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Happy Norooz!

This weekend, Persians around the world celebrated the traditional New Year holiday of Norooz (which means "New Day"), which is marked by the vernal equinox. I decided to invite my Persian friend over for dinner, as an opportunity to veganize some traditional dishes.

I also decided to participate in one of the primary traditions of the holiday, the haft sin table (which means "seven s's"). In Persian homes, a special table is created displaying seven symbolic items:

1. sabzeh(سبزه) - wheat, barley or lentil sprouts growing in a dish - symbolizing rebirth
2. samanu (سمنو)- a sweet pudding made from wheat germ - symbolizing affluence
3. senjed (سنجد)- the dried fruit of the oleaster tree - symbolizing love
4. sîr (سیر)- garlic - symbolizing medicine
5. sîb (سیب)- apples - symbolizing beauty and health
6. somaq (سماق)- sumac berries - symbolizing (the color of) sunrise
7. serkeh (سرکه)- vinegar - symbolizing age and patience

Many haft sin tables include other items of meaning, but these are the basics. Thankfully I was able to pull together all seven myself. (#2, samanu, had stressed me a bit, as the pudding takes a full seven days to prepare! But I found some at our local Persian market, so happily I could check that one off my to-do list.) Below is a picture of my very first, most humble attempt at a haft sin table:

With the table display complete, I could focus on my Norooz menu: khoresh-e qormeh sabzi, basmati rice with tadiq, tomato and cucumber salad, and lavash.

For the first time, I tried my hand at making khoresh-e qormeh sabzi, or fresh herb stew (although I actually used dried herbs, ahem.) I have adapted the recipe below from New Food of Life, by Najmieh Batmanglij.

Khoresh-e Qormeh Sabzi

• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 4 bags of Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Steak Strips
• 3 T olive oil
• 1 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 1/2 t tumeric
• 1/3 c kidney beans
• 4 whole dried Persian limes (I got these at the Persian market)
• 1 3/4 c dried herbs, mix of parsley, cilantro, fenugreek, and chives (I found this mix at our Persian market. Note that you can also use fresh herbs, of 4 c parsley, 1 c chives, 1 c cilantro, and 1 c fenugreek, but then you have to fry the herbs, which is just a heckuva mess if you ask me.)
• 4 T lime juice

1. Place a sieve (or a cheesecloth, which is what I used) in a bowl of warm water and soak the herbs for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Brown the meat (thawed) with the onion and oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot. Add salt, pepper, and turmeric. Add 4 c water, kidney beans, and limes. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, sirring occasionally.
3. Add the herbs and lime juice to the pot. Cover and simmer for another 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
4. Check seasoning (adjust as necessary) and ensure the beans are tender. Keep over very low heat (or put in a casserole dish in a warm oven until ready to serve.)

We served the khoresh with tadiq (sometimes written tah dig), a delicious Persian preparation of rice. (I feel incredibly lucky to have a Persian friend who can prepare this for me, as it is truly fantastic and my own attempts at creating it have all been hopeless failures.) Tadiq is a golden, crispy layer of rice that forms at the bottom of a deep, nonstick pan. Some traditional methods achieve the crust by using butter or yogurt, but my friend gets great results with just olive oil. I'm afraid I can't give much more instruction, since, as I've said, tadiq has thus far eluded me. Maybe my friend will do us all the honor of a how-to guest post on the subject?

For a simple, light and fresh accompaniment, I made a salad from the same cookbook, with a few modifications:

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

• 2 firm ripe tomatoes
• 1 seedless cucumber
• 3 T olive oil
• 2 T lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 5 radishes, thinly sliced into half-moons
• 1 c chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 c chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro

Place tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and herbs into a large bowl. Whisk the oil, lime juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour over vegetable-herb mixture and toss.

I was really pleased with how it all turned out, particularly the khoresh. I wasn't sure how the Morningstar Farms steak strips would hold up under such prolonged heat - would they be tough and rubbery? (Let's face it, they're a little tough and rubbery to begin with.) To my pleasant surprise, however, they became incredibly tender, sort of shredding the way real meat does. The kidney beans were delicious in the stew, and next time, I think I'll add more. The salad was a no-brainer, but it was delightful, with the mint adding a crisp and refreshing taste.

It was my first Norooz, but definitely not my last. Next year, I'll try for dessert. (A little vegan baklava, anyone?)

You Captured My Heart, Mini Donuts

I regret that this post, initially intended for Valentine's Day itself, is instead going up the day after. Why, you ask? Because it's taken me a good 24 hours to emerge from the sugar-induced coma I was in, the result of a morning spent in sheer mini-donut heaven.

