Vegan Tomato-Pesto-Zucchini Tart

J claims that cheese is the “most overrated food ever.” I am a huge cheese fan, or at least I used to be. I’ve been making recipes that call for cheese and leaving the cheese out lately. I find I don’t miss it. Maybe it is overrated?

Anyways, I was doubtful about making a tomato basil tart without any kind of cheese, but this turned out to be awesome! J went back for thirds, and is happily eating the leftovers as I type. The only draw-back is that it’s not so pretty (hence, no picture). The tomatoes on top are lovely, but the pesto turns a brownish-green. It could be pretty if you cover the pesto with enough tomatoes. As it was just J and I, I did not make the effort. Anyway, give it a whirl. It’s a great vegan entree.

1 vegan pie crust for a nine-inch tart pan

Pesto

1/2 bunch basil

1/2 cup chopped, toasted nuts (I used walnuts,  but pinenuts and almonds also work)

3 cloves garlic

salt and olive oil to taste (go heavy on the salt to make up for the cheeselessness)

Throw all this in the food processor until it looks like pesto

Tart Filling

3 large tomatoes, seeded and thinly sliced (set seeds/insides of tomatoes aside, don’t throw them away)

1 lb zucchini grated, and sauteed until it’s mushy and you cannot press liquid out of it

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Spread a layer of pesto on the bottom of the tart, then a layer of zucchini, then tomato slices

Repeat this once more

Bake until crust is brown, and separating from the sides of the tart pan. Serve with the tomato seeds/insides

Only the best vegetarian shepherd’s pie ever!

Valentine’s day proved to be a better day for burning calories than for consuming them. Our dinner consisted of slightly overcooked (and therefore chewy) halibut, runny polenta, and grainy creme brulee. Not my best. The day was saved  by Mark Bitten’s saffron sauce, and the fact that we were starving after a long, beautiful hike. However, this failure seemed small in comparison to my triumph earlier this week.

I have been long searching for a good vegetarian shepherd’s pie recipe. The concept of a shepherd’s pie is so appealing…creamy potatoes, matched with their perfect compliments–roasted veggies and hearty mushrooms. Warm deliciousness all wrapped up in a single, healthy dish. Alas, all the recipes I’ve tried have left me cold. They always taste like exactly what they are– mashed potatoes stacked on top of roasted veggies and sauteed mushrooms. For some reason this has always been a source of irrational disappointment to me. In light of this sad state of affairs, I am delighted to report that I unintentionally created a vegetarian shepherd’s pie that is different. It’s fantastic. Though in the interest of full disclosure, I must concede that it might not actually be a shepherd’s pie (it has a crust?). BUT, it’s something close, and something infinitely better.

This recipe was inspired by the roasted winter vegetable baklava recipe on epicurious.com, which I originally set out to make. My plans got derailed as I realized that I had purchased puff pastry, not phyllo dough, and that the latter is nothing like the former. Plus the baklava recipe started to make less and less sense to me…roasted veggies just piled on some phyllo dough…it sounded like a lot of work for something that might turn out rather dry (though the recipe is very highly rated on the website, and probably a lot prettier than the alternative I came up with). At any rate, the derailment proved a very happy one.

Vegetarian “Shepherd’s Pie”

olive oil

6 medium-small carrots, washed and sliced into strips (about 1/8″ -1/4″ thick)

5 small yellow potatoes, washed sliced into 1/4″ thick rounds

1 bulb fennel, fronds discarded, sliced into strips

1/2 c. walnuts

1/2 c. fresh bread crumbs

salt, pepper, sage and rosemary to taste

1 onion, sliced

1 shallot chopped

1 pint mushrooms, sliced

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

1. Heat over to 425. Roast potatoes, carrots, and fennel (thinly coated with some olive oil) until soft and golden– about 35-40 minutes.

