Gravy Train

I'm going to go ahead and say it- I despise creamed corn. Well, let me back up. Corn is not my favorite of foods. Oh, sure, I'll eat it. I'll never be picky enough to turn down something simply because corn is in it. But, on the whole, corn doesn't really make me sit up and smile unless it's on a cob, roasted over a fire. Out of a can? Ehhhh, do I have to? And creamed? No. Just...no.

So, with that out of the way, I'm going to go ahead and admit that what I'm about to show you looks suspiciously like creamed corn. But, per the first paragraph, I hope you will understand that if it tasted anything like creamed corn, I would not be endorsing eating it. That being said, if you do like creamed corn, I'm sure you'll also like this recipe for Jalapeno Corn Gravy, courtesy of Veganomicon.

I followed the recipe standard style. About the only thing I would change next time is a bit more seasoning. It lacked a depth of flavor, and I think that could be corrected with some sauteed red pepper, or some cumin, or even a bit of adobo sauce.

 Ingredients, part one (see, I'm not a real cook. A REAL cook would never use canned veggie broth. They would make their own and simmer it all day with fresh picked herbs or something. Bring on the cans!)

 Ingredients, part two. Let it be known that I grated off a huge chunk of my skin with my zester during the processing of that garlic. Worth it. Garlic is delicious.

 Anytime I saute onions, I think it's the best smell ever. Then I sauteed onions with jalapenos. Somehow, that's also the best smell ever. In an ever expanding universe, these things are possible.

 Corn gets added in and tossed around the pan until it starts to brown.

 I'm always amazed at how well corn starch can thicken up anything. The only fat in this is the bit of walnut oil I sauteed the veggies in, and no flour is cooked in fat like most gravies. Once it simmers for a bit, you just food process the whole thing. I added a bit more veggie broth at this point because it was looking dangerously similar to creamed corn and my alarm bells were clang a langin' in my brain.

 The finished product, waiting to douse some mashed red skinned potatoes.

This was really good. I would definitely make it again, with the spice changes I suggested at the beginning of this little picture show. I served it with Gardein chicken tenders, a rare mock meat indulgence, and barbequed pinto beans. Oh, and this beautiful salad.

I think the corn gravy would also be excellent plopped on top of a spicy black bean soup, or poured over enchiladas. It's pretty versatile and keeps well since it has virtually no fat. A lot of gravies harden up in the fridge, and when you pull them out for leftovers they kind of make you pause and think "Wait... do I want to be eating this? It's a block of jiggly, cold fat". Of course, the answer is yes, you do want to be eating it, because we all know that jiggly cold fat gets heated up into creamy, warm fat and it's delicious. So I guess I'm not really making a point here...

Anyway, here's a new point- jalapeno corn gravy is a winner.

Avocado Continues to Be Awesome

The other night I was craving a creamy pasta sauce, but I didn't want to hassle with a cashew cheese, and I didn't have any nooch (nutritional yeast) anyway. I did, however, have an avocado. Into my food processor went: an avocado, some walnut oil, rosemary, roasted garlic, pink Himalayan sea salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Oh, and a bit of red pepper and a splash of almond milk. I think I also added a squeeze of lemon...wait, basil was in there, too. Ok, I think that's all. The end product was delicious- creamy, but still light, and the avocado/lemon/basil flavors felt like a summer happy dance in my mouth. I sauteed some zucchini, red onions, white beans, and red pepper, and boiled up some totally not health nut plain old white flour spaghetti. I tossed all of the previous together with the avocado pasta sauce, and then topped it with some fresh, sliced, baby heirloom tomatoes. Oh, heirloom tomatoes. You will be the death of me. And by that I mean, the opposite of the death of me since you are delicious and are good for me.

I continued my love affair with the baby heirlooms with a side salad full of organic red leaf lettuce, cucumbers, more white beans, red pepper, chia seeds, and my beloved vanilla fig balsamic.

And everyone was very, very happy that night. The end.

Coconut Kick

I had been meaning to try out a tofu based cheesecake recipe from How it All Vegan and I was finally motivated to do so when the graham cracker crusts I purchased on deep clearance officially passed their "Best taste by" date. There are a few variations on this cheesecake in the cookbook, with the basic bones staying the same and different ingredients being swapped out to create different flavors. I tweaked it a bit by replacing the half a cup of oil with half a cup of mashed banana, and cutting the sugar in half. I figured banana coconut cheesecake would be just as good. I also added in some more spices, as the only flavoring called for was vanilla extract. It took me a while to come around to tofu, but I still don't like that distinctive tofu-y taste in all its pure taste glory, so the spices were necessary (in my opinion). I got all Martha Stewart with a totally gratuitous sliced banana decoration on top, finished up with some coconut I sprinkled on the last 10 minutes so it could get all toasty.

