During an AmeriCorps icebreaker, I matched my desire to learn vegan baking with someone who knew how. Who say’s icebreakers are worthless (well, I sometimes do). I got the following two tips:
Egg Substitute: Use an amount of water equal to an egg (maybe ~1/4 cup) and mix in tablespoon of ground flax-seed
Best Oil: Coconut Oil is the best oil to use for moistness and tastiness. Of course, it’s really bad for you, but who cares.
The cafe down the corner from my house makes the best brownies and I’ve been wanting this recipe ever since they opened. My friends have been quietly debating whether it was corn syrup or condensed milk that makes them so good. I made an oft-hand remark about it today and the counter-girl went back and wrote out the recipe for me. Turns out the answer is butter and eggs, lots of ‘em.
In regard to the amounts below: they were given to me in grams, and I did some loose conversions since I don’t have a scale.
3-1/3 C (760g) Butter
1-2/3 Lb (910g) Chocolate
12 Eggs
2 Tsp Vanilla
2-1/2 C (560g) Sugar
3-1/3 C (420g) Flour
2 Tsp Salt
18″ X 24″ Pan (makes 24 Brownies)
I didn’t get the instructions for actually baking them, but I assume that you melt and cool the chocolate, then cream everything, adding the flour at the end.
Probably bake at 350 (though maybe a cooler 325). They should have a torte-like consistency when done—cakily aerated but moist and fudgy if compressed.
Dandy’s recipe:
8 medium tomatoes, stewed
1 jalapeno
4 green onion, chopped
1/4 bunch of cilantro, chopped
2 garlic cloves
In large sauce pan, stew tomatoes and jalepeno.
Remove stem from jalapeno.
Put into blender or food processor.
Add garlic.
Pour into pan.
Add 4 green onions and cilantro.
Simmer for 15 minutes.
Salt and pepper to taste.
My alteration:
Take all of the above ingredients, and just throw them in a blender (I use a can of whole stewed tomatoes rather than the fresh tomatoes—probably better fresh). Done.
When pan-frying or oven-frying potatoes, put on salt at the end. Salt will draw out moisture during cooking and keep the potatoes from crisping.
- from Eric Martin while he was cooking delicious breakfast-potatoes.
After writing my last post about salsa, it made me think that grating green apple and green papaya together, along with a hint of lemon juice, would be good. Maybe sunflower seeds too, or almonds (pine nuts?)
One of my favorite haunts in Boston is Delux in the South End—mostly because a successive series of my friends have worked there.
One of their best dishes is the Quesadillas, which are made so in part by the salsa. I’ve been working to deconstruct it, so this is what I think is in it:
(this isn’t proportional)
Apple (seems like something red, maybe a macintosh)
Red Pepper
Yellow Pepper
Red onion
Yellow Onion (maybe)
Jalapeno
Pineapple juice (like a tiny splash, maybe)
It’s all chopped up into maybe 1/4 chunks and amazing
via Rebecca
1 cup flour (I’ve been using white whole wheat)
1 egg
~2tbps cool water
(adapted from a cooks.com recipe
I got my first harvest from the community garden today. Truthfully I’ve been eating cherry tomatoes off the vine for the past two weeks but this zuchini was my first take-home meal.
Only half the zuchini ever made it into a hot saucepan with a little extra virgin olive oil; I just kept munching away raw it was so good. Sliced moderately thin, the zuchini quickly seared and I threw some corn tortillas on top to soften. Then, before the zuchini lost its crunch, I dropped it out onto the tortillas with a bit of kosher salt and just a hint of black pepper. A touch of cheddar cheese on top and a balsamic-spinach salad with some fresh sliced red pepper made it a meal.
Delicious.
