Roasted squash rancheros

We mostly followed PPK's recipe for Butternut Rancheros. Mmm.

Bean burgers

One trick to making good bean burgers is to serve them with home-made pickles and home-made buns. For the burgers themselves, first mix the dry ingredients well: salt and pepper, a little clove, a fair amount of curry, lots of nutritional yeast, and more than you think really necessary wheat gluten. Then add the wet ingredients: cooked beans (canned or soaked-and-boiled), cooked brown rice (processed in the food processor), and grated carrot. Work the batter a bit, probably adding more dry ingredients until the consistency is good and the gluten has made everything sticky. Coat in a little olive oil, and cook through (you don't really want any raw gluten left) on a hot grill.

Cream of cauliflower soup with homemade baguette

B made this wonderful dinner for us and a friend of ours. He described the soup as "cream of everything in the fridge": after sauteing and boiling cauliflower, leeks, and celery, he blended the soup with the immersion blender. The cauliflower gets very creamy — no dairy necessary. We garnished the soup with parsley and broccoli flowers from the garden.

Mushroom barley soup

Begin with a mire poix of carrots, celery, leeks or spring onions, dried bay leaf, and a little ground black pepper, and saute it at the bottom of your soup pot in olive oil and salt until the vegetables soften. Add a bit of minced garlic and a cup of dry pearled barley, and stir to coat the barley in the hot oil. Add halved crimini mushrooms, one large jar of home-canned tomatoes, with their juices, and, if you like, some cooked kidney beans or white beans. Add lots of water — the barley will expand as it cooks — and salt liberally. Bring to a boil and simmer at least an hour. Before serving (or after, if you forget) add a dash of red wine vinegar.

Long time ago: Gluten Free Baking

These are some old recipes from college, dated October and November, 2005. I had a vegan housemate with Celiac disease, and so learned to cook gluten-free.

Vegan Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread

This recipe is based largely on the ingredients available in my kitchen at school, and on a couple recipes from online. It turned out quite well; I now have a sense of how xanthan behaves, and next week will probably try making GF buckwheat bread.

Preheat oven 375°F. Oil a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Combine:

• 2 cups white rice flour
• 1/3 cup soy milk powder
• 1.5 tsp xanthan gum (I used only 1 tsp, which worked fine, but I think 1.5 will work better)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp soy lecithin, mixed with 3 Tbsp boiling water, or other GF replacer for 1 to 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 3 cups (roughly three) grated zucchini (I used only 2, which was good, but not amazingly zucchini-y)
• 1/2 cup crushed walnuts
• 1/2 cup currants (optional; raising would work too, esp raisins sliced in half so they don't get all weird when baked)

Bake in greased loaf pan 1 hr to 75 minutes, or until a skewer can go in and come out without residue. I baked at 350° and needed upwards on 75 minutes, checking every fifteen minutes after the first 40 or so had gone by. So perhaps 350 for an hour is all it takes, or perhaps the oven should have been hotter.

Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Bread

Preheat oven 375°F. Combine:

• 2 cups rice flour
• 1/3 cup soy milk powder
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water or chilled coffee
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp lecithin, dissolved in boiling water
• 1/2 cup jam (blackberry, etc.)

When mixed, oil a pan and dust with cocoa powder. Then briefly stir into batter/dough

• 2 tsp cider vinegar

and pour mix into pan. Bake 45 min or until done.

Vegan Gluten-Free Brownies

Preheat oven 325°F. Puree until smooth:

• 1/4 cup firm tofu
• 1/4 cup (vanilla) soymilk

and pour into mixing bowl. Add

• 2 Tbsp blackberry (or other fruit) jam
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• (1 tsp lecithin dissolved in 1 tsp boiling water)

and mix with electric mixer (I used the kitchenaid with the whisk for everything except pureeing in the blender). In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar (I used 2 parts raw organic white and 1 part brown)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (could go even to 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup white rice flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• (a pinch of xanthan gum)
• a pinch of baking powder (the less baking powder, the more fudgy will be the brownies)
• 1/4 tsp salt

and beat into wet ingredients. Also add

• 1 cup chocolate chips.
• (1/2 cup chopped walnuts)

Pour into a well-greased pan (a four-times recipe filled an 11x14 inch pan) and bake 325°F for one hour or until done. (I baked at 375, and ended up slightly burning the outside before the inside was completely done, but it worked fine, and took about 40 minutes.) Enjoy, and amaze your friends.

