Feldman Sisters Brutal Cupcakes

Pistachio Rosewater Cupcakes with Rosewater Glaze

2009-07-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

Ideally, these would have involved pink food coloring, and perhaps a sprinkling of chopped pistachio on top. Why? Because, especially when it comes to sweets, people can sometimes only taste what they see. If it's not pink, they might not taste the rosewater. So if you don't have pink food coloring on hand, either, just make sure to mention the flavor combo to your friends often as they scarf these delicious cupcakes.

Another winner from Isa and Terry's classic Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, these are vegan and sensational, based on a classic Indian pairing.

Ingredients

1/2 cup vanilla soy yogurt
2/3 cup soy milk
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons rosewater
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, soy milk, oil, sugar, and rosewater. Sift in flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until large clumps dissapear, then fold in pistachios. Fill liners three-quarters of the way.
Bake 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting.

For the glaze, cream 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar with 1 tbs earth balance, then mix in a little rosewater and soymilk (tiny bits at a time so you don't thin it out too much). And a little pink doesn't hurt, either.

These are adorable, and not even snobby omnivores will know they are vegan.

Mocha Chip Cupcakes

2009-07-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, these were good. Originally designed for my friend Maria's birthday party way back in May (the lady enjoys coffee), I reprised them recently for a July 4th BBQ. The secret of intense coffee flavor is instant coffee - crappy to drink but amazingly handy in baking - which also gives the cupcakes a beautifully deep, dark color.

Mocha Chip Cupcakes

Ingredients

(Makes about 24)

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup instant coffee granules, plus more
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners, or ready your silicone cups, and set aside. Dissolve 1/4 cup instant coffee into 1/2 cup hot or boiling water, and set aside. Make sure this isn't too hot (we want warm, not steaming) by the time you use it in the recipe.
2. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, coffee mixture, milk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed. Fold in chocolate chips (I used incredily tasty Trader Joe's milk chocolate ones).
2. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely, and top with lots of coffee buttercream frosting, and a chocolate covered espresso bean if you're feeling fancy.

Coffee Buttercream Frosting

Dissolve 1 tsp instant coffee into 1 tsp vanilla extract. Beat a stick of butter into a cup of powdered sugar, adding dashes of the coffee gloop until it's a nice color and consistency. You may need to add more powdered sugar as you go, too.

And save a cute one for yourself - because these will be gone very quickly!

Adapted, as many of my cupcakes are, from Martha Stewart's simple 1-bowl chocolate cupcakes.

Sweet Potato and Spinach Salad with Maple Dressing

2009-05-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

This was one of those things I threw together with the crap I had around that turned out to be really good. I don't normally like to post things like salad - it seems cheap, since it barely involves actual cooking - but perhaps one day you, too, will have the following crap lying around, and will be able to make this delicious salad, which is definitely substantial enough for a meal.

Ingredients

1 small or medium sweet potato, sliced in 1/2" rounds
a plate worth of spinach
handful of hazelnuts, chopped
a sprinkling of blue cheese
equal squirts of maple syrup, olive oil, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar

Directions

There are hardly directions here since, this being a salad, there's not much to do. You do want to roast your sweet potato slices at around 350 for 15-25 minutes; lay them flat in a single layer on a baking pan, coat both sides with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on before you do. Meanwhile, assemble everything else. Whisk together in equal parts some maple syrup, olive oil, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar; adjust to taste. I find I need extra lemon juice to cut the vinegary taste of the vinegar, but I know some people are into that. For a nice presentation you should hold off on sprinkling the nuts and cheese until the sweet potato slices have been laid on your bed of spinach, but it certainly doesn't really matter. Then you just pour the dressing on top.

Voila.

Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

2009-03-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

My friend Emma had a birthday recently, so naturally some cupcakes were in order. I wanted something with a theme, and she's English, so it was either these or Spotted Dick, and I didn't think the latter would survive the trip in to work very well. And if you know me, you probably know that both my sister and I are tea-obsessives and love working it into recipes. These delicious, delicately citrus-scented cupcakes were just the thing.

You'll find plenty of recipes for earl grey cupcakes on the internet, but none of them really satisfied me, so I sort of made up my own, taking a basic vanilla cupcake recipe from Martha and embellishing it in various ways. These were quite tasty and seemed to be received very well, but to be honest, even though I used more tea here than in most of the other recipes out there, the bergamot flavor still wasn't strong enough for me. Next time I might have to spring for a preposterously expensive bottle of bergamot extract, available here.

Earl Grey Cupcakes
(This recipe makes 24 - I was feeling generous. You can probably halve it with no problems.)

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk
8 bags of earl grey tea, not too fancy
Zest of 1 lemon

Directions

1. Before beginning your cupcakes, heat the milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it starts to shake a lot. Dunk in 4 teabags, turn off the heat, and cover for 10 minutes or so. Then squeeze out the teabags into the milk, getting all of that tea-i-ness in there, and refrigerate the milk so it's not warm anymore when it's cupcake time.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 and ready your baking apparatus. Empty the contents of the remaining 4 bags of tea into a food processor and grind up the leaves as small as you can. (This step is optional, I guess, but you don't want big chunks of tea in your cupcakes.)

3. Mix together the ground tea, flour, salt and baking powder and in a small bowl.

4. In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter together until real fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, beating each one in separately. (I don't know why this is important but everyone says it is.) Beat in vanilla and lemon zest.

5. Measure your tea-milk to make sure it hasn't evaporated; if it's not 1 1/4 cups, make up the difference with regular milk. Then mix in the flour mixture and the milk into your bowl of liquidy stuff, alternating, ending with flour. Mix until everything is just incorporated.

6. Fill up your cupcake liners (not all the way, of course) and bake for 20-22 minutes, or until they pass the fork test. Top with lovely lemon frosting and serve to the birthday girl.

Here they all are laid out for my friends at work. We had ourselves a little cupcake party.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

This frosting has less butter than your average buttercream, which was really because I ran out of butter, but I think this ended up making the frosting more delicate. It suited the cakes better. (My friend Atalanti told me this, and she had a stint in culinary school.)