2. In a food processor, process walnuts, bread crumbs, sage, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

3. In about 1 tbsp.  olive oil, sautee onions, shallots, and mushrooms on high heat until the onions are translusent.

4. Arrange puff pastry in a pie dish, sprinkle about 3/4 of the walnut and crumb mixture on the bottom.

5. Puree 3/4 of the roasted veggies in the processor. Spread this over the crumb mixture in the puff pastry.

6. Place the rest of the veggies, and mushroom mixture on top. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.

7. Bake at 400 until the puff pastry is golden (about 15-20 minutes).

Cozy Thai Noodles?

When I was purchasing the basil and rice noodles for this recipe, the merchant at our local Asian market noted his approval “You’re making noodle dish, cozy for cold weather.” Although I’ve never categorized Thai food or noodles (unless they are in the form of dumplings, drenched in broth, or accompanied by “meatballs” or copious amounts of cheese) as comfort food per se, I realized he’s right. Asian noodle dishes are cozy, especially this one. The noodles are warm, slippery, and salty. Their bulk is fortifying, the veggies restorative, the heat from the peppers warming, and the aroma of the basil is as calming as it is delicious. It’s fortunate that our CSA basket was loaded with Asian greens this weeks, which inspired me to make this recipe, just as the weather turned rainy and cold.I originally found this recipe on a website I can no longer find/remember. I modified it to be nearly vegetarian (the stir fry sauce contains fish sauce). It’s pretty spicy, but not overwhelming so.

Pad Kee Mao (A.k.a. Drunken noodles)

½ package dried rice noodles

2 Tbsp canola oil

1 package firm tofu, pressed (place it between two plates and put something heavy on top until the water is drained from it)

1 sliced orange Thai chili (or other hot chili)

2 Tbsp pressed garli

1 Tbsp smashed green Thai chilies (use a mortar and pestel)

2 Tbsp Stir Fry Sauce

1 Tbsp regular soy sauce

1 ½ Tbsp Gold Mountain soy sauce (lighter in color and flavor than above)

4 Tbsp water

2 Tsp sugar

¼ Tsp rice vinegar

veggies–whatever you have on hand

1 (about ..25 lbs) bunch Thai Basil leaves (small green leaves with purple veins), stems discarded

1. Cook according to the instructions on the package. Set aside (in water so they do not stick together).

2. Fry tofu in small amount of oil (not the oil listed above) until it is golden. Set aside on paper-towel covered plate to drain.

3. Mix the sauces, water, sugar, and vinegar in a bowl.

4. In a wok or large frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the green chilies and garlic, stirring constantly so they do not burn, for about 1 minute. Add tofu and vegetables. Cook until veggies are desired tenderness. Add the noodles. Cook until noodles are browned—about 2 minutes. Add sauce mixture and stir until noodles are covered with it. Finally, add basil and stir, remove from heat and serve immediately.

Delicious, relatively healthy pound cake

Jesse and I live by some black berry bushes which are currently producing a lot of berries. I wanted something to eat them with, and found myself craving a pound cake. But, after looking at some recipes for pound cake, I decided I would never eat one again (they are called pound cakes for a good reason).

Then I stumbled upon an excellent recipe for a lemon vegan pound cake. This recipe is adapted from it. The original can be found in Veganonicon (a wonderful vegan cookbook you can purchase here). It is so good….honest…cross my heart.

Healthy Version of Pound Cake

1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt
1/2 cup blended silken tofu (blend the tofu first then measure it out)
3/4 cup non-fat milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest
1 cup all purpose unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 tbsp cornstarch
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease a loaf pan (or you could double the recipe and use a bundt pan–but flour it instead of greasing it). Mix the wet ingredients and the sugar in a large bowl. Mix the dry ingredients in a smaller bowl, and combine with the sugar mixture. Mix until smooth and spoon into pan. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until a knife can be poked into the center of the loaf and come out clean.

Summer comfort food

This Caribbean sweet potato gratin is so good, so comforting, and not too filling for summer nights. It’s from Moosewood’s New Classics cookbook.

