Tomato Jam – Vegan Month of Food

Poesy and Plate
 Vegan Month of Food  2014

(check out the hundreds of VeganMoFo blogs HERE) 
My goal: cook and blog about vegan food 20 times
during the month of September. 
My theme: words and food

Spice and Cinnamon

The warm aroma of spice and cinnamon
Blends with laurel and cloves.
You taste of cinnamon,
Said she. And you,
Said he, of almonds.

Cinnamon. Cloves. Ginger. Brown Sugar. Love.

I found this beautiful poem on http://www.tweetspeakpoetry.com/ and I found this beautiful recipe on the internet. The recipe was actually posted on a food blog I read, but I have to admit, I can’t remember which one!! So sorry! If it’s *your* recipe and you are reading this, please speak up! Your jam is heavenly! It made my entire home smell warm and spicy as it gently simmered all day (I doubled the batch, so you can imagine how long it took to thicken).

Keep Stirring!

“How does one eat Tomato Jam,” you ask?

Veggie Burgers.

Black Bean burgers.

Portabella Mushroom burgers.

Slathered over vegan cheeses (see my Simple Almond Cheese).

On crackers.

On top of a pile of freshly grilled corn.

Tofu scrambles.

With any eggplant dish (on man, that will be good) .

Over grilled tofu.

On toast in the morning, especially if it has a little cream cheese on it.

On grilled bread, like a bruschetta.
Roasted Cauliflower
Roasted Potatoes

etc

I ate this .... and another entire sandwich....and another half sandwich.
 That's VEGAN cheese, my friends: mozzarella and cheddar. 

Here’s what you need:

5 pounds tomatoes, roughly chopped

1C to 1 ½ C granulated sugar

¼ C packed brown sugar

8 T fresh lime juice

2 t salt

1 t freshly grated ginger (or more)

1 t ground cinnamon

½ t ground cloves

2 t red pepper flakes

2 t hot smoked paprika

Here’s what you do:

Combine all the ingredients in a large non-reactive pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until it comes to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until it’s very thick. It will thicken as it cools. You can always check to see if it’s the correct consistency by placing a small amount in the fridge and checking it after it has completely cooled down. It should be thick enough to stay put on top of a burger.

Process in canning jars for 20 minutes.  

(printable recipe)  I found this recipe on Savory Moments. Check it out HERE.

Tofu Feta - Vegan Month of Food

Poesy and Plate
 Vegan Month of Food  2014

(check out the hundreds of VeganMoFo blogs HERE) 
My goal: cook and blog about vegan food 20 times
during the month of September. 
My theme: words and food

"It  is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

'A+'  for the day if you know what classic novel this comes from.  I will give you a hint..... it was written by Jane Austen in 1813.

I love simple things like this straightforward statement written so long ago and this EXCELLENT tofu feta. I could eat these little clouds of lemony goodness all day long!  Alas, most guests at my recent cocktail party went for the dairy feta pictured near  my YUMMY tofu feta, which simply meant more for me! Once the tofu is gone, use the dressing over lettuce. 

A note: this tofu feta in no way tastes like the feta made with goat or sheep milk, BUT it's still great! Eat it straight or put it in salads. Eat it with tiny cocktail toothpicks or with your fingers. Serve it in a cute fish bowl or in an old tupperware. Be polite and eat one at a time or stuff your mouth full. All good. 

Here's what you need:

14 ounces extra firm tofu, sliced in 3/4 inch slabs. 

4 T fresh lemon juice

lemon zest

1/4 t salt

1/2 t dried oregano

3 T olive oil

Here's what you do:

Blot the tofu slabs for a few minutes to remove any excess water. Carefully cut into 3/4 inch cubes. Mix the dressing and pour over tofu. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes, stirring once in a while. YUM! 

Sunshine Paella - Vegan Month of Food

Poesy and Plate
 Vegan Month of Food  2014

(checkout the hundreds of VeganMoFo blogs HERE)
My goal: cook and blog about vegan food 20 times
 during the month of September. 
My theme: words and food

Oranges , by Gary Soto

The first time I walked

With a girl, I was twelve,

Cold, and weighted down

With two oranges in my jacket.

