Green Zebras

corn torte

Barely adapted from the Little Vegan Monsters cookbook.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1 C. leeks or naganegi (green onion’s big brother)
1 t. sea salt
4 C. corn kernels (I used a mixture of fresh and canned)
3/4 C. tofu, drained and crumbled

1 C. water
1/2 C. cornmeal
2 T. baking powder
1 t. sugar
1/2 C. soy milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 375º

In a large frying pan or wok, sauté the onion in the margarine for a minute or two, then add leeks, corn, salt, and tofu. It’s important to drain your tofu quite well; otherwise you’ll get a lot of extra water in the mixture. If there is, cook until the water mostly boils off. Once some of the mixture takes on a light golden brown, remove from heat.

In a bowl, mix together water through soy milk. Combine with the vegetable mixture, then pour into a greased pie pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until lightly browned.

Nice with salsa, soy yogurt sauce, or vegan sour cream, and a slice with a big green salad makes a great dinner.

xox, selena

chocolate peanut butter scones

 

Adapted from The Dirty South Cookbook, published by Microcosm, but which left out key measurements and wanted currants.

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons margarine
1/2 cup chocolate peanut butter candy (or a combo of chocolate and peanut butter chips)
2/3 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat over to 425F (220C). Combine the first four ingredients. Cut in the margarine with a pastry blender or a couple of knives (I love my pastry blender, I got it at the 100 yen store, and it’s been working fine for years). Cut open the bag of peanut butter chocolate candy that you left in your car and is now melted into a big lump. Chop the lump into bite sized pieces and toss with the flour mixture. Add the soymilk and vanilla, if using (I used vanilla soy milk, and omitted the vanilla). Mix until ingredients are combined - they may be a bit dry but should be able to be gathered into a ball. Squeeze the dough a few times to make sure it’s really sticking together, then form into a thick round. Score into wedges - I made eight. Drizzle soy milk on top, then sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

xox, selena

veggie gyoza

This recipe is translated and adapted from the book “Taichi and Kentaro Danshi no Gohan no Hon” (Taichi and Kentaro’s Boys Cookbook) (太一 X ケンタロウ 男子ごはんの本）

Makes about 40

gyoza skins - about 40 - buy or make your own 

cabbage, 200 grams (about 1/8 head), finely diced
chives, 1/2 bunch, chopped
ginger, 1/2 knob, minced or grated
potato starch (or cornstarch), 1 tablespoon
firm tofu, 200 grams or about 1 block, drained and crumbled

cooking sake, 2 tablespoons
sesame oil, 2 tablespoons, divided
soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon
salt, 3 pinches
pepper, a shake or two

vegetable oil for frying
more soy sauce, rice vinegar, and pepper oil for dipping

In a bowl, combine cabbage through tofu. You can swap out veggies - I’ve also done this with carrot, onion, garlic, green onions, etc. Make sure the tofu is drained as much as possible - if there’s a lot of water in the tofu, it will make your gyoza more soggy. 

Add the sake, 1 T of the sesame oil, the soy sauce, salt, and pepper, and mix. 

Fill your wrappers - depending on the size, the filling will vary, but you want to be able to close them easily without them bursting open. About 1 teaspoon of filling fits nicely in a 4” wrapper. Seal in a half moon shape by dabbing a bit of water on the inside edge and pinching together in an accordion pleat. This gets easier after the first several.

In a large shallow frying pan, heat about a tablespoon of vegetable oil on medium-high heat. Put in about half your gyoza, in a couple of neat rows (Japanese style!). Pour in a bit of water, to about 1/3 the height of the gyoza, and cover the pan. When the water has mostly cooked off, you can check them - the underside should be crispy and browned before you remove them. If they’re only a bit golden brown and not crisp, they will get flabby after you remove them. Still tasty, but not quite as. 

Repeat for the other half. Delicious with rice and salad, and a dipping sauce of vinegar, soy sauce, and ra-yu (hot pepper oil).

xoxo, selena

Potato-topped focaccia

Friends, I love me some bread. All kinds of bread. Focaccia is an Italian-style bread made from pizza crust dough, with a good bit of olive oil. And it’s very flexible. You can throw whatever herbs you want in the dough in addition to things like olives, sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized onions—the sky’s the limit!

Ingredients

• 1 package active drive yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 4 cups all-purpose flour (though this could really be half whole-wheat, half cornmeal, half semolina!)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 to 5 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 tbsp of minced fresh herbs of your choice (I have rosemary and thyme on hand and in pots)
• 1 potato, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp olive oil, and more for drizzling
• Salt and pepper to top—to taste

Preparation

1. Mix yeast, 1/2 cup warm water, and sugar together in a small bowl and let yeast do its thing;
2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients, herbs, garlic, and garlic powder;
3. Add yeast mixture and 3 tbsp olive oil to dry; add more water until the dough is smooth and pliable (think pizza dough!);
4. Knead dough on floured surface for a few minutes, until elastic;
5. Let dough rise in a warm place till doubled in size (anywhere from an hour to an hour-and-a-half);
6. After the dough rises, punch it down, and preheat the oven to 350F.
7. Drizzle olive oil in an 8 x 13” baking pan (or you could do this free-from); fit dough into pan.
8. Using your fingertips, make little indentations all throughout and drizzled olive oil on top so it fills holes;
9. Layer potato on top, pushing it down gently into dough;
10. Either use your fingers (like I do) or a brush to coat the potato in olive oil;
11. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste;
12. Bake 30-40 minutes, until potatoes start to turn brown and a nice golden crust develops on top.

xoxo,

Teddy

Lunchtime Greens Sandwich

A sandwich of mostly just cabbage and greens? Why not!