Long time ago: Greek Dinner for Columbae

I was recently going through some very old posts at a different web journal. I came across this collection of recipes, and I do not think I have posted the here. The following is from May 14, 2005.

At a recent bookstore sale, I picked up two vegetarian cookbooks, each for $6 (one normally goes for $13, the other for $28). The cheaper one looks especially like a keeper: called Vegetarian's A to Z Guide to Fruits & Vegetables, it provides a number of simple but yummy-looking recipes for each vegetable (the veggies are alphabetized by name), as well as nutrition information for each recipe and discussion of the vegetable's properties, time of year, location, storage, etc. I can imagine living near a local organic farm and subscribing to a weekly produce box that would provide me with seasonal produce with, at any given time, a small selection. In such a situation, a book like this would be a lifesaver: we're eating cucumbers for a week? Fine, let's see what we can do with cucumbers. The farmers decide to grow Batavian endive? We can look that up too.

In theory, Columbae would opperate that way, and we do try to keep to local seasonal produce. That said, I've been looking forward to preparing a traditional (well, with vegan modificaitons) Greek feast tomorrow, and although we did get baby spinach from the local organic supplier, I wanted celery, cucumber, grapes, all of which are seasonal in mid- to late summer. Our produce manager, however, is currently my most favoritest person in the world: she got me a couple heads of celery, a big box of grapes, and a big box of cucumbers, all conventional. So I'll have to wash everything, and the cucumbers are probably waxed, which is a shame, because the skins are the healthiest part, but still.

I have filo dough, which I need to remember to move to the fridge tonight to defrost, and I have my veggies and recipes. I need to soak the beans, too, and look up the spices suggested for apple rather than pear filling for the desert (pears aren't in season, whereas we have a hella lot of apples, but apples aren't as delicate, so require more spicing). I don't get olives --- dry goods and dairy came through for me with the feta but not with everything --- but oh, well. It will be good.


Soup: Fassolada me Spanaki Serves 6-8

Soak for 4 hrs, drain, boil, and drain

• 1.5 cup dried cannellini

or open

• 2 cans beans

In a large saucepan on medium heat, saute in plenty of olive oil for 30 minutes

• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 4 medium carrots, finely diced
• 2 sticks celery, finely diced

Add, and bring to poin, cover, and simmer

• 4 sprigs celery leaves (optional)
• 2 large cloves garlid, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp dried thyme (and/or greek oregano)
• 1/2 a medium bunch of fresh parsely, coarsely chopped
• the beans, if used dried
• 8 cups water or light vegetable stock
• 1 large can diced tomatos (or skin and dice three large tomatoes and let sit salted 15 minutes)
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste diluted in 3 Tbsp water
• 8 oz spinach, cut in thin ribbons

Simmer perhaps 20-30 minutes, adding the tomato paste and spinach in the last 5-10 minutes. Stir in

• another 1/2 bunch of parsely
• a little more oil

Serve hot, with

• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

sprinkled over each bowl.


Bulgari Pilafi Serves 4

Heat gently in large saucepan

• 3 Tbsp olive oil

and saute until translucent

• 1 large onion

Break up with fingers into roughly 2-inch pieces

1/4 cup thin spaghetti, vermicelli, or angel's hair

and add to onion. Continue stirring until pasta is pale golden and arromatic, 2-3 minutes.
Soak for a few minutes to enlarge, then rinse in a fine sieve under running water

• 2 1/4 cup coarse bulgar, picked clean

and add to pan, stirring, and add

• 1 1/2 cup vegetable stock (scale sublinearly)

Cover and simmer gently 7-8 minutes, until mixture looks almost dry. Cover with cloth, replace lid, and let stand off heat at least 10-15 minutes, or up to 1 hr.