The verdict, per Bobby, was that it was delicious. I have to say though, that the texture was definitely more custard than cheesecake, and even with the addition of the spices the tofu taste was definitely still lingering in the back ground, kind of photo bombing the flavor profile. It was plenty sweet, so cutting the sugar didn't affect this, I think it's just that when you put an entire block of tofu into a pie, well, there ain't no getting 'round the tofu taste. I would be interested to see what would happen if I cut the tofu in half, but honestly I'm thinking that the best dairy free cheesecakes are probably going to be raw, and made out of nuts. I mean, look at this beautiful thing. Yeah, I know, it's incredible. That's a future experiment, trust me! Check out My New Roots in general. It's a fabulous food blog. Lots of inspiration there, and beautiful pictures to boot.

Good Morning!

I'm not much of a breakfast eater. I used to skip it religiously, since I was never hungry. Now I make myself have something, usually either an apple or a banana, sliced, sprinkled with with apple pie spice and chia seeds, with a side of peanut butter. However, I'm never going to be someone who leaps out of bed and wants to chow down on biscuits and veggie sausage and a plate full of pancakes at 7 a.m. Bobby, however, is precisely that someone. So I made these guys on a random weekday morning.

Banana chai pancakes with toasted coconut + mystery sauce

The recipe came from one of my favorite cookbooks "How it All Vegan ". A lot of vegan cookbooks can be overly fussy and they seem to call for ridiculously expensive health store ingredients just to be jerks about it. This cookbook is refreshingly basic. Pretty much every recipe has less than 15 ingredients (including spices) and they don't constantly rely on tofu. These guys were made with no oil thanks to mashed bananas, and I subbed a half a cup of the almond milk for a half  a cup of chai tea. While one side was cooking, I sprinkled unsweetened coconut on the top, flipped it, and finished cooking it while toasting said coconut. Bobby ate his plain. I had mine a few hours later, and drizzled it with that mysterious brown sauce. What is it, you ask? Chocolate? Blueberry syrup? Nope. It's balsamic. Vanilla fig balsamic, to be exact.

I'm a bit obsessed with balsamic anything, and it was just the thing to cut the sweetness of the pancakes. We picked up these three little friends at the farmer's market last weekend. They are all delicious. The woman makes her own special flavor blends, and I'm grateful for every single one. That blackberry ginger is going to be so good on some vanilla coconut ice cream...

Tasty, Tasty Harmony

There is an all vegetarian, predominantly vegan restaurant that we love, called Tasty Harmony. I had to share these pictures of the insanely delicious food they have, even though said pictures are from my phone and, as a result, a bit blurry. All of the food pictured here is totally vegan, and completely wonderful.

 Vegan quesadillas with black beans, yam, and assorted veggies, drizzled with vegan sour cream and cashew  cheese.

 Yam with chocolate chili, drizzled with more vegan sour cream and cashew cheese. Topped with chopped green onions.

But this, this is my favorite- nachos with jackfruit "pulled pork", black beans, vegan sour cream, cashew cheese, guac, pico de gallo, and homemade chips.

If you ever have the chance to try out jackfruit prepared as meat, please do so. Jackfruit is crazy, in that the texture is so similar to pulled pork/brisket. If you get the kind canned in brine, it's not sweet, and you can marinate it in/rub it with whatever spice you want. I'm still trying to find some jackfruit around here so that I can try out a jackfruit recipe. Colorado doesn't have nearly as many Asian groceries as Texas, so I'm hoping to pick some up at the huge Asian World Market in Dallas when I'm back in Texas.

My Kitchen: Simple, Frugal, Functional

I thought I'd give you all a tour of my kitchen. It's a pretty typical apartment kitchen- not very large, with an open bar to the living room and dining room. But honestly? I prefer this size because I joke that from the center I can "work the room" like I'm in a control center. Two steps in any direction, or a quick turn on my heel, and I can reach my oven/stove/microwave, sink, fridge, or pantry. I can easily clean as I go along, since I'm forced to if I want to maintain order and space availability. There isn't the option of just piling things on an island, or a stretch of counter- it's necessary to rinse, clean, and dishwasher load as I'm cooking, which makes clean up a snap. Usually the only clean up when I'm done cooking is the dinner dishes and whatever pots I used :)

This is the view from the corner of the bar, standing in the living room.

This is the view standing in the entrance of the kitchen. That skinny door is our pantry, and the trash can lives there too.

I've said it before, but I adore my spice rack. It's actually a corner shelf for a bathtub, and it works like a charm. I dislike spice storage systems that require you to use specific bottles that fit into specific holders. I also dislike how small generic spice holders usually are- I think this holds somewhere around 35-40 spice bottles. It was under $20 (far cheaper than any of the dinky wooden spice racks I priced at several stores) and it was easy to bolt to the wall on the side.

I love these canisters. They were purchased piece by piece at 3 different thrift stores, and all together they total less than $15. They are all sturdy ceramic, with good clasps. From left to right I have brown sugar, turbinado (raw) sugar, wheat gluten, baking powder, cornmeal, wheat flour, and sugar. This set up makes baking and cooking so much easier than fussing with bags and jars. On the far right are my two wooden cutting boards- the one on the bottom was my Great Granny's, the small one on top I got from Target. I use the small one for chopping onions and garlic, because even with vinegar rinses the wood can hold on to strong smells so it's just easier to work separately.