1 Clove garlic, pressed or minced

2 tbsp lime juice

11/2 tsp lime zest

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 cups coconut milk (20 oz, so you’ll need more than one can, or else you can add water to make up the difference, which is what I do)

1.5 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced paper thin (I like to use yams for the pretty color)

1 c. cooked rice (Quinoa works well too if you want to add some protein)

1 can black beans, drained

1 bunch spinach (any greens will work– I love this with collards)

3/4 c cornmeal

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1 small can diced tomatoes, drained (optional–my addition)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease a 9X13 inch dish. In a measuring cup, mix together the garlic, lime juice, zest, cilantro, coconut milk, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour 1/3 of this mixture in the bottom of the pan. Layer 1/2 of the sweet potatoes, 1/2 of the spinach, 1/2 of the rice, and 1/2 of the beans on top of the milk. Cover these layers with another 1/3 of the coconut milk mixture. Repeat the layers (in whatever order you want, just don’t put the greens on top or they will burn). If you so desire, add a layer of diced tomatoes on top of this. In a small bowl, mix together the cornmeal, thyme, cumin and salt. Mix in the oil with a fork until it forms a crumble. Sprinkle this mixture over the casserole and pour the remaining 1/3 of the coconut milk over it.

Bake for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are nice and soft.

I think this would be delightful served with cornbread.

a refreshing salad

This is a yummy summer salad with goat cheese balls. This recipe was adapted from one I found in an issue of Vegetarian Times (I can’t recall what issue now). (This magazine has great content, but I have found it to have poor customer service– I recommend skipping the publication and just searching their website for recipes).

Salad

I bunch mixed greens (I used a combination of spinach and red leaf lettuce)

2 peaches or nectarines, sliced into medium sized wedges

1 tomato diced

Goat cheese balls

3/4 log goat cheese

1 cup finely chopped toasted pecans

Roll the goat cheese into balls, and then roll them in the pecans (I like to eat my salad with warm goat cheese balls, but it’s good with them cold too).

and until there is a decent infrastructure there, giving larges sums of money might not make sense, as it would not be put to the best of uses.

Vinegarette

You’re sort of on your own here. I made my own, but didn’t pay attention to measurements. Here’s the ingredient list though– I say experiment with whatever is in the fridge.

A few strawberries, cirtus vinegar, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, 1 very small nectarine, a tiny bit of ginger, 1 clove garlic, about 1/4 of a small red onion, some tangerine marmalade, lots of honey (especially if your fruit is tart).

Cheap, enviro-friendly cleaners and pest control that you have in your cupboard or on your body

Jesse has a theory that in the 50′s people got all excited about anything they thought was modern, and ditched their former, highly effective and non-toxic products. I happen to think he’s right, and since I decided to nix “chemical” cleaners after feeling sick while using up the rest of my lavender scented shall-remain-unnamed-product last year, I have discovered many handy old fashioned alternatives. I don’t even walk down the cleaner isle in the grocery store anymore. They are that good. So, without further adieu, here they are:

Baking soda

It will clean ANYTHING–so, so much better than manufactured cleaners (and much cheaper). I use it to clean the counters, stove, and bathroom. It is also a miracle worker at getting crusty stuff off of pans. Just put some warm water in the pan, sprinkle in a hefty layer of baking soda, and put the pan back on the burner. Voila! The baking soda will literally lift the crusty stuff off– effortless.

Oh, I also use it every once in a while to whiten my teeth, and to remove tea and coffee stains from mugs. The box says you can use it to clean clothes. I haven’t tried this yet, but plan to experiment with some sheets and towels soon.

Vinegar

Another miracle! It works very well as a cleaner mixed with baking soda. It’s also a great substitute for glass cleaner. Honestly, it works just as well if not better. It can help a smelly garbage disposal too.

Lemon, water, and olive oil

Fantastic wood cleaner! Smells nice, and you don’t have to be all careful about touching your eyes, face, and mouth after using it!