December. Frost cracking

Beneath my steps, my breath

Before me, then gone,

As I walked toward

Her house, the one whose

Porch light burned yellow

Night and day, in any weather.

A dog barked at me, until

She came out pulling

At her gloves, face bright

With rouge. I smiled,  

Touched her shoulder, and led

Her down the street, across

A used car lot and a line

Of newly planted trees,

Until we were breathing  

Before a drugstore. We

Entered, the tiny bell

Bringing a saleslady

Down a narrow aisle of goods.

I turned to the candies

Tiered like bleachers,

And asked what she wanted -

Light in her eyes, a smile

Starting at the corners

Of her mouth. I fingered  

A nickle in my pocket,

And when she lifted a chocolate

That cost a dime,

I didn’t say anything.

I took the nickle from  

My pocket, then an orange,

And set them quietly on

The counter. When I looked up,

The lady’s eyes met mine,

And held them, knowing

Very well what it was all

About.

 Outside,

A few cars hissing past,

Fog hanging like old  

Coats between the trees.

I took my girl’s hand

In mine for two blocks,

Then released it to let

Her unwrap the chocolate.

I peeled my orange

That was so bright against

The gray of December

That, from some distance,

Someone might have thought

I was making a fire in my

hands.

Oh, how I love this poem and that wonderful woman behind the counter who remembers the joy and thrill of young love. The beauty of a half peeled orange in a young boy's hand is such a great visual image - truly like a fire. It's my favorite fruit and my favorite color. (Well, I love all fruits and I love all colors)

If you've never read Gary Soto, then let me be the first to recommend his writing to you. I use a lot of his stuff in my classroom. 

And if you've never made paella at home you will be pleased to see how simple it is. Really, it's just a baked rice casserole with lots of veggies and that extra special ingredient: saffron! If you have time and you're willing to babysit the paella while baking, you will have great success! Any heavy bottom oven proof pan will do fine for this dish. 

Sunshine Paella

Here's what you need:
1 C white rice
2 C vegetable broth + lots more to drizzle over rice while cooking
a large pinch of saffron
olive oil
2-3 carrots sliced very thin
various vegetables, sliced ; red and orange peppers, onions, green peas, artichokes
lemon slices
sliced almonds
chick peas or other beans for a boost of protein. 

Here's what you do:
Warm the vegetable broth with the saffron and set aside
Heat the pan with a generous amount of olive oil and stir the rice in the hot oil until each grain has become a bit translucent. 
Slowly pour half of  the warm broth over the rice and gently distribute the rice. 
Place pan, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. 

Pour the remaining broth over the rice, stir gently and bake another 5 minutes.
Arrange the harder vegetables in a pleasing pattern : I was aiming for a sunshine, so I put the veg in a circle - kinda like the rays of the sun. (peppers, onion, chick peas)
Cover the pan with foil and bake for 10 more minutes

In the meantime, saute the carrot slices in olive oil and another small pinch of saffron threads.
Keep checking the paella and test for 'done-ness' by tasting the rice. I added quite a bit more vegetable broth and kept baking it and checking it at 10 minute intervals. I probably added another 1 1/2 C broth.
Never stir it!
Eventually, add the softer vegetables: lemon slices, artichokes, peas and almonds) Keep baking and checking - for a total of maybe 40-50 minutes. It can sit covered for a long time after it comes out of the oven.
Place the carrots in the center of the paella for a spectacular presentation.

Before serving, drizzle with more olive oil (optional) and a squeeze or two of fresh lemon (mandatory)

Buen Provecho!

Mostly Zucchini Sauce – Vegan Month of Food

Poesy and Plate
 Vegan Month of Food  2014

(check out the hundreds of VeganMoFo blogs HERE)
My goal: cook and blog about vegan food 20 times
  during the month of September. 
My theme: words and food

Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.