First, I must give huge credit to Lolo over at Vegan Yum Yum, who inspired my mini-donut adventure. Ever since seeing her recipe and gorgeous photos, I have been wanting to give these little beauties a try. (Because, as we all know, miniature versions of regular-sized things are just wonderful.) Not that they are a health food, but they are baked, which is a step up the healthiness ladder from their more traditional brethren, fried donuts. But baking donuts requires a donut pan, which I did not have. I went with this one, and it did a fine job (and for only $9.99).

So first, the recipe, adapted from Vegan Yum Yum:

Baked Mini Donuts
Makes about 20 Donuts

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 scant tsp nutmeg (The nutmeg gives them a subtle, old-fashioned flavor, but feel free to omit.)
dash of cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 c vanilla soymilk
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Ener-G egg replacer, equivalent to 1 egg
4 Tbs Earth Balance

Preheat oven to 350º F. Combine dry ingredients with a whisk in a large mixing bowl, set aside.

Combine wet ingredients in a small sauce pan over low heat, and stir just until Earth Balance is melted. (I let the Earth Balance soften to room temperature first.) Do not let this mixture get too hot, just slightly warm.

Add wet to dry and mix until just combined, making a soft, sticky dough.

You can use a small spoon to scoop the dough into your ungreased nonstick mini-donut pan, but I prefer to put the dough in a Ziploc bag, snip the end, and use this as a makeshift pastry bag to fill the pan. It gives you more precision filling the relatively small rings. Even the top of the dough with your fingers.

Only fill the pan to below the rim, otherwise they will overflow. Bake for 12 minutes. (They will not  brown). Let cool slightly and release donuts onto a cooling rack.

Once donuts are completely cooled, you can proceed with decorating them in any way you see fit. I did three variations:

1) Mix 1/2 c powdered sugar with 1 T vanilla soymilk to form a glaze. (Adjust sugar/milk as necessary to achieve the appropriate consistency.) Dip the rounded side (the side that was down in the pan) in the glaze. For Valentine's Day festiveness, I then sprinkled them with colored sprinkles. Allow these to set on a wire rack, so excess glaze can drip off onto wax paper.

2) Melt chocolate chips over a double-boiler (or, my own preference, the microwave on medium power). Dip the donut in the chocolate. I added chopped toasted almonds.

3) For a super-easy third option, I gave them a good toss in a bowl of powdered sugar.

Other great options would be coconut, cinnamon sugar, or anything else that appeals to you.

I then packaged them up to take to a friend's house, whom I was joining for coffee. My friend declared them even better than my chocolate pie (which is saying quite a lot, actually.)

Happy New Year! Now, on to the food...

Well it's taken me awhile to get back to the blog after a hectic holiday season, but at least my inaugural post of 2009 is rife with delicious recipes (and pictures, too!) Since I am a dedicated New Year's Eve homebody, I decided there at least should be some good food. So let's get to it...

Stuffed Mushrooms
This is based on a Cooking Light recipe that I veganized.
Yield 6 servings (serving size: 2 stuffed mushrooms)

Ingredients
12 large button mushrooms
Cooking spray
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1/2 garlic clove, minced
2 ounces vegan sausage (I use LightLife, ground in the tube)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/16 teaspoon black pepper
2 T (1 ounce) vegan cream cheese, softened (I use the Toffuti kind, in the yellow container with no trans fat)
2 T dry breadcrumbs

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Clean mushrooms, and remove stems; finely chop stems.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onions and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add sausage, and cook until browned, stirring to crumble. Add the reserved mushroom stems, red pepper, salt, and black pepper; sauté 2 minutes or until stems are tender. Remove from heat; stir in cream cheese and breadcrumbs. Stuff 1 tablespoon sausage mixture into each mushroom cap. Arrange mushroom caps in a small baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden and thoroughly heated.

Tip: I prepared these several hours ahead and left in the fridge, then just popped them in the oven.

Blackeye Pea Cakes
I wanted to stay traditional with the peas, but mix it up a bit. Recipe thanks again to Cooking Light.

Yield 4 servings (serving size: 2 pea cakes)

Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 garlic clove, minced
2 1/2 cups canned black-eyed peas, rinsed, drained, and divided
1 tablespoon dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon canola oil

Preparation

• To prepare pea cakes, heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/4 cup green onions, rind, thyme, and 1 garlic clove to pan; sauté 1 minute or until garlic is golden brown. Place garlic mixture, 1 1/4 cups peas, breadcrumbs, and next 4 ingredients (through red pepper) in a food processor; pulse until well blended. Combine pea mixture and remaining 1 1/4 cups peas in a bowl, stirring well. Divide pea mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Place cornmeal in a shallow dish; carefully dredge pea cakes in cornmeal. Place pea cakes on baking sheet; refrigerate 15 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add pea cakes; cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden and thoroughly heated.

