil Recipes:

• I love Ratatouille, the classic Provencal courgette et tomate dish can be light and baked, stewy, or in the Smitten Kitchen, a lovely tart! My stint on the Italian farm was filled with pomodori, zucchini, e basilico - the perfect ratatouille, the perfect August repast.
• In the heat of summer, toast up some crusty italian bread drizzled in olive oil and layer a slice of garden-fresh tomato and a leaf of basil for delicious Caprese salad.
• Good marinara requires basil, either fresh added at the end or dried allowed to simmer (and there are plenty of good gnocchi recipes without eggs).
• Of course, a good white bean soup is always a nice addition to a meal (Fat Free Vegan Blog has many delightful recipes with basil!)

And if you plan on retaining your own basil plants, keep in mind that they repel many pesky insects and aid in the growth (and flavor development) of tomatoes - who would've guessed?

How to BEET the April Showers Blues

Roasting beets in the oven is an important step to both these recipes!

I know not too long ago I was lamenting the imminent drought triggered by the PNW's unusually pleasant and dry winter. Well, happy as I am that I don't have to water the plants and that the snowpack in the mountains is growing, I miss the sunny and relatively warm weather! As a means of escape, I usually turn to food. This turn around, the Sweet or Savory (SOS) Kitchen Challenge popped onto my radar. And what better way to hide from the winter-like spring? Make some nice comforting food with this month's ingredient: BEETS!

*UPDATE 4/26* Check out the Beet Roundup for other fun and creative concoctions!

While beets have definitely had their share of the spotlight on my blog, they really deserve all the attention. I tried two versions of a roasted beet salad this time. *GASP* No desserts??? No chocolate beet cake or crazy golden beet pie? I admit it, I stuck with savory!

Mmm ... the toasting pistachio aroma!

My first recipe is not my own, but the dish has haunted my dreams for a year. Ever since one of the residents of my Co-Op last year made it for his head cook, these Beets with Pistachio Butter have been begging for an encore. The only problem is that I forgot to ask for the recipe! Well, it seems like the only tried-and-true PB and B recipe comes out of Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. It's posted on a number of blogs, so I will just direct you to the recipe so that I can devote my space to enlightening you on my other salad. While this dish didn't live up to its Co-Op counterpart, the pistachio butter was delightful and roasted beets are always pleasing!

A powerful food processor is a must to avoid lumpy/grainy pistachio butter.

But I had leftover beets. While frolicking between raindrops in my backyard, I noticed that the chives really needed a haircut! I normally like my salads naked, but ok, ok, beet salad with a chivey dressing it is.

Rachel Sized Beet Salad with Chivey Dressing

2 medium red beets

1 clove garlic

1/2 tbs finely chopped chives

2 tsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp olive oil

salt to taste

1. Dice beets and roast in an oiled and covered pan at 375F. Takes about 30 minutes until tender. Put the garlic clove in dowsed with a little oil for last 10 or 15 minutes.

2. Mix oil, vinegar, chives, salt, and smashed roasted garlic.

3. Toss with beets. Beware, this is not a task to undertake wearing white garments!

Who knew that beets + chives = magic?

Produce of the Week: Wood Sorrel

While St. Patrick's Day may be long past, that should not prevent you from enjoying the shamrocks a bit longer! In fact, I picked up a bit of this wild wood sorrel from Foraged and Found at the U-District farmer's market. Trying to be a bit more adventurous, it was love at first taste. The lemony little herb derives its tartness from oxalyc acid (for which it is named) and adds a refreshing zing to dishes.

Gazing at the small, but delightful selection of foraged mushrooms and greens, this deep sense of longing comes over me, to scour the backwoods and go rifling through the leaf litter. The desire to learn wild edible plant identification (and hunting grounds) is sometimes overwhelming, as is my disappointment that I have done nothing to increase my knowledge. But for now I will content myself with tending the garlic and sprouting arugula in my own backyard.

Sorrel isn't the type of ingredient one uses in "cooking." It's quite lovely raw - I made a refreshing salad with it.

Shamrock Salad:

Fresh wood sorrel - careful, it's very delicate

Sliced apple (crunchy and sweet)

Broken walnut pieces

Drizzle of olive oil

Toss, enjoy!

It also makes a nice pesto, a nice infusion, as well as other good uses! Wood sorrel is worth seeking out ... and if you know of any other recipes that employ this herb, I'd be glad to hear of it!

If Life Were a Reality TV Series

This may be one of those posts that lives up to the title of my blog...I've been musing a lot lately. Two weeks ago on Friday, I did what many Americans do on a Friday evening - I plopped myself down on the couch, flipped on the television (using the remote, of course), and immersed myself in two hours of reality TV. While I shy away from dancing stars, top modeling, and others of that ilk, it was just to much to resist the charming British accent and honorable mission of my favorite Naked Chef.

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution tackles one of the most pressing challenges in the American diet these days: teaching the next generation to eat consciously - healthfully and sustainably. This passionate Brit attempts to turn the lunch programs of Huntington, WV's schools on their heads, introducing "real" food; not that processed rubbish we've all seen (and many have eaten) in school cafeteria's. While the show focuses more on health, which definitely adds to the drama and life-or-death moments, it is easily applicable to the holistic sustainability of our food system in general. You can watch the full episodes on ABC.

