Midnight Baking!

Summer has officially landed. We've had more than one 90 degree day and I've just finished my last official commitment on campus until fall orientation starts again in August. This explains why, at 12:22am I found myself hunkered over my oven waiting for a batch of muffins to rise.

Vegan banana raisin muffins discovered by Zips on stumbleupon (I tell you, it's an addiction!). She happened upon a wonderful vegan foodie blog that I've fallen head over heels for. In any case, "Super Skinny Banana-Pecan Muffins" definitely turned my head. Since we're cutting down on nuts for a bit (something complicated having to do with L-arginines and L-lysines and myelin sheaths), I swapped the pecans for raisins. We're going to have them for breakfast!

Skinny Banana Raisin Muffins (vegan!)

preheat oven to 350

1 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. oats

1/4 c. raw sugar (I just realized while typing this that I forgot to use raw sugar!)

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of salt

Mix these together and in a separate bowl, mix together:

1/3 c. soy milk

1 egg replacer (the original on Crunch & Chew uses flax "eggs," I use ener-g)

2 Tb. veg. oil (the original uses applesauce instead, which I don't have)

1 large overripe banana mashed up (we had 2 medium sized, so I used them both)

mix wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then add 1/3 c. raisins (or pecans, walnuts, etc) . Spoon into muffin pan and bake 15-20 minutes.

I accidentally spread a bit of veg. margarine onto one and ate the whole thing without chewing. I don't know if I'll even sleep tonight. It smells so good in here. Think I'm crazy? Go make some of these in the middle of the night and see how you do!

Decadent Dessert (toppings!)

With Memorial Day weekend coming up and holiday weekend movies starting tomorrow, we decided to beat the rush and have a cookout today (Wednesday). After gorging ourselves on potato salad, veggie burgers and corn grilled over the fire, we scraped together change from the couch for some fresh strawberries and heavy whipping cream for dessert. Zips missed the episode of Barefoot Contessa I caught that featured her summer berry pudding (to be attempted sometime soon!) that she tops with some rum whipped cream. We still have some dregs of Bacardi, so we figured, why not?

Rum Whipped Cream (thanks Ina!)

half pint of heavy whipping cream

3 Tb. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tb. rum (the original calls for dark rum, I say use what you got!)

Since I've never actually whipped cream, I decided to be good and put the stainless steel bowl, the cream, and the beaters for the mixer in the freezer for about 10 minutes (this is supposed to be helpful). Beat the cream by itself until it's beyond frothy and starts to actually thicken. Then slowly add the rest of the ingredients and continue beating until stiff peaks form and all that. Goes GREAT with fresh strawberries. Would also be excellent on anything chocolate or coffee flavored. I'm interested in trying this with brandy instead of rum. We'll see. Enjoy!

Pineapple-Soy Glazed Tofu recipe that Zips stumbled upon

So Zipper has stumbled upon the web discovery engine StumbleUpon.com and is completely hooked. It's her new evening pasttime. She's clicked off Vegetarian Recipes among her fields of interest, and so stumbled upon the basis for our new dinner adventure: Pineapple-Soy glazed tofu.

The original recipe called for pineapple preserves, orange or pineapple juice and diced pineapple chunks. Having just peeled and cored our first perfect pineapple of the summer, I just substituted finely minced pineapple for the preserves and juice portion. One of the user comments also suggested adding 1/2 c. sweet and sour sauce, which we don't have. So I looked up several recipes for that too, which I'm including. The result is deeelicious. I'm only sorry we didn't have any more bell pepper (used it last night in the tagine) or green onions. We agreed that cashews or peanuts would also be a great addition to this. But once you have the sauce down, you'll be great to go!

Sweet & Sour Sauce

1/4 c. ketchup

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. white vinegar

1/2 tsp. granulated garlic

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1-2 tsp. soy sauce

1 Tb. cornstarch

Mix these together in a microwaveable bowl and heat it for 1 min. Stir and heat it 1 more minute until cornstarch is "cooked" and the sauce is glossy. Yields about 1/2 c. (would also be great with spring rolls!)

Pineapple-Soy Glazed Tofu

1 package firm tofu cut into cubes or slices (I sliced mine and pressed it to drain out the liquid-- lay them out on several paper towels, cover with another paper towel and set a cutting board on top. Then add weight to the cutting board to press the tofu)

1-2 Tb. oil (I used half sesame and half veg. oil)

2 cloves minced garlic

After the tofu has been drained/pressed for 10 minutes, heat the garlic in the oil and brown the tofu on both sides. Lower the heat and whisk together:

1/2 c. finely minced fresh pineapple (and whatever juice leaks out of the