Sweet Potato Bisque with Corn and Jalapeno

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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!