George Washington 

The last time I was at Mt. Vernon, it was under a huge
renovation. Did you know that the exterior
is actually wood, which has been carved to
resemble brick? 

Harmony in all things. Wouldn’t that be a dream come true?  Washington spoke these words in his farewell address in 1796 and I believe his words still ring true today.  We actually could use a lot more harmony between the nations. I can’t stand to turn on the TV for fear I will see what the ravages of dis-harmony are doing to our earth and her people.

In the same address, President Washington warns against the party system, saying that it ‘agitates the community with ill-fouled jealousies and false alarms.’  Don’t even get me started. Why didn’t we heed his advice and just live in ‘good faith and justice’ toward all?

Whatever. The world’s a mess and it was a mess in Washington’s time too.

We *can* find harmony in lots of small places though and that is very satisfying. Let’s start in our own backyard gardens. I am talking about the harmony between a zucchini and a tomato.

Mostly Zucchini Sauce calls for a huge amount of zucchinis compared to a few tomatoes. Simply use a huge amount of minced garlic and a huge amount of hot red pepper flakes. Cook it all down to a mush and put it in the blender or food processor. Salt and pepper if you must. 

You might notice in the photo that the final color of the sauce was an unappetizing brown, but I’m telling you it tastes great! I will not hide this sauce in a lasagna or a casserole! I will pour it over pasta with great pride!

I usually freeze my sauces in portion size baggies, laying on a baking sheet. When they are solid, I slide the baggies into huge freezer bags. Never fails.

No mess. No waste.

Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup - Vegan Month of Food

Poesy and Plate
 Vegan Month of Food  2014
(check out the hundreds of VeganMoFo blogs HERE)
My goal: cook and blog about vegan food 20 times
  during the month of September.
My theme: words and food

 MUSHROOMS, by Silvia Plath

                                   Overnight, very

                                   Whitely, discreetly,

                                   Very quietly

                                   Our toes, our noses

                                   Take hold on the loam,

                                   Acquire the air.

                                   Nobody sees us,

                                   Stops us, betrays us;

                                   The small grains make room.

                                   Soft fists insist on

                                   Heaving the needles,

                                   The leafy bedding,

                                   Even the paving.

                                   Our hammers, our rams,

                                   Earless and eyeless,

                                   Perfectly voiceless,

                                   Widen the crannies,

                                   Shoulder through holes. We

                                   Diet on water,

                                   On crumbs of shadow,

                                   Bland-mannered, asking

                                   Little or nothing.

                                   So many of us!

                                   So many of us!

                                   We are shelves, we are

                                   Tables, we are meek,

                                   We are edible,

                                   Nudgers and shovers

                                   In spite of ourselves.

                                   Our kind multiplies:

                                   We shall by morning

                                   Inherit the earth.

                                   Our foot's in the door.

What a beautiful way to start my annual Vegan Month of Food – aka VeganMoFo. The image of a living organism ‘shouldering through holes,’ and ‘dieting on water,’ is so peaceful to me. Mushrooms are very quiet, aren't they? I remember when I did not eat mushrooms because I thought they were creepy. Silly me.

Creamy Mushroom Soup (from Vegan Holiday Kitchen, by Nava Atlas)

Note: the original recipe calls for an optional ½ C of dry white wine and some optional silken tofu to make it creamier.

Here’s what you need:

Olive oil for the pan

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

2 large celery stalks, diced

32 ounces vegetable broth

Dried basil and thyme (1/2 teaspoon each)

12 ounces (or more) baby bella mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced

6 ounces (or more) shiitake mushrooms, whipped clean and sliced

2 15 ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Rice milk to thin the soup if needed (I did not use any milk at all)

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Here’s what you do:

Sautee the onions over medium heat until soft. Add the garlic and cook just a minute more. Add the potatoes, celery, broth, and herbs and continue to cook until the vegetables are tender (maybe 20 minutes)

Meanwhile sautee the mushrooms in small batches, being careful not to turn them over until they have released some moisture and begun to brown on one side. Set them aside.