Note: These were quite good, although a tad spicier than I'd intended/expected. They were delicious smashed between two pieces of bread on a sandwich the next day.

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Yield Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
2 medium tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
4 sprigs thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper

Preparation

• Heat oven to 300° F.
• Slice the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds. Place the tomatoes, cut-side up, in a small baking dish and scatter on the garlic and thyme. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake until the tomatoes are soft but still hold their shape, about 2 hours.

Cornbread
This isn't my first vegan cornbread to try, but I think so far it's my favorite. Recipe from "The Joy of Vegan Baking."

I also served collard greens (yes, from the can, but when Sister Sylvia does such a great job already, why put myself out?) and a salad with pears, toasted pecans, and mustard vinaigrette.

Mixed Berry Cobbler with Cashew Cream

As good as all the business above was, it was really just the warm-up act...recipe adapted from "The Joy of Vegan Baking." (I used 4-5 cups total of strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries.)

 

Ingredients for Cashew Cream
4 oz raw cashews
1/2 - 2/3 cup water (start with the smaller quantity)
dash of maple syrup or similar (only a bit really)
real vanilla extract (start with a very small amount)

Cashew Cream Preparation

• Whiz all the ingredients around in a food processor, scraping down the sides as necessary.
• Adjust consistency and flavor by using more or less water and/or sweetener and vanilla.

I have to say, this recipe is a keeper. Even those used to "real" cobbler with all sorts of animalness would love it. I was a bit skeptical of the cashew cream idea at first. I wanted a creamy/whippy topping type of thing, but soy topping in a can just didn't appeal to me. I am familiar with vegan (especially raw) doing all sorts of magic with cashews and a blender, but I hadn't ever attempted it myself. I have to say it was pretty good - it's one of those things where as soon as your brain is able to get over the fact that no, it doesn't taste just like Cool Whip (which I consider a good thing), it works quite well. I think there might be more cashew experiments in my future.

Happy Thanksgiving!

And make it a happy day for a turkey, too.

A Gentler Thanksgiving

As you look ahead to planning your Thanksgiving, check out these veg-friendly online resources:

• Tips for veggie guests at non-veggie homes
• Vegetarian holiday recipes
• Gentle Thanksgiving, a project of the Farm Animal Rights Movement

Happy Halloween! (in the nick of time...)

Halloween nearly passed me by this year. I managed to dig the Frankenstein earrings out of my jewelry box to show my holiday spirit at work today, but I'm afraid that's as far as I got. I had some dental work this afternoon, went to the pet store, and here I am about to turn in at 9:30 pm. Maybe next year! Until then, I'll just have to rest on the laurels of last year's pumpkin carving, a tribute to my own Halloween-ready little black cat.

Happy Nutty Memories

It's true that some of the fall holiday traditions I grew up with I no longer participate in because of my transition to vegetarianism, like eating crisp skin off the turkey, and Mom's pumpkin pie. But, I am creating new traditions for myself, and, there are many wonderful memories from growing up that I can still enjoy.

Today, I went to the grocery store to pick up my favorite kind of organic dried cranberries (which, it seems, to my distress, the store is no longer carrying! But, that is a different matter entirely.) I noticed those bags of mixed nuts that invariably appear around this time of year: walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds, and brazil nuts. I was immediately brought back to being a girl, when Mom would have a bowl of mixed nuts on the counter, with a nut cracker nearby, most days between Halloween and Christmas.

I loved it! The walnuts were my favorite. They were pretty easy to crack open, and I would try endlessly to pull out the meat intact. (Perfectionism starts early.) My Dad would show off by cracking a couple in his bare hand. Brazil nuts were the worst, as they were the most difficult to get into, and I thought they tasted weird. The last handful of nuts, which might linger on past New Year's (until Mom gave up and threw them out), was always Brazil nuts (often with marks of failed attempts at cracking.)

So I bought a bag, and here I sit at my own adult kitchen table, getting the same satisfaction from cracking one open and revealing its secret interior. And, in a practical sense, it's hard to overeat when this much labor is involved. Now, though, I'm a bit stronger, and a bit more educated about nutrition (gotta get that RDA of selenium!) and so the poor Brazil nut finally gets some appreciation.