Post Thanksgiving Feast Part I - Tofu Turkey and all the fixings

I have been making Tofu Turkey every Thanksgiving since 2001. This is not to be mistaken for the store bought Tofurky, which in my opinion is not as tasty. This is a "mash up 5 pounds of tofu, press in fridge for 8 hours, stuff, baste and bake for 4 hours" production. Its a lot of work, but I love every minute of this yearly tradition. And the results are well worth it.

This year, Jim and I were in England for Thanksgiving. He had an opportunity to present at a conference on Thanksgiving day and we jumped at the chance to visit another new country. We decided we could have a post-Thanksgiving feast when we returned. So, here I am, surrounded by pounds of tofu and vegetables and slightly stressing about all the details for my meal tomorrow, but happy all the same. After all, its only once a year, and its so much fun to prove that you can have a fantastic, tasty and amazing holiday feast without all the meat.

On the schedule today:

• prepare the tofu
• make cranberry/orange chutney
• make creamy spinach/parsnip dish
• double layer pumpkin cheesecake
  
• make carrot ginger soup if there's enough room in the fridge to store :)

Check back soon for photos and details of the process.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Apple Crisp

I recently had a dessert epiphany- what would happen if I combined apple pie and chocolate chip cookies, two of my favorite treats? Without quite knowing what I was doing I whipped up this crazy combination and the result was delicious!

Basically, you prepare the apples as you would an apple pie or apple crisp, using your favorite recipe. Then you layer them in a baking dish and top with cookie dough. Its pretty simple, but here are the details of my version.

Ingredients:

• 5-6 med-large apples, peeled, sliced and cored
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon corn starch or other thickener (optional, but helps with runniness)
• 1 package of pre-made chocolate chip cookie dough at room-temp, or you can make your own from scratch

Preheat oven to 400. Mix sliced apples with lemon juice. In separate bowl mix brown sugar, flour, spices and corn starch. Combine. Butter a baking dish. Fill dish with apple mixture. Top with cookie dough. For the topping, you just need to work the cookie dough into flat pieces and place over the top of the apples. I pretty much made an almost solid sheet of cookie dough, approximately 1/2" thick.

Baking instructions:
First you need to cook the apples without burning the cookies. I covered the dish with aluminum foil and baked until the apples got bubbly, approximately 30-40 minutes. I would recommend setting a timer for 30 minutes, then every 10 minutes until they are cooked. Remove the foil, turn down the temp to 350 and cook for about 10 minutes until the cookie dough sets and topping is brown. Please note, these times and cooking temperatures are approximate. As much as you will want to eat this right away, you should let it sit for a few minutes so the juice can coagulate a little and it will be easier to serve.

Top with whipped cream, ice cream or both. Enjoy!

photo credit: Lucio Lecce

Boston Vegetarian Food Festival

I can't believe this has been going on for 14 years and I still haven't gone. I'm typically not too happy in big crowds, so have avoided the festival despite the temptation of free admission and vegetarian food. I've heard great things about it from my vegetarian friends and they've expanded to two days so maybe I'll venture over this year.

The Boston Vegetarian Society proudly presents
The 14th Annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival

Now Expanded to Two Days!
Saturday, October 31, 2009, 10 AM - 6 PM
and
Sunday, November 1, 2009, 10 AM - 4 PM

Reggie Lewis Athletic Center
1350 Tremont Street, Boston, Massachusetts
Subway stop across the street

More Info: http://bostonveg.org/foodfest/index.html

My Vegetarian Version of Colcannon

Jim loves potatoes. I love making home fries for breakfast, but hardly ever cook potatoes for dinner. Last night was a cold and rainy fall night, and Jim and I were both craving some warm, filling comfort food. I decided to make use of all the potatoes piling up from our coop. What I really wanted was mashed potatoes, however, I had some kale and leeks that I really needed to cook soon. So, I decided to make my own version of the Irish dish, Colcannon. Here is the recipe for your enjoyment.

• 6 large Potatoes, peeled (optional)
• 1 head of Kale, remove stems and chop into bite-sized pieces
• 1 Leek, finely chopped
• 8 veggie breakfast links or sausage patties
• butter
• light cream or milk
• salt and pepper

1. Boil large pot of water. I used a mixture of Red and Yukon potatoes which did not need to be peeled. If you prefer your mashed potatoes without skins, peel the potatoes first.Chop potatoes into equal size pieces and add to boiling water. Cook until soft.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a saute pan or wok until it just starts to bubble (medium heat). Add leek and a little salt and cook until softened.

3. Add chopped kale and cook for a few minutes, just until kale starts to wilt. Don't overcook the kale, it really only needs to be heated for 2-3 minutes.

4. Cook veggie sausages or links according to package instructions. I cook my veggie links in a skillet until brown on all sides. Chop into bite-size pieces.

5. When potatoes are done, drain and mash with 2-3 tablespoons butter and about 1 cup of milk or cream. I like chunky mashed potatoes and just add a little milk as I go until I get the consistency I like.

6. Stir in Kale, Leek and Veggie Links. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve.


This looks a little crazy, but tastes so yummy!

Scientists have discovered a "Vegetarian" Spider!

"Scientists have discovered the world’s first known vegetarian spider.

Bagheera kiplingi, a South American species, lives almost exclusively on leaf buds and is thought to be the only spider of about 40,000 species to have rejected a carnivorous diet."