My methods are pretty inexact when it comes to frosting, so I'll just explain what I did. Squeeze out your zested lemon into a cup. Cream half a stick of butter with some confectioner's sugar, maybe a cup's worth. Add in a little lemon juice and beat. Keep adding more sugar and more lemon juice until you have an amount and a consistency that works for you. Refrigerate the frosting if you're not going to use it immediately, but let it sit out for 20 minutes or so before piping it onto the cakes.

Here Emma enjoys a birthday cupcake:

Our friends Camille (foreground) and Karina (background) eat their cupcakes.

Polenta Cakes with Carmelized Onions and Eggs

2009-03-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

I love polenta and eggs - especially with tons of parmesan - but it's usually a binary proposal: either soft, porridge-type polenta, or set, firm, bread-like polenta. I, with my insatiable appetite for life, wanted the best of both worlds: a polenta that was soft and creamy inside, but with a crispy, delicious skin. I gave it a shot the other night, and I was quite pleased with the results. A perfect support for the eggs, and especially delicious with a topping of carmelized onions. And, like I said, lots of fresh parmesan.

First, you'll need some polenta. Cook it according to the package's directions (how much depends on how many polenta cakes you want - I can't decide that for you, child) but use broth instead of water and add some dried sage and thyme. Crumble the dried herbs between your palms as you add them; this is the way to release their flavor.

Meanwhile, grease a muffin tin and preheat the oven to 400. When the polenta thickens up and looks good, and is shooting yellow missiles all over your stove and skin, turn off the heat and spoon it into the muffin tin. Bake for maybe 15 minutes, then take out the tin and spoon just a little olive oil over each. Put them back in the oven and let them go for a bit, maybe 20 minutes or so. They'll fry a bit in the cups. Once there's no more oil to make funny noises and shapes, they're probably done. If you aren't finished preparing the rest of your meal by the time this happens, just turn the heat down to 200 and let them sit tight.

This is how the polenta cakes look fresh from the oven:

While the polenta cakes are cooking, carmelize some thinly-sliced onion in butter or earth balance. I used half a small onion for 2 cakes, but this of course is a matter of preference. When that's done put the onions aside and cook your eggs in the same pan. I recommend sunny-side up but anything works.

When everything's done, scoop the eggs onto your plate and top the polenta cakes with the onions. Since we didn't let the polenta set, the insides of the cakes should be smooth and creamy, but since we pretty much deep fried the outsides, you should have a lovely crispy golden skin. Top with lots of fresh parmesan and eat the shit out of them.

I've also found that these keep pretty well; you can put them in tupperware and toast them on high for 10 or 15 minutes. Of course, the insides will be set, but they'll still be delicious.

I dreamed the polenta cakes up to go with eggs, but I'm sure they'd work with other things too. Any ideas?

Hamentaschen for Purim!!

2009-03-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Purim everybody!! This is a particularly upbeat Jewish holiday where we celebrate our escape from the clutches of a genocidal Persian guy named Hamen who wore a 3-cornered hat. I can't get into the whole thing now but basically, Hamen wanted to kill all the Jews, but Queen Esther saved us, so now we eat his hat. boo Hamen!!! On Purim you are pretty much commanded to get drunk and to share cookies with friends and loved ones and pretty much everybody really. Poppyseed fillings are most traditional; I made a tasty apricot one.

Hamentashen ("Hamen hats")

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar, white or light brown
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbs milk or orange juice (they're not kosher with milk)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups flour
apricot filling (recipe follows)

Directions

In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg, then stir in the milk/juice and vanilla. Mix in the baking powder and salt, then gradually incorporate the flour til you get a big ball of dough. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (you could probably get away with just a few hours).

Then, preheat the oven to 375. Roll out the dough to 1/4" thickness. Take a cookie cutter or just a thin-lipped cup and make circles. Place these on your cookie sheet and place a dollop of jam in the center of each. Pinch them together to form 3 corners. You can brush an egg wash on the dough if you're feeling fancy, but I skipped this on mine and they were still delicious (as my friend Molly said when I asked her whether we should've: "I have no regrets").

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, erring on the side of slightly undercooked, then let them cool and then get drunk and give them to all your friends. Yay cookies! Boo Hamen!!

Rolling out the dough with my fabulous silicone rolling pin:

Apricot Filling

Ingredients

A bunch of dried apricots (I don't know, maybe, 15-20?)
1/3 cup honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Cover your apricots in water and let them sit overnight. When they get all nice and bloated, puree them in a food processor, stirring in the honey and cinnamon. It makes a lovely and colorful filling for hamentaschen. As for what to do with the leftovers of this, I have no idea. My friend Daniel liked it over ice cream.

Molly:

These were surprisingly delicious (not to mention attractive) with chocolate gelato that Molly brought.

Mom's Polish Cabbage Soup

2009-03-04T07:38:00.001-08:00

Oh man, am I excited about this one. I can't even convey it to you over the internet. You see, that "Mom" in the title of this post is not an abstracted standard of home cookin,' but rather actual Mom, the woman who gave birth to me and Erica. In case you don't know, she is a really fantastic cook, and our interest in food definitely comes from her. (Our dad is interested in food too, but his passion is more on the consuming side than the preparing side.) When we were growing up, our mom used to make this amazing cabbage soup as part of her regular winter soup rotation. It was very simple: onion, lots of cabbage, beef broth, bacon and rice. I remember how the little bacon bits got juicy in the soup, and how the wild rice blend my mom always used added an interesting texture. But once we went veg, this was just one of those things we figured we'd never see again. Sure, we can veganize muffins and marinate tofu with a marinade originally intended for scallops, but such a simple soup, so reliant on strong beefy and smoky and bacony flavors? No way it would have the same punch.

Well, my friends, I am here to tell you: yes way.