This is a close up of the top picture on the back wall. It's actually a gift bag that I purchased for $1. I like how quirky it is. Bobby says it reminds him of Russian religious icons. The frame was given to me.

The picture below it is a postcard I got from PETA, of cows congregating around an angel statue. I purchased the frame for $1, and since it wasn't made to hang up I used a bit of yarn and a tack to hang it.

On top of the fridge are jars of couscous and pasta, as well as any crackers we might have on hand. I've had these baskets for 5 years now, and they were $2 and $4 respectively. Since I'm short, I don't mind blocking the cupboards above the fridge because this is a more practical and accessible storage solution.

The inside of the cupboard to the bottom left of the stove. This is every single pot and pan I own, along with a large bowl in the background and my colander nested inside it. I cook a lot, but I've never needed anything more than these pots. The one on the very top is non-stick, but everything else is stainless steel, purchased secondhand or given to me. Oh, and that white shelf? It's awesome. It keeps me from having to nest every pot and pan into a teetering tower of mess and chaos.

The cupboard to the bottom right of my stove. This is all of my casserole/baking dishes/muffin tins, with the exception of two cookie sheets in another cupboard. Again, another white shelf makes the cupboard far more functional. The two Pyrex dishes on the bottom nesting together get the most use, and it's easy to slide them in and out instead of having to dig them out from under a pile of their friends.

To the right of the stove- all of the cooking knives, olive oil bottle with a drizzle top, and all cooking utensils.

This is the baking/tea cupboard, to the left of the microwave. Food processor and measuring cups/spoons on bottom, various baking items middle (with another handy white shelf), and tins/boxes of tea on top.

This is the view from the back wall of the kitchen, looking out into the dining room. That shelf you see in the background holds cookbooks and 4 mixing bowls nested together. Oh, and we use all cloth dish rags and napkins, which you can see draped over the sink. The yellow is for counters, the blue is for dishes (I like to keep them separate, what can I say :)

So that's it! On a final note, I used to have about double the amount of pots, pans, utensils, and kitchen gadgets that I have now. Then one day I realized how redundant most of them were, culled them out, and ever since I'm pretty much anti-gadget. It makes kitchen organizing so much easier, and it saves a ton of money too. I don't like clutter and superfluous decorations, but I still think that for how streamlined and small our kitchen is (and how little money was spent on it) it's functional without looking too sterile. If there was a window in this kitchen it would be just about perfect :)

My Dinner's Too Currylicious Fo Ya Babe

Sorry kittens, it seems my penchant for punny post titles (and alliteration, apparently) has reached all new lows heights. Also, I've never used strikethrough in a blog until just now. But back to the point of that terrible post title...

You must make this curry. I found the recipe here, on a site I have raved about before when my friend pointed me to it. Her blog is so very much better than mine. I'm making up random stuff in my kitchen and tweaking other people's recipes, but she's whipping up all sorts of original recipes that have never let me down. You can hop over to Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes any time you want something new to cook that will definitely be great.

I've made this curry a few times, and each time I pretty much disregard the spices, for a number of reasons. One, I can't find asafetida, and since she said it's optional, I opted out. Two, I used cumin to taste instead of cumin seeds. Three, Bobby truly despises cilantro (the same thing as coriander, referenced in her recipe) because he is one of those unfortunate people to whom cilantro tastes like soap. I also tend to add other random spices to taste, such as garam masala, turmeric, curry powder, or even cardamom. Other than that I follow her directions exactly and this has become our favorite go to, easy dish. The coconut milk- full fat ya'll, it's good for you and worth the taste- makes it every bit as creamy as traditional cream.

Apologies for the flash, I couldn't find Bobby's (much better) camera and needed to snap a shot and get on with the dinner making

 The recipe specifically calls for fresh tomatoes instead of canned. I've made this with canned and fresh tomatoes, and it's hard for me to tell the difference taste wise, but texture wise I far prefer fresh.

 Hello again, $3 Goodwill saute pan. Onions and cumin look good on you. They smell good, too.

 This is the finished product, simmering on the stove so that all the flavors meld. Forget Glade, or AirWick, or anything else that promises to make your home smell wonderful. Just simmer some curry on the stove and you'll have it covered. The sweet tomato and coconut smells mix with the heady spices and it's amazing.

I usually serve this with a side of plain white rice. Alternatively, you can make cauliflower rice if, like me, rice doesn't exactly get your culinary heart racing. You just wash and chop a head of cauliflower, and then pulse it in a food processor (raw). Once it reaches a consistency/look similar to rice, you can take it out and shake it around a hot pan a bit to soften it and warm it through- feel free to season however you would normally season your rice. Basically what you're looking for is a neutral, chewy, starchy complement to the creamy, layered flavors of the curry, and cauliflower does that job very well. Plus it gets some extra veggies in your day. And a day with extra veggies is usually a pretty good day.

Food Facts FYI: Cauliflower
For 25 calories and 0 grams of fat, one cup of raw cauliflower gives you 77% of your DV of vitamin C and 2% of your DV of calcium and iron. It also has 3 grams of fiber and 2 grams of protein, plus an array of phytochemicals. And if you ever get bored of plain old white cauliflower, you can check out orange or purple varieties :)