Spanakopita Fills 13x15 lasagna pan, enough for 8 people as a main course

Make sure to have left the filo dough out to defrost to room temp 5 hrs before use.
Chop into uniform 1/4-1/2 inch cubes

• 1 large onion

and saute until clead. Add

• 1 clove garlic, mashed
• 2 lbs fresh or frozen spinach

and saute until limp.
Mash to chunks less than 1/2 inch

• 16 oz firm water-packed tofu (frozen and defrosted if you have time)

and add to pan, along with

• 2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 Tpsp oregano

Remove from heat and drain excess water. Let cool slightly.
Preheat oven 350°F, oil a large lasagna pan, and get ready to work with filo dough: as the dough will dry quickly, don't open the package until everything is ready. Have 3-4 people working. Each sheet should be lightly oiled (so keep a brush and a bowl of oil handy) after it's placed in the the pan, and someone should keep a clean, barely moist towel over the unused dough. Anyhoo, when ready, cut open

• 1 pound filo dough

and place individual oiled sheets, with edges hanging over edge of pan, in varying directions. Use a third of the dough (roughly 6 sheets), then fill in half the spinach, then a third of the dough, then the other half spinach, then the last third of the dough. Fold edges over or in, make sever slashes through the top of the pastry to the filling, and bake 45 minutes to 1 hr, until golden brown.


Apple filo strudel makes 3 rolls (?)

Preheat oven 350°F.
Wash, peel, core, and dice

• 10 medium apples

to get about 14 cups. Mix in

• 6 Tbsp lemon juice
• 8 tsp cinnamon
• 5 cups walnuts, chopped or cuised
• 2-3 Tpsb white sugar
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar

Prepare to work with filo dough (see above), and stack 4 sheets, individually oiled. Spoon some filling along one long edge, leaving a 2-inch boarder. Fold filo dough over filling, tuck in ends, and roll up. Brush with canola oil. Place rolls seam-side down on greased baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Slice into 1.5 inch pieces half way through roll. Bake 20-30 minutes until golden brown.


Greek Salad

We will be using

• mixed greens
• celery
• onion
• shredded carrot
• grapes
• feta on the side

Traditionally a summer salad would also include

• kalamata olives or possibly capers
• tomato
• possibly bell pepper

whereas winter salads are normally cabbage-based. Dressing is always olive oil mixed with lemon juice; one would normally place slices of feta on top of the salad, sprinkle everything with dried oregano, and then pour the oild and lemon juice on top, but I'm going to use crumbled feta and mix the oregano into the dressing. Grapes wouldn't normally be in the salad, but I don't get olives, and it will be yummy.

Hearty Italian soup

It's been pouring here non-stop, perfect soup weather. Our original plan for tonight was "mushroom and barley soup," to which we ten decided to add tomatoes and beans for a nice Minestrone-style stew.

Oh, and this recipe is going up immediately, because we forgot to take photos of dinner. I have a hard enough time remembering what we made based on two-month-old pictures, and by the time I get to posting the last few meals (hopefully soon) I won't remember we made tonight's dinner at all.

This is a "quick" soup: no stock. Begin cooking about ninety minutes before dinner, but you'll have at least an hour of simmering when you can go do other things.

Heat a large splash of olive oil at the bottom of your favorite soup pot. Add salt and begin sauteing:

• 3 spring red onions, cleaned and diced
• 1 spring garlic, washed, cleaned and diced
• 1 clove dried garlic, minced
• 4 small carrots, washed well and diced
• 3 dried bay leaves
• 2 sprigs each rosemary and savory, stems removed and minced

Stirring, let the mire poix saute until the onions are tender. Then add

• 1/2 cup pearled barley
• 1 lb crimini mushrooms, washed and halved
• a bit more salt

and cook on medium, stirring, until the mushrooms have just begun to wilt. Then add

• 1 large can tomatoes
• 1 small can your favorite white beans (we used soy beans, since it's all we had)
• 2 quarts water
• yet more salt

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook covered for at least an hour.

Right before serving, stir in a small splash of vinegar. Sprinkle the bowls with minced parsley, and serve with a crusty bread.