Sorry the pictures are so ugly, but this is pretty much stewed cabbage, after all. My veggie version, while of course not exactly the same, tastes similar enough to mom's original to transport me back to those family meals. It's delicious and just the perfect thing on a cold winter night, especially with some crusty bread, the way our mom always serves it. Since the flavor is so reliant on the broth, make sure you use a good stock. As usual, I recommend Better Than Bouillion. Or you can make your own if you're badass.

Cabbage Soup

Ingredients

1 good size yellow onion, chopped
1/2 a medium size green cabbage, shredded or chopped into strips
3 cups veggie broth
3 cups mushroom broth
7 strips fake bacon (Morningstar is best, but it's not vegan)
1-2 cups cooked wild rice blend
1 parmesan rind (optional)
Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast

Directions

First, put a great big pat of butter or earth balance in your soup pot. You're going to carmelize the shit out of those onions; that'll really give the soup some flavor. Stir them around over medium heat for a while - it could take 20 minutes or so - until they get brownish and smell awesome. This is not the place to be stingy with your butter or butter substitute. Cabbage is super good for you anyway so we need to counteract some of that.
Then you can add the cabbage and the stock. If you have a parmesan rind, throw that in too; it will add a real depth of flavor to the soup. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. This is a good time to cook your faux bacon, and crumble it into small pieces (though they don't have to be tiny). Simmer the soup until the cabbage is tender and translucent. Then stir in the bacon and rice, turn off the heat, and remove the parmesan rind, if using.
Stir some grated parmesan or nutritional yeast into your bowl; experiment with how much you like. Whichever you choose, I don't recommend skipping this; the richness it brings is important to my memory of this soup.

Last night I had mine with an apple salad. Cabbage and apple are a classic combination, or so searches on Epicurious would indicate.

Black River Cafe Cupcakes

2009-02-28T16:57:00.000-08:00

These were made as a tribute to the delicious banana chocolate chip pancakes at the Black River Cafe in Oberlin. They're incredibly moist banana cupcakes filled with chocolate chips and topped with maple buttercream. The original banana cupcake recipe is from Martha, although I found it made way more than 12 normal cupcakes. I had to overfill all of the cups and I still had enough batter left over for 2 more. But that probably had something to do with all the chocolate chips I added. Also, her recipe says to bake them for 25 or 30 minutes, but mine were done - though still extremely moist - at 20. You can choose to follow her recipe; what follows is what I did.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar (I used light brown cause it was what I had)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted or just seriously softened
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (or a little less, if you don't have the guts)

Directions

Preheat the ovento 350 and assemble your paper liners or silicone cups or whatever you use. Mix together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt)in a small mixing bowl. Mash the bananas with a fork in a large mixing bowl until they turn into pudding. Whisk in the sugar until it melts. Whisk in the butter until everything is smooth, then beat in the eggs and vanilla. You can puree this if you want - pureeing the wet ingredients makes for a fluffy texture in some recipes, like the banana walnut muffins below - but I think these cupcakes are best with a few small banana chunks. Still, you do want this pretty smooth.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing minimally. Add the chocolate chips when it's half-mixed and then continuing mixing until incorporated, always keeping in mind that cupcake batter is best when it's mixed less.

Fill the cups not quite to the top and bake for 20 - 22 minutes, until a fork/toothpick comes out clean. Top with chilled maple buttercream frosting and serve to anyone looking for a taste of Oberlin.

Maple Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

3 tbs maple syrup
2 tbs butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
around 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

Beat the maple syrup and butter together in a bowl. This would be a lot easier if the butter was melted but that'll ruin the consistency so tough luck. Add the vanilla and some of the sugar and mix till smooth. Keep adding sugar until you get the desired consistency (may take more than 2 cups). Chill it for a bit, especially if you're going to pipe it, and then pipe or just spread on your delicious cupcakes.

My friends Matt and Kurt, current students, enjoy a taste of Oberlin:

The gorgeous insides.

You know, I could really go for one of these right now. Hell yes.

Big Fattie Banana Walnut Muffins

2009-02-28T07:22:00.000-08:00

I made these the other day when I was sick and ansy. You may say, who the fuck wants to eat muffins made by a sick person? I don't know, man. That's not my department.

The recipe is from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's Veganomicon. I used all whole wheat pastry flour - a magical flour that allows you to make what my coworker Miriam disdainfully calls "health muffins" while still keeping them fluffy - and I replaced the wheat germ with milled flax cause it was all I had. And apparently you can do that cause they came out just fine. And obviously, I also put in a whole bunch of walnuts cause walnuts are so excellent.

The most significant feature of these muffins is that they are enormous, easily twice the size of mortal muffins. And that is probably also the best way to decrease their health quotient. Just eat muffins til you pass out. A muffin bender. Who's with me?

Arugula-Walnut Pesto with Peas and Faux Chicken

2009-02-21T07:08:00.000-08:00

I just got this adorable baby food processor. I really should've taken a picture of it cause it's so damn cute. But anyway, this gadget was on my mind as I was coming home from work the other night, and I decided I had to make pesto. I didn't feel like spending tons of money on a huge bunch of basil and hunting down pine nuts, but I already had arugula and walnuts at home. I added a some peas for veggie flavor and sauteed Morning Star chik'n strips for protein.

This should make enough for maybe 3 bowls of pasta, or you could also use it as a sandwich spread, mix it into scrambled eggs, etc.

Ingredients

1/4 cup walnuts
Maybe half a bag of arugula
Plenty of olive oil on hand (maybe up to 1/4 cup)
Maybe 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese*
Salt and (lots of) pepper
Optional: peas and sauteed fake chicken strips, cut into small pieces

*You can leave this out for vegan pesto, but you may want to add something else for flavor. Not sure what; maybe Erica can weigh in on this.)

Directions

Sorry the measurements are so imprecise, but pesto is really all about feel. You'll have to see for yourself what amounts work for you, and taste it frequently. Grind the walnuts for a bit, then start adding arugula. If you're using a little baby processor like me, you'll only be able to add a small amount at a time, which is okay. Pour in some oil when you add the arugula. Process it smooth and add more, adding a little more oil when needed. When you've got the amount you want and the texture and taste are good, add the cheese and some salt and pepper. You may need to add a little more oil.