Ingredients

• Leeks (cross sections, sauteed)
• Kale
• Beet Greens
• Beet Stems
• Red Cabbage
• Sriracha Hot Sauce
• Bagel (sliced, toasted)

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Lemony Brown Rice

Ingredients

• 1 cup Brown Rice (uncooked)
• 1 cup Water (for rice)
• 2 Celery Stalks (cross sections)
• 1/2 Sweet Red Italian Pepper (chopped)
• 1/2 Leek (half moons)
• 1.5 tbsp Lemon Zest (chopped finely)
• 1-2 tsp Unrefined Sugar
• 1-1.5 tbsp Margarine or Oil
• Salt (to taste)
• Olive Oil
• Optional : 1/4 cup Walnuts (chopped)

Preparation

1. Cook the rice until just before its done and still a little firm. Leave uncovered and set aside to allow some moisture to escape.
2. Mix the lemon zest with sugar (and optionally walnuts) and set aside.
3. Saute the leeks in a little olive oil over medium heat until they start to soften and their flavor mellows, then add celery and red pepper. Continue to saute until the celery and red pepper soften just a bit then remove from heat and mix the vegetables with the rice.
4. Saute the lemon zest in the margarine / oil over medium low heat for a couple minutes then mix with the rice, salt to taste, add extra oil if needed and serve.

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Crunchy Sweet Salad

One of those salads where you’ve got so many good things on hand that you can’t help but add them all. A little overkill, but totally delicious.

Ingredients

• 4 leaves Kale (chopped)
• 2 small leaves Red Cabbage (thin strips)
• 1/2 Beet (grated)
• 5 Beet Stalks (chopped)
• 1 small Carrot (grated)
• 1 Radishes (grated)
• 1 Radish (half moons)
• 1 stalk Celery (cross sections)
• 1 Apple (diagonal half smiles)
• 1 Pear (small cubes)
• 1/4 cup Walnuts (chopped, toasted)
• 3 tsp Anise (finely ground)
• 1/8 tsp Salt

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Anise Granola

Granola with a wonderful anise taste plus plenty of toasted seeds and other crunchy goodness.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Oats
• 1/2-3/4 cup Ground Flax Seed
• 1/2 cup Grape Jelly (I used a home made kind with no sweetener besides the grapes)
• 1/8 cup Walnuts (chopped)
• 2 tbsp Sesame Seeds
• 1 tsp Anise Seed (ground)
• 4 tsp Oil

Preparation

1. Mix in a bowl then spread on a tray and bake at 350-450 until golden. Stir as needed to cook evenly

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Barley Dolmas

Ingredients

• 20-30 Grape Leaves (lightly steamed)
• 1.5 cups Pearled Barley (uncooked)
• 1 Onion (chopped)
• 2 stalks Celery (chopped)
• 5 Kale Leaves (chopped)
• 1/4 Leek (chopped)
• 3/4 cup Raisins
• 1/4-1/2 cup walnuts (chopped)
• 1/2-1 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/4 tsp Cumin
• 1/4 tsp Coriander
• juice of 1 Lemon
• 1 tsp Oil (for sauteing)
• Salt (to taste)
• 1-2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 cup Water

Preparation

1. Saute the onions in oil over medium heat until tender. Add the barley and saute a couple more minutes until barley is browned.
2. Transfer the onions and barley to a sauce pan, add water, spices, vegetables and lemon juice. Cook until the barley is half tender then remove from heat. Add olive oil and salt to taste. The filling is now ready for use.
3. To make the dolmas place a spoonfull of filling on grape leaf, fold the sides in toward the center and roll it closed. If desired use some string to tie them closed. Steam the dolmas for 20-30 minutes.

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ps. The filling is also great on its own

Pear Salad with Toasted Squash Seeds

I love pear in salads! The toasted squash seeds give this some crunch to go along with the sweetness.

Ingredients

• 1 Pear (small chunks)
• 2 leaves Red Cabbage (chopped)
• 2 leaves Kale (chopped)
• 2 Radishes (half moons)
• 2 stalks Celery (cross sections)
• 1 Carrot (thin peeled strips)
• 1/4 Zucchini (chunks)
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp Shiso Fumi Furikake
• 1/4 - 1/8 cup Butternut Squash Seeds (toasted)

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