Squash soup

Halve a butternut squash and scoop out the seeds. Place face-down on a glass pan that's been coated with olive oil. Also include a halved onion. Roast squash and onion for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare a vegetable stock from whatever scraps you've been saving in the kitchen. Also saute a mirepoix of leeks and celery and olive oil. Add the strained vegetable stock and the cooked onion and squash meat. Blend the soup with an immersion blender. Serve with a crusty bread on a cold night.

Fesenjan, rice, and greens

Rice: Combine 1 cup dried brown rice with 1.5 cup water and a small handful salt. Bring to a boil covered, and simmer on low 20-25 minutes; then steam at least another 20 minutes. Rice will hold its heat for a long time if left covered, and just get better as it does.

Fesenjan: In a large pot, sauté two large red onions, coarsely chopped, in a mix of walnut and olive oil, with a bit of salt. Then add a lot of garlic, minced, a lot of dried cinnamon, and some turmeric, nutmeg, and ground pepper. Reduce heat to low. Process 1 lb walnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground (or in the kitchenaid with the paddle attachment; some will pulverize, but you'll still have some medium-sized pieces), and add to the onions. Then stir in 1/2 cup pomegranate syrup. Cover, and let cook on low at least 30 minutes.

Greens: Sauté lots of garlic in olive oil. Then add one head each red russian kale and turnip greens, washed, stems removed, and coarsely chopped, with plenty of water clinging to the leaves from the washing. Cover and let steam five or ten minutes. When the greens have reduced in volume, remove the cover, and mix in golden raisins, salt, a pinch of sugar, and a little cinnamon. Cook on high until most of the water has cooked off, and serve immediately. The greens determine the timing of the meal; the other dishes can sit on the stove for an extra ten or fifteen minutes no problem.

Gardening; Bean burgers; Bay leaf ice cream

After sleeping in and eating breakfast around noon, we spent most of the afternoon in the garden. The beans and sunflowers are doing well, as you can see above. We had walked to the nursery, and came back with a Jasmine and a Thornless Blackberry; hopefully these two will fill in the otherwise somewhat ugly corners of our narrow back yard.






Dinner is always better after a few hours outdoors. This dinner was particularly fun. The night before, soak a mix of black and pinto beans in four times as much water, and boil all day until the beans are falling apart. In the morning or early afternoon, prepare a well-kneaded medium-stiff bread dough with honey, and one part whole wheat per two parts white flour.

When you are ready to begin cooking, preheat the oven, and roll out the bread dough with sesame seeds. Make the rolls reasonably small: they will expand in the oven. Back on an ungreased cookie sheet, 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees.

With the standing mixer fitted with the paddle, mash the beans along with 1/3 of a red onion, minced, some salt, a little each clove and paprika, and a healthy helping of nutritional yeast. With the mixer running, slowly add two serving-spoon-fulls of wheat gluten, so that the dough comes together and dries out a little. Roll the dough out into patties. Heat a little oil in a non-stick pan, and cook the patties to brown well on each side.

Harvest a large bowl of beans from out back, trim and de-string, and cut into pieces. Cook over medium-low heat in the wok with salt, olive oil, and two closed garlic, minced.

Serve burgers with tomatoes, red onion, Gruyere chese (the only non-vegan part of dinner), and sweet pickles from last summer.








After a post-dinner walk, we finished the evening with homemade bay leaf ice cream (not pictured).

Heat 1 cup milk in the double boiler with three or four dried bay leaves, and let steep ten minutes or so. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup sugar with the yolks of 2 eggs (save the whites for scrambling in the morning), until the sugar has dissolved and the eggs are paler. Remove the bay leaves from the milk, and spoon a little of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking immediately. Continue to pour milk into the eggs, slowly at first, whisking, until you've added about half; then put everything into the double boiler, and heat, whisking constantly, to pasteurize the eggs. When the mixture has achieved its beautiful very pale yellow color, and the sugar has dissolved completely into the warm milk, move the mixture to a medium bowl, cover, and allow to cool in the fridge. When the milk-and-egg mixture has cooled completely, add 2 cups cream, and process in an ice cream maker.