While Jamie has captured the couch potato crowd, the fight for school lunch reform has taken over the blogosphere, as well. I have been following Mrs. Q's blog on school lunches for a few months now, and am appalled though not surprised by her account of cafeteria food. Not too long ago, I remember being confronted with crustless PB&J sandwiches cut into perfect circles or the mounds of french fries Mr. Oliver faces in WV high school.

Both of these foodie advocates work on a solid foundation of unhealthy food practices in the US. A lovely morsel in the NY Times Magazine compared the breakdown of food consumption in several countries. Don't worry Americans, we still retain our place as #1 consumer of processed foods. But doesn't it just make your eyes well up and your throat constrict when you think of all of those adultered ingredients being consumed?

Needless to say, it is almost impossible these days to navigate the various blogs and news sources I follow without happening upon something or other relating to revolutionizing our food system, and as of late, the many and varying school lunch programs. What I find most fascinating about all of the hullabaloo (which I support, mind you), is the means by which it is reaching the general public and building support.

We seem to be in an age in which - despite years of advocacy and small, but hard-won victories for the fresh, local, seasonal foods community - the way to get something done is to make it into a reality TV show! Americans like nothing better than to experience the struggles, trials, and victories of life by watching someone else go through them. Well, if it works and that's what people want... Combining our favorite media source - that box in front of the couch - and our blossoming cyberworld, significant change might actually be in our future!

And with our First Lady taking the degraded state of our country's nutrition as a personal insult, we have a good many voices speaking up! Keep an eye on the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act that could provide the little shove necessary for a real Food Revolution.

I apologize for the lack of photographs and edible musings. Such ruminations will return after these messages...

My Fling with Spring

Weather is a funny thing in the Pacific Northwest; I never know whether to expect sunshine in January or snow in March. So, while the vernal equinox has officially passed and new buds should now be in endless supply, spring fruits and veggies are not yet available. In fact, that mild (and at times quite warm) winter has transformed to a chilly spring. Amid those little April showers, I still feel like curling up in front of a warm fire and sipping some tea.

Well then, what does one do when confronted with a pie challenge themed “Spring”? Washington does not provide the early spring bounty so readily available in sunnier (and also heavily irrigated) California. And since I don’t want to turn my beloved Evergreen State into something it’s not, I embraced the transition of the seasons.

Two pies emerged from the abyss of desserts from which I pull my inspiration. At the farmer’s market a couple of weeks ago, I picked up the first of this season’s rhubarb! I still can hardly contain my excitement around this fruit I only first encountered a year ago. And although I obtained strawberry plants at the market, my pie had to make due without. The pear served as my local link to the fall and winter and melded nicely with the silky rhubarb.

Pear – Rhubarb Pie (vegan)

Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup ground brazil nuts

½ cup oat flour

¼ cup cold water (more if necessary)

½ cup oil (vegetable or nut)

1. Food process the oats. Add the nuts and run it until it reaches a fine meal.

2. Combine the oat/nut meal with the flour. Add the wet ingredients.

3. Mix all together with a wooden spoon until just combined and finish it off by hand.

4. Refrigerating isn’t really necessary, so just flour a surface and roll out to fit your pie pan (with a bit extra for the lattices).

Filling:

2 large pears

3 large stalks of rhubarb

½ - 1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbs corn starch (or tapioca starch)

1. Chop up the pears and rhubarb. Toss with sugar, starch, and cinnamon.

2. Fill the bottom crust. Use the leftover crust dough to lattice the pie.

3. Bake at 350F for 30-45 minutes, until the filling starts to bubble.

With my dessert set to go, my main course pie still eluded me. Oh, how good those fiddlehead ferns looked. Oh, if only the asparagus didn’t come from Mexico. Oh, if only I knew the dandelion greens growing in my lawn were edible! Instead, I snipped some of the chives that started to perk up as the weather warmed. Added to my fall/winter staples – onions and mushrooms – these little herbs make a nice quiche.

Caramelized Mushroom, Onion, and Chive Quiche (vegan, gluten-free)

Crust:

3 medium potatoes, grated

¼ cup garbanzo flour

1 tbs tapioca starch

1 tbs salt (or to taste)

1. Combine all the ingredients. Press into a greased pie pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350F.

Filling:

12 oz firm tofu

½ large onion

½ cup sliced mushrooms

2 tbs chopped chives

1-2 cloves roasted garlic

½ tbs olive oil

2 tbs white wine

Salt to taste

Nutritional yeast (optional)

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add onions and cook until starting to turn translucent.

2. Food process tofu until coarse. Add half the onions and give it another whiz.

3. Continue to sauté the rest of the onions and add the mushrooms. Douse them in the white wine and continue to cook until the mushrooms are soft and beginning to brown.

4. Combine all the ingredients. Taste, and make sure it is to your liking. Fill your potato crust. Pop it back into the 350F oven for 20-30 minutes until set.

And if there was any doubt that pies rule, check out this article on Jezebel: Pies vs. Cake!