When it's ready, toss your pasta and optional fixins in. Voila.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

2009-02-18T10:16:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I get these ideas in my head. And I cannot rest until I have executed them. Sometimes these experiments go awry; sometimes, as here, they are delicious beyond any imagining. I found a solid recipe for peanut butter cupcakes (this one is very delicious but not vegan; you can certainly substitute a vegan recipe if you like) and dropped pockets of strawberry preserves right into the batter, instead of filling them more traditionally with a pastry bag. This was easier, more beautiful, and allowed me to put in lots of jelly, which is what I wanted.

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter, room temp
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk (maybe an extra splash if the batter is too goopy)

You'll also, of course, need jelly or fruit preserves, in the flavor of your choice; I was using delicious strawberry preserves from Trader Joe's, but if your preserves are too liquidy, you might want to strain some of the liquid off first.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Get your muffin tin ready with paper liners or set out your silicone cups (which is what I use).

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter and brown sugar until smoothly blended and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Mix in egg. Add vanilla and beat for 1 minute or until the batter is smooth.

Add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing until the flour is incorporated and the batter looks smooth. I threw in an extra splash of milk here because I thought it looked too thick.

Plop a small drop of batter into each cup, using your spoon to smooth it up the sides of the cup a bit so you create a sort of well for the jelly. (This is something I didn't think to do at the time but should have done. But my cupcakes came out awesome anyway.) Plop in as much jelly as you want (but don't go crazy here) and then cover with batter. You can fill these pretty full; they seem to be able to handle it.

Bake about 20-22 minutes until the tops are just firm and beautifully golden; it will be hard to test them with a fork or toothpick, due to that whole filled-with-jelly thing, but you can try. Mine had cracks on the top, making them look like peanut butter cookies from above, which I liked. Cool them away from your still-warm oven and serve with a frosty glass of soy/rice/almond/cow/goat milk. Or a beer. Be prepared for your facial muscles to stick in an expression like this one when you eat them:

I was originally planning on making a frosting for these, but when I tried them I realized they were perfect and anything more would be too much. However, if you're serving these as a dessert and not just cramming them all into your face at once, I do think a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream (or your favorite vegan sub) would be a wonderful addition.

Here you can see the jelly pockets poking through.

My hand model, Chris Riggs, displays the inner workings of the cupcake. Luckily he works for baked goods.

Poached Eggs with Cilantro Tomato Sauce

2009-02-03T18:17:00.000-08:00

I've been on a poached egg kick lately. Something about how fucking difficult they are to get right awakens a sense of adventure in me. And while plain old salt and pepper is hard to beat, sometimes I feel a little creative and want to do something special. I found an intriguing recipe on Epicurious but it was a little too fancy for a Thursday night. But I liked the idea of a substantial tomato sauce flavored with cilantro, so I thought I'd try an easy version. The result is really tasty and satisfying and something I've made a bunch of times since.

Ingredients

2 fresh eggs (best for poaching)
A couple tablespoons of apple cider or rice vinegar
1 small can tomato sauce
3 or 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
salt 'n pepper
an english muffin or something
optional: a little fresh parmesan

Directions

First, take a decent-sized pot and fill it with about 3 inches of water. Decant your eggs, carefully - you're fucked if the yolks break - into two little cups; teacups with adorable little handles are perfect. Turn the heat on your pot of water, and while it heats up, you can start frying your garlic in a little oil. Once it starts getting brown, dump in the tomato sauce and stir it around a bit. Keep the heat low here.

Pour some vinegar into the water; the more you use, the better the egg whites will set. You can use regular white vinegar, too, but my suggestions above are tastier. Once the water boils, turn the heat down so there's little bubbles but the water is still. This is the slightly tricky part; I'm still mastering it. Stir the water to make a whirlpool and carefully dip an egg-cup into it so the egg slides out. If you do this right, the egg will swirl around in the water and the magic of centrifugal force will gather the white around it. Do the same with the second egg, obviously being careful not to mess with the first one. Once they're both in there, stir carefully to make sure they're not sticking to the bottom - that'll ruin em - then turn off the heat and cover the pot. If you like the yolks really runny, which is the only way serious people eat poached eggs, only leave them for about a minute, just until the whites set. You can leave them longer but they'll cook more.

Poaching:

A breached yolk:

Meanwhile stir the cilantro into your tomato sauce and let it wilt there. Scoop your adorable, fluffy eggs onto your freshly-toasted english muffin with a slotted spoon and top generously with the sauce. And actually if you've got some leftover cornmeal pancakes from the delicious chili you made a couple nights ago those would make a delicious bed for the eggs, too. Then shave some parmesan on top, liberally sprinkle with black pepper, and eat them eggs up.

One final note: this makes enough sauce for 4 eggs, so either invite a friend to dinner or save half of it for more eggs later! It'll still be good next time you want fancy eggs (which if you're like me will be in like 6 hours).

Sweet Potato Bisque with Corn and Jalapeno

2009-01-29T08:13:00.000-08:00

The root vegetable base and hearty texture of this soup say winter, but the cheerful colors - bright orange, yellow, and green - say summer. And the taste says delicious!

I've copied the recipe here from the New York Times, who adapted it from a new cookbook of classic New Orleans recipes rescued from Katrina. Kind of a neat idea. And while I'm sure plenty of those recipes are loaded with shrimp and heavy cream (you know they've got like 8 ways of serving poached eggs down there?), this is naturally vegan and super easy to make. Well, alright, it's a little more complicated if you don't have an immersion blender - but if you don't then how do you LIVE anyway?? Go out and get one and then make this soup.

Sweet Potato Bisque with Corn and Jalapeno

Ingredients

1 tablespoon peanut or olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 medium sweet potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds total), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 medium jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (I doubled the recipe from 1 cup, cause I like corn)
2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Scant pinch ground cinnamon
Finely chopped scallions, green parts only.