Read more about this fascinating creature at TimesOnline.

photo credit: Robert L. Curry

Vegetarian Borscht Recipe

I know, I know- I haven't posted in a while! I'm not sorry to say that I've been enjoying the summer, traveling a little, and mostly just avoiding being on the computer too much. Anyway, I threw a bridal shower for my sister last month and we requested the guests bring a vegetarian recipe for her. One of them really appealed to me as I had tons of beets from my veggie co-op just waiting for the right recipe.

I didn't have any potatoes (not in my share yet) so I added 2 carrots instead. I actually worked out just fine. Sorry no pics, it was late and I was hungry! I ate this with my blueberry-cheddar pancakes which I will follow up with in a later post.

Enjoy!

Jovie's Vegetarian Borscht recipe:

Take:
2 big potatoes
4-6 beets
Wash and cube them. Then place them in a pot with
enough filtered water that the potatoes & beets are
about a 1/2 inch under the water, and boil.
(If you want you can add a veggie bouillon cube into
the mix.)

Meanwhile take:
1 big onion
3+ cloves of garlic (depending on how much garlic you like)
Slice pretty thinly and saute in 2 tablespoons of
olive oil.

When the beets and potatoes are soft, add the
onions-garlic-oil into the potato-beet-broth pot. Add 1
T-spoon of sesame oil, then salt and pepper to your own
taste. Stir. Then pour all the ingredients into a
blender. (It will probably be a few batches.)

Serve with: a dollop of plain yogurt on top, dill
(dry or fresh), and roasted sesame seeds!

Thanks to Jovielle for sharing!!!

Blueberry Oatmeal Crisp

Normally I do not get a fruit share at the co-op, but I was lucky enough to be able to purchase a few pints of lovely blueberries this week! I have to say that blueberries are probably my favorite fruit. And these are big, plump, gorgeously juicy, slightly tart, super yummy ones. I am trying not to eat them all as I type :)

In the spirit of the blueberry season, here is a recipe taken from Yankee Magazine for Blueberry Oatmeal Crisp. I bet it is so good with vanilla ice cream!

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Fruit

• 3 pints blueberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons flour

Mix the berries, sugar, lemon juice and zest, and flour in a large bowl. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and butter a 13x9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.

Topping

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2/3 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For topping: Combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter, and pulse the machine repeatedly, in 2- to 3-second bursts, until the mixture is clumpy, like damp crumbs. Transfer the berries to the baking dish, and spread the crumbs evenly over the fruit. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly hot. Serve at any temperature, although it is best to let it cool at least 10 minutes.

Zucchini and Summer Squash Saute

Last week I got my first zucchini and squash of the summer from the co-op. I found a super simple recipe in my Heaven's Banquet cookbook for sauteed zucchini. The following is my adaptation for 2 servings:

1 med zucchini / 1 med summer squash
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tbs safflower oil
1 chopped scallion
1 tbs minced herbs from garden (basil, parsley, chives)

Peel and grate the zucchini/squash. I also scooped out some of the squash seeds because I'm weird about seeds in my food :)
Add salt and let sit for 10 minutes.
Place handfuls of mixture in strong paper towel or cheesecloth and squeeze out water.
Stir in garlic
Heat safflower oil in pan on med heat. Add zucchini mixture and saute for about 5 minutes.
Mix in scallion and saute 5 more minutes until it just starts to brown, but you don't want to fry it.
Mix in minced herbs and serve.

This kind of felt like a pasta replacement, similar to when I make spaghetti squash, but it also had a slight egg taste. Either way it was really good. I served it with a salad made from lettuce and radishes from the co-op, topped with pan fried tofu.

Dean Foods Sells Out Organic Farmers With Release of New "Natural" milk

Breaking News: Dean Foods Sells Out Organic Farmers With Release of New "Natural" Horizon Milk

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Farm Direct Co-op - Week 2

Thursday was my second co-op delivery. I picked up napa cabbage, garlic scapes (3), green lettuce, and I got my choice of either mizuna or pea tendrils, and scallions or kohlrabi. Feeling a bit adventurous, I chose pea tendrils and kohlrabi. I've had tried kohlrabi before, but had never even realized you could eat pea tendrils.

That night after a bit of research I decided to cook the pea tendrils since they don't last long and are best used right away. Most sources mentioned they are common in Asian stir-fries, and some recipes used them raw. Upon sampling the shoots raw, I decided that they were a bit too tough to eat raw and decided to chop them and do a quick stir fry with sesame oil, hoping to soften them up. Although I mostly liked the flavor (Jim did not!), they were way too tough for us to eat. I kept having to spit out the unchewed fibrous clumps. Unfortunately the entire dish was a lost cause.

Wondering what I did wrong, I researched pea tendrils further. Every blog post and recipe mentioned how delicious they were and what a nice subtle pea flavor they added to each dish. Then, I hit upon one post that mentioned that the tendril and tougher stems should be removed first. I think if I had done that, or just used the leaves only, the dish may have been more of a success. Since Jim really didn't like the earthy pea flavor, I doubt I will be giving them another try soon, which is a shame. If anyone has any suggestions, or has had a similar experience, please let me know.

The good news is that I made a fantastic garlic scape pesto for my potato gnocchi. Here is the recipe:

• 3 Garlic Scapes, chopped

• a small handful of organic pine nuts (sorry, I didn't measure- add more or less as you go, per your taste)
• olive oil (again- no measurement, but I would suggest to start with 3 tablespoons and add more as you go)
• Salt to taste

I added all ingredients to my small electric chopper/blender until I had a finely chopped, bright green blend.


I look forward to experimenting with the kohlrabi this weekend. I have to find a good recipe for the napa as well, since we never seem to use up cabbage in time.