Human Hair

We had a gopher problem in our garden, but the little guys is adorable, and we moved into his turf; we weren’t about to harm him. We did some research and found out that gophers will stay away from human scent, so we cleaned out my hair brush and stuffed it down his whole. Guess what! He moved on to greener pastures. We’ve repeated this technique and successfully steered gopher-friend into a part of the yard we don’t care about, and away from a trap planted by an unsympathetic maintenance crew member

Plain Non-Fat Yogurt

While not a cleaner or a pest control, it is a wonderful (much more healthful) substitute (identical, if you ask me) for sour cream. It’s also a great substitute for mayonnaise. I recommend giving it a whirl. I like to buy it in giant tubs from Costco. The tubs come in handy for food storage, but we go through a lot of them, so some meet their fate with the recycling bin. I have contemplated making my own yogurt, but this would just result in my using more milk containers, which are not reusable. Shame.

Why you should buy local/join a CSA

Many of you who keep up with the news know that there are some scary things happening with respect to the world’s food. Demand is higher due to economic advancement in countries like India and China, and production is down due to unusual weather patterns and a decrease in the supply of chemical fertilizers (which are made from increasingly scarce and expensive fossil fuels). This is pure speculation on my part, but I imagine it also cannot help that we’ve been paving over the farmland and orchards of the central valley (which produce 80% of the nation’s food) as if they were wastelands. In the past months, some governments have been placing restrictions on exports, which seems to me to be a good trend– farmers should not be able to sell their food to the highest bidder while the people in their country starve. Alarmingly, this is not the trend in the US, where rich folks are now investing directly in farmland so that they can avoid speculation laws (laws that prevent the hoarding of commodities in order to drive up their prices), and in order to ensure the ability to sell farm products to the highest bidder.

Given all of this, I would like to take a moment to encourage all of you to buy locally or even to join a CSA (community supported agriculture) program. Buying locally helps to protect local farmland from development, and will decrease your dependence on the products of other countries, who it seems will be unable to continue to supply them as the have in the past, as their own populations grow and florish. You can often find local organic farms which do not use chemical fertilizers, which helps keeps the soil healthy, vital birds and insects alive, ground water clean, reduces the global demand for fertilizer, and lowers general consumption of fossil fuels. On this last note, if you buy locally, your vegetables will not have to travel miles to reach your table, which also conserves fossil fuels (which are not only monetarily expensive these days, but which are literally costing lives!!).

CSA programs allow you to pay for part of the farm’s seed, and then to receive part of the crop yield in return. You can usually choose the size of your share, and the length (e.g. full season, partial season, winter…etc.) You typically receive 1 basket of food a week (which you pack and pick up at the farm-fun!).

Find a CSA/Local Farm by you.

Check out our local farm/CSA.

Rosemary Lemon Hummus

Here’s a break from the sweets (I actually don’t even really like sweets, but they’ve been coming out of the woodworks of late). This dip is wonderfully easy, and made raw kohlrabi tolerable.

1 can garbanzo beans

3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary (BTW, if you live in CA don’t buy rosemary at the store, as it grows literally on almost every street corner)

1 small lemon (w/rind), or 1/2 large lemon

2-3 tbsp.  olive oil

2 cloves garlic

Drain the garbanzo beans. Slice the lemon and garlic (unless your food processor is fancier than mine), and place all ingredients in a food processor. Process until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This made great pita sandwiches made with the flat bread (not naan) they sell at Trader Joes.

Beet Cake–something else to eat with goat cheese frosting

This is a great way to use up some extra beets. I halved the recipe and baked it in a 9-inch round pan. I frosted it with the goat cheese frosting, and topped with chopped, toasted pecans.

Beet Cake

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups shredded fresh beet

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 13X9 inch pan. Beat eggs, vanilla, oil, and sugar together until fluffy. In a separate bowl, sift flower, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Combine the two mixtures and stir in the beets. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out clean.