Directions

1. In a large saucepan or soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until just soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sweet potatoes and stock and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender or a food processor, purée contents of pot, in batches if necessary, until smooth.
3. Reheat soup, stirring in jalapeño, corn, molasses, salt, cayenne, black pepper and cinnamon. Taste, adjust seasonings and serve, topped with scallions.

The soup comes out very hearty and filling, despite the few and simple ingredients, and not as spicy as you might think. I served mine with cheesy whole wheat muffins I made for the occasion, though some nice crusty bread from your local bakery would probably be just as excellent. And it did seem to quite well with Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale.

Cheesy whole wheat muffin biscuit guys

I could only buy jalapenos in a package of 8, so I'll definitely be making this again soon... who wants to come over for dinner?

Pancakes: They're Not Just For Breakfast For Dinner Anymore

2009-01-28T09:01:00.000-08:00

Seitan and Mole Chili with Savory Cornmeal Pancakes

I've been on a real pancake kick recently, ever since our mom served me pancakes with a runny fried egg on top. It was a delicious revelation, and opened my eyes to the many possibilities of the savory pancake. You can get all fancy and put stuff in your batter, but really, a savory pancake is just any old pancake used in a savory situation (just don't put too much sugar in the batter). So when I was planning to make a big beautiful pot of chili, I decided that rather than corn muffins, I would make some nice, moist, violently yellow cornmeal pancakes as an accompaniment.

The chili recipe is slightly adapted from the immortal Vegan with a Vengeance, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. The molasses and cocoa give it a fabulous mole flavor and deep color that I find very compelling. I do canned tomato sauce instead of crushed tomatoes because I'm picky about tomato-eating, but chili is super adaptable, so feel free to change that (and other things) around. The recipe makes a soupy chili, ideal for dippin.'

Chili

Ingredients

1 big onion, chopped
lots of garlic, diced (I like 4 or 5 cloves but it's up to you)
1 package good-quality seitan (Ray's is great in the Philly area), finely chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (optional)
1.5 tbs cumin
1 tbs chili powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
2 small cans tomato sauce
2 tbs molasses
2 tbs cocoa powder (unsweetened, duh)
lots of black pepper
1 cup good-quality veggie stock

Directions

Saute the onion and pepper in some oil for a few minutes; add the garlic and seitan and saute for another maybe 8 minutes. Add the spices and saute anotehr minute or two, to create a "flavor foundation," as Rich Landau of Horizons Cafe likes to call it. Add the beans, tomato sauce, molasses, cocoa, and stock, and stir it up with some pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook covered for about 20 minutes, stirring infrequently to keep it from burning if you have a shitty pot like me. After that, turn off the heat and just let it sit for at least 30 minutes. Longer won't hurt it, and you can always reheat, so it's time to make the pancakes.

These pancakes use egg, but there are obviously many wonderful vegan pancake recipes out there. The main thing here is that I add black pepper and use olive oil instead of a more neutral-tasting oil.

Savory Cornmeal Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups cornmeal
.5 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp baking soda
Generous sprinkling of freshly ground pepper (try adding some pink peppercorns to your black)
2 cups milk or soymilk
.5 cup water
.25 cup olive oil
1 large egg
1 cup corn kernels, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to like 200 and keep a baking pan in there, so you can keep your pancakes warm as you make them. Mix the dry ingredients together; mix the wet ingredients together (leave the corn be for now if you're using it). Gently mix dry and wet together, moistening all ingredients but being careful not to overmix, which will totally ruin your pancakes. Let it sit for a minute as you heat up your pan, adding some oil - only a wee wee bit if you're using nonstick. Once the pan is nice and hot, I like to use a ladle or a 1/4 cup measurement to dole out the batter. Once it's in the pan, sprinkle corn kernels into it before it sets. As you finish the pancakes, put them on the pan in the oven to keep them warm.

You may want to add a little shredded cheddar, if you're into that kind of thing. Either way, you should dip the pancakes in your chili, get full as fuck, and then watch some cartoons or something. Perfect for a cold winter's night with friends.

Here my friend Molly demonstrates dipping techniques:

I've got a bunch more recipes to warm you up this winter, so stay tuned folks and folkettes.

Giant Monster Cupcake

2008-06-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't know, everybody's favorite uzbek-speaking vegan just arrived in Khyrgyzstan yesterday. She'll be there for 7 weeks learning the language, doing field work, and eating her secret stash of Larabars. A few days ago, the other brutal Feldman (that's me) and a bunch of her friends threw Erica a surprise early birthday/going away party.

For me, the major plan for the party - the big surprise - was a gigantic fucking cupcake, or to be more precise, a double bundt cake made in a pan shaped like a gigantic fucking cupcake.

Here's the badass cake pan I used:

I used Isa Chandra Moskowitz's chocolate bundt cake recipe from her Veganomicon book, or rather, I used it twice, for the top and bottom of the cupcake.

I decided to add chunks of peppermint dark chocolate to the batter, and make a peppermint frosting to finish it off. Here's the beautiful chocolate - I used that endangered species brand.

I did have some issues with the baking - I'm not gonna lie. Usually I bake tiny little things that are done in 20 minutes or so. The bottom half of the cake was in the oven for almost 2 hours, in the end, because it just wouldn't bake through. It ended up a little too chewy on the edges but much more edible than I'd feared.

And the top - the creamy cakey part - turned out beautifully. It was still in the oven for about an hour and a half, but I was more careful this time.

The whole assemblage:

Here she is getting frosted with the peppermint frosting... don't you dig the pale green color?

Fully frosted.

And the finishing touch... drippy chocolate ganache! Isa Chandra says that peppermint frosting is nothing without chocolate ganache, so I obeyed. Here you can see that the cupcake is bigger than my and Erica's heads! Photo credit for the next two by Jenni Warner.

Cutting it into slices was a daunting task.

Erica was indeed surprised!

And then, all that remained...

This cake was a huge pain in the ass... but I can't wait to make it again!