Add the beans to the soup and carefully liquefy the entire pot. Add the mushrooms to the creamy soup and if it needs to be thinned out with some milk, add it now.

This soup improves with age – so let it sit and soak for a while before you serve it. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and something green: parsley, basil, chives, green onion tops, etc.

(printable recipe)

Sriracha Sesame Grilled Tofu

We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love.
It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person.
W. Somerset Maugham

I have been reading a lot of Somerset Maugham this summer – both short stories and novels. Maugham was a master of the English language; he could completely capture a person’s character with words. It’s amazing to me how accurate (or inaccurate, I guess) words can be. I have found his characters to be the most interesting part of his writing which surprises me because I usually complain if a novel is too heavy on character development and light on plot. I prefer a fast moving plot with lots of twists and turns. Maugham leans toward a simple plot, but uses fascinating characters to make the story genuine. I feel as though I actually know the people he has created, or at least have known people like them.  

I also love this Maugham quote about change. I think it is true – or at least I hope it is true. How dull if we never changed. How dreary to remain in the same pattern throughout our lives. How dismal to reject anything new or challenging. Which brings me to this Sriracha Sesame Grilled Tofu recipe.

Someone recently said to me, “I would die if I had to eat tofu.” I think that’s being just a bit closed-minded, don’t you? If you are new to tofu (like I am), then this is the recipe to start with. It was so easy and super delicious.  Be a changed person. Do a favor to the earth and to the animals. Try eating something different. Expand. Grow. Live. Be. Change.

You can see that I used the chili-garlic version of
Sriracha. If you can find it, use it! Spicy.....

Here’s what you need:

1 pound extra firm tofu (note: EXTRA FIRM)

½ C soy sauce

3 T sesame oil

2 T maple syrup

2 T Sriracha chili-garlic sauce or plain Sriracha

2 T rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

Here’s what you do:

Remove the tofu from the package and drain the water. Carefully slice the block lengthwise into about 6-8 pieces. Gently place the tofu slices on a few absorbent towels and place a few more towels on top of the tofu. Then place a cutting board over the top. On top of the cutting board place a heavy object, Iike a cast iron skillet. Come back in about 30 minutes and see how much water has been squeezed out. Amazing! Now there’s plenty of room for your marinade to soak in.

Whisk the marinade ingredients together and soak the tofu for as long as 24 hours, flipping over once in a while. The longer you marinate, the more the tofu will absorb.

Spray a grill or skillet or other type of non-stick pan with a tiny bit of oil. Grill the tofu until you get the nice char marks. (By the way, char marks or burned spots on grilled meat can cause cancer. Char marks or burned spots on vegetables do not. Look it up if you don’t believe me.)

This recipe is from Vegetarian Times Magazine. 

Green Curry Stir Fry with Cashews

Looking for a new way to use fresh green beans? This was delicious: spicy, creamy, sweet, and easy to throw together after a long day at work. My version is based on a recipe found in Vegetarian Times magazine. I think next time I make this I will double the curry sauce – it’s that good.  Makes two large servings.... and by large I mean we stuffed our faces. 

Here’s what you need:

1 T peanut oil

½ C thinly sliced onions

12 oz sliced mushrooms

1 t minced garlic

1 T minced fresh ginger

½ pound fresh green beans, cut into thirds

½ C golden raisins

1/3 C canned full-fat coconut milk

2 T green curry paste

1 T lemon juice

1 T soy sauce

½ C roasted salted cashews

¼ C chopped cilantro

Here’s what you do:

Sauté the onions and mushrooms in the oil, until the mushrooms are brown and the onions are soft. Stir in the garlic, green beans and raisins and continue to cook for about 5 minutes until beans are fork tender.

Whisk together the coconut milk, curry paste, lemon juice and soy sauce. Pour over the green bean mixture and lower the heat. Simmer until thick – about 2 minutes.

Garnish with cashews and cilantro. Serve over rice.