No-Chicken Noodle Soup - it's convalesilicious

2008-05-31T14:31:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know, like you need a recipe. But in case you're not great at coming up with your own step-by-steps, or you just don't like to think, I present to you my imprecise yet fool-proof recipe for flavorful, chickeny, virus-fighting vegan chicken noodle soup.

Of course, you can use any kind of chicken substitute and stock you wish, but I highly recommended Better Than Bullion's No-Chicken Stock, which comes in a little jar at Whole Foods and places like that. And for the chicken, nothing is better than Morningstar's " chik'n " strips, which unlike many Morningstar products, are vegan.

This recipe makes a few helpings for 4 people. You'll need:

- 2 quarts of water
- 1 package Morningstar Farms Chickeny Chikkers strips (not really called that. In the freezer section)
- About half a big white onion, chopped
- A few cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tbs dried parsley (or replace with about half a bunch of fresh parsley
- 3-5 carrots, according to preference, cut into thin rounds
- 3-5 celery stalks, chopped
- Soup noodles - not good at measuring this, so I'll just say, as much as you think is appropriate
- Black pepper, maybe some salt

Directions:

1. Bring your stockpot to boil with the water, onion, garlic, and a few tbs of stock-goo (might want a little more than the jar tells you to use for two quarts of water; taste it as you go).

2. While the stockpot boils, you can make the pasta and "chicken." The chicken strips should be sauteed in a pan in a little oil until they really start to brown. Remember, it's not actually meat, so don't worry about them getting overcooked. As they get soft in the pan, you can break them up into smaller, more soup-appropriate pieces. When they're ready, you can put them right in the soup. They'll benefit from cooking in the stock as long as possible.

3. Cook the pasta until it's just a little too al dente. Cover it, but don't worry about it getting cold; it'll finish cooking and heat up again in the soup. As for types, I highly recommend any small, curly, hollow noodles. The holes fill up with broth when you eat the soup, which is delicious. I don't remember the name of my favorite, but you can see it, along with a piece of fuseli, below.

3. Once the soup boils, add the dried herbs and the carrots and simmer for about 5 minutes (if using fresh parsley, don't add it yet).

4. The chickens should be in by now. You can add the celery at this point and simmer the soup for 5-10 more minutes. It's really about your preference for how crunchy the carrots and celery are.

5. Duing the last few minutes of cooking, throw in the pasta. Taste a piece to make sure it has been cooked to your desired consistently.

6. Just before you turn off the heat, stir in sprigs of fresh parsley (if using). Serve and eat while watching cartoons.

Here you see my friend and roommate Klaus eating his soup in the comfort of our disgusting living room.

All gone!

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

2008-05-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

These are probably some of the most brutal cupcakes yet. This is less because of the theoretical presence of alcohol and more because of their insanely dark richness.

These are another winner from Isa's Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. They call for just a little bit of stout, which by virtue of its bubbliness somehow procludes the need for soy yogurt or other faux-egg binders. Naturally, I recommend that you get yourself a six pack of something good so you can drink it before/during/after cupcake preparation.

I used Sierra Nevada's stout, which is delicious even when used as a frosty beverage. It worked nicely in this recipe, but you could surely use any variety. Just don't get lazy and use that old can of Black Label from the back of your fridge - it must be stout!

Remember, whenever you're pouring beer into a measuring cup, to make sure to put some tilt on it and pour slowly - otherwise you will end up with nothing but 1/3 cup of foam. Naturally I was impatient and screwed this up. Here's how it'll look when you get it right.

I also went for alkali processed cocoa for this recipe (also called Dutch processed cocoa), which is super dark and rich. Combined with the dark beer, this gave the cupcakes an impressively swarthy appearance, each baking up like a sugary little black hole. They were also, I should mention, EXTREMELY TASTY.

The recipe calls for a simple crumb topping, which was excellent. Still, I think I'd make them with goopy chocolate frosting next time. They are so intense that you might as well go all the way and hold nothing back. As if to emphasize this point, Chris Riggs - a guitarist in a real live metal band - can be seen enjoying a brutal cupcake below.

The cupcake has itself been brutalized.

Update: I tried these again with the cupcake book's recipe for chocolate buttercream frosting (some earth balance and vegan shortening, with cocoa, a little vanilla extract and soymilk, and a ton of powdered sugar). The result was ridiculously rich and chocolatey but not, I am told by my intrepid cupcake tasters, over the top. To be recommended!

O'zbek somsalari tayyorladim!

2008-04-16T01:21:00.000-07:00

In case you're an uneducated loser who can't read Uzbek (you know who you are), the title of this entry means "I made Uzbek somsas!" What is a somsa, you ask? I described it to my roommate as what might result if a samosa and a knish got married. Monday was my last day of my beloved Uzbek class--not to mention the date of our final exam--and so I resolved on Sunday to try my hand at Uzbek cookery in recognition of the occasion/to cushion the blow of screwing up the test (as I was sure to do).

Seeing as Central Asian food may be the least vegan-friendly cuisine on the planet, my somsa-making marked a truly historic occasion--they were quite possibly THE FIRST VEGAN UZBEK FOOD EVER. It can be done! Whether or not it actually is done, unfortunately, I'll have to find out the hard way--if I'm not back in Ann Arbor next semester, you may safely assume that I died of malnutrition in Kyrgyzstan. Remember me well, and may this recipe be my epitaph.

Uzbek Somsas

Ingredients:

For Dough:

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup soft silken-style tofu

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

warm water

2 tablespoons margarine, melted

2-3 tablespoons soymilk (original or unsweetened)

Directions:

Make the dough first. Start by sifting together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Whiz the tofu and olive oil in a blender or food processor until smooth; add tofu mixture to flour and mix to combine. Then add warm water a little bit at a time, mixing until a dough starts to form. When the dough gets too stiff to mix with a fork, knead it with your hands. Add enough warm water that the dough is soft and flexible, but not so much that it becomes sticky (if this happens, add a bit more flour). Let the dough rest for 30-45 minutes.

On a well-floured surface, roll the dough out into a rectangular shape. It should be about 1/2-3/4" thick. Pour melted margarine onto the sheet of dough and, using your hands, spread the margarine until the entire surface is greased. Then, starting at one of the rectangle's short edges, tightly roll up the dough into a log (margarine-side in). Wrap the dough log in plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours. Make your filling during this time (see recipes below).

Once the dough has chilled, unwrap the log and place in on a well-floured surface. Slice the dough into coins about 1 1/2"-2" thick. Making sure the surface is very well-floured, roll each coin out into round, 1/3"-thick circle. Your circles should be about 5" in diameter--a little larger or smaller is okay. In the center of each, drop a heaping tablespoon of the filling of your choice. Now would be a good time to preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Now for the creative part: shaping your somsas. Uzbek somsas come in three traditional shapes: round, triangular and square. Having read in some probably-completely-unreliable online source that triangular somsas are considered the most authentic and aesthetically pleasing in Uzbekistan, I opted to take the triangular route with my first batch. This involves folding in three sides of the dough circle till they meet in the middle and the dough has a roughly triangular footprint. Then pinch the edges together, completely sealing the filling inside the dough. Make sure the edges are sticking together well; if they look like they're coming apart, wet your fingers a little to make the dough a bit stickier and try again. Once the somsa is shaped, use a pastry brush dipped in soymilk to lightly paint the top and sides.

As you may have guessed, you follow the same general procedure to make the other somsa shapes. To make squares, fold in four of the sides of the dough circle; to make round somsas, just gather and pinch together the dough edges above the filling. Round ones are the easiest to make, but the other shapes aren't much harder. Remember to glaze each one with a little soymilk.

Place somsas on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes, until the dough is golden and lightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then move to a wire rack. These can be served hot or cold, and are definitely intended to be finger food.

Pumpkin Filling:

1 small sugar pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and seeded

1 small onion

salt, pepper, sugar to taste

Dice pumpkin into small cubes, about 1/4"-1/2". Dice onion small. Combine pumpkin and onion in a small mixing bowl; season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar. Mix well. If you intend to make the filling in advance, don't add the salt until right before you assemble the somsas.

Spinach Filling:

Approximately 4 cups fresh spinach

1 bunch fresh cilantro

1 small onion

a splash of oil (I used olive)

1-1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

salt and pepper to taste.

Dice onion small Heat oil in a medium frying pan; add onion and cook over medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and saute until just wilted. Add cilantro, coriander, salt and pepper; saute until greens are well-wilted but still verdant (don't let them turn brown and slimy). Remove from heat.

Somsas are most often filled with meat (usually mutton), but pumpkin- and spinach-filled varieties are also traditional and common. Looking at my recipe, you might think that somsas seem pretty vegetarian-friendly and wonder what I was complaining about earlier in this post. For the record, skeptics, I should note that the recipe from which I adapted mine called for butter, 2 eggs and 5 ounces of lamb fat (yes, lamb fat). Oh, and it was the only recipe I could find that didn't contain meat and/or mayonnaise.

Kyrgyzstan, here I come.

Vegan Pho--My New Favorite Meal

2008-04-12T01:37:00.000-07:00

Man, am I ever glad I had Vietnamese food for lunch one day last week--it got me thinking about how much I wanted a big bowl of pho. Tragically, it's hard to come by vegan pho in Ann Arbor (it's at times like this, Chicago, that I miss you most!), but I didn't let that faze me. Instead, I combined the potent forces of my ingenuity and the internet and came up with my own recipe. And guess what? I think it was the best pho I ever had!

Vegan Pho Broth

Ingredients:
6 shallots, peeled and halved
2 2-inch chunks of ginger, halved
8 cloves garlic, halved
2 3-inch cinnamon sticks
2 pods star anise
2 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and outermost layer discarded, chopped
8 cups beef-flavor veggie stock (like Better Than Boullion)
3 Tbsp. soy sauce

Directions:
Stick the cloves into the shallots. Place the shallots, garlic, star anise, and cinnamon sticks onto a foil-lined cookie sheet and broil until charred. While broiling, char ginger pieces over a stovertop burner (you can do this in a skillet if you have an electric stove). I speared mine on a long knife with a plastic handle and held the pieces in the flame until visibly charred.

Place charred ginger, shallots, garlic, cinnamon and anise into a stockpot. Add lemongrass, stock, soy sauce and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, at least 25 minutes.

Vegan Pho

Ingredients:
Pho broth (see above)
Roasted unsalted peanuts (about 1/2 cup)
Fresh mint
Fresh basil
Fresh cilantro
Fresh bean sprouts
1 carrot, shredded with vegetable peeler
1 lime, sliced into wedges
Sugar-snap pea pods (you could also use napa cabbage, broccoli, etc.)
1 package udon noodles (I used Eden brown rice udon noodles)
2 scallions, finely chopped
grilled seitan (optional, but really good!)

Directions:
If you want to make the seitan: slice seitan thinly. Place slices in a single layer on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with toasted sesame oil and soy sauce. Broil several minutes, flipping halfway through, till both sides of seitan are cooked to your liking (but not burnt).

Pulse peanuts in food processor till coarsely chopped. Cook udon noodles. On a large plate or tray, arrange fresh basil leaves, fresh mint leaves, fresh cilantro leaves, bean sprouts, shredded carrot and lime slices in attractive piles.

Divide udon noodles among bowls. Ladle strained broth over noodles; top with seitan, chopped scallions and chopped peanuts (use as much or as little as you like). Serve alongside tray of fresh herbs and veggies. When you sit down to eat, add as many fresh herbs and veggies as you like to your bowl of hot broth; squeeze fresh lime over your assemblage. If you want, you can add chile sauce, hoisin sauce, or sprinkle with rice vinegar. Pho is fun because everyone at the table can tailor their bowl to their own taste!

I promise you won't regret trying out this recipe. It's so, so awesome! I'm really proud of it, actually. If you do make it, please leave a comment to let me know what you think!

Lavender-Rosewater Cookies

2008-03-23T22:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I undertook two excursions into previously-uncharted vegan-culinary territory: I made my own seitan (from the amazing VeganYumYum's recipe) and baked up a batch of lavender-rosewater sugar cookies. The seitan was great! It's slated to be the base of tomorrow night's dinner. The cookies were also a big hit, and I'll share that recipe here.

Vegan Lavender-Rosewater Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 + 1/3 cup white sugar
1 /2 cup (1 stick) margarine
1/4 cup soft silken-style tofu
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. rosewater
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons dried culinary lavender
sugar for rolling cookies in (1/2 cup or so)

Directions:

Cream together sugar and margarine in large bowl. In a food processor, blend together tofu, rosewater and vanilla till smooth. Add to sugar-margarine mixture and mix well.

In a (well-cleaned!) coffee grinder, grind lavender into a powder. In a separate bowl, mix together ground lavender with other dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix well. Refrigerate dough for half an hour or so.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll into walnut-sized balls. Roll the balls in the extra sugar till well-coated. Arrange on a cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly on cookie tray, then transfer to a wire rack. Enjoy!

Pictures are coming, I promise! My camera is in Chicago, but I'll get it back this weekend. In the meantime, I'll try to get some of my cookie-testers to comment about how good these lavender-rosewater ones taste and how pretty they look!

Vegan Portuguese Kale and Soyrizo Soup!

2008-03-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

This veganized recipe from Epicurious may change your life, along with your friends' feelings about vegan cooking.

Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
3/4 cup sliced carrots
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1-inch pieces
4 cups veggie stock (I use Better Than Boullion No-Chicken Stock)
1 package Soyrizo
8 cups chopped kale, packed
1 pound small Yukon Gold potatoes (or Red Bliss, in a pinch), chopped into 1-inch cubes

Directions:
In a large stockpot, cook the garlic, the onions, and the carrot in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until the vegetables are softened. Add the russet potatoes, the broth, and 4 cups water. Bring the liquid to a boil, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Puree the stockpot contents with an immersion blender (or transfer to a regular blender if you don't have an immersion blender).

While the potatoes are cooking, cook the soyrizo in a skillet over moderate heat until browned, stirring occasionally. Add browned soyrizo and cubed Yukon Gold potatoes to stockpot, cook till potatoes become slightly tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in chopped kale and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook until kale has become wilted--then serve!

Vegan Carrot Cupcakes

2008-03-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

I've always had a thing for carrot cake, so while everybody knows that even for non-vegans, cream cheese is pretty much disgusting in almost every other context, I missed me some cream cheese frosting when I went vegan. I know it's hard to believe, but nasty Tofutti, which usually manages to be even grosser than real cream cheese, makes an incredible cream cheese-ish frosting that my omnivorous friends said was the best they'd had.

These are from the immortal Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. This is from way back in the summer, but I wanted my first post to have pictures!!

Ingredients

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup soy yogurt (plain or vanilla)
1 teaspoon vanilla (I used vanilla paste)
1 cup finely grated carrots
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together sugar, vegetable oil, yogurt, and vanilla. Sift in the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices), and mix until smooth. Fold in carrots, walnuts and raisins.
3. Spray the cupcake liners with non-stick baking spray. Fill the liners 2/3 full. Bake for 26-28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted through the center of one comes out clean.
4. Once fully cooled, top generously with cream cheese frosting.

Sorry I don't have the frosting recipe up... I'll post it as soon as I find it.

Here's the raisin exposure shot:

The texture was fantastic, really moist and full of great chewy stuff. If you're wondering about the "fancy" coiled frosting effect, that was achieved by a ziplock bag with the corner cut out. Just make sure the frosting is firm and properly chilled before you embark on a similar adventure.

Earl Grey Sugar Cookies!

2008-03-21T02:01:00.000-07:00

This post represents the figurative ribbon-cutting for our new recipe blog. To get things rolling, I'm going to post my newest invention: vegan Earl Grey sugar cookies. These totally delicious but, alas, slightly weird-looking. Since they are, after all, Earl Grey cookies, maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised that they turned out so...well...gray. After some initial trepidation vis-a-vis their stone-like appearance, however, my roommate couldn't stop scarfing these up. We agreed that they look like rocks because they rock.

Vegan Earl Grey Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance or Willow Run)
1/2 cup + 1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup soft silken-style tofu
zest of one lemon
zest of one small, smooth-skinned orange (I used a Temple orange)
a splash of soy milk (vanilla or plain)
4 tablespoons loose-leaf Earl Grey tea
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Extra sugar to roll the cookies in (1/2 cup or so)

Directions:
Put the lemon and orange zests in a food processor with a splash of soymilk. Process till the zest has been reduced to tiny bits. Add the tofu and vanilla extract and process till relatively smooth (you'll still see little pieces of zest).

In a large bowl, cream together room-temperature margarine and sugar. Add the tofu mixture and mix till incorporated.

Place 4 tablespoons of Earl Grey tea into a (well-cleaned!) coffee grinder and process till very finely ground. In a separate bowl, combine ground tea, flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Mix well.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well. Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least half an hour. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and roll into balls, using about one teaspoon of dough per ball. Roll the balls in sugar till coated and press them lightly onto a cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between them. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly on cookie sheet. Remove carefully from cookie sheet with a spatula and transfer to wire rack.

These cookies will keep cooking as they cool, so don't worry if you eat one right off the baking sheet and it seems a little undercooked in the center. Once cool, these will be delicious, floral, perfumey, and elegantly gray and rock-like. All in all, a very sophisticated, grown-up cookie.

If you try these, let me know what you think. To come: finished-product pictures, my recipes for lemon-thyme and orange-cardamom cookies, plus more baking experiments involving lavender, rosewater, matcha powder...and maybe some weird extracts from this rad site! I definitely want the bergamot, but the question remains: will I be seduced by the jasmine, rose and lavender? Tune in next time for the resolution of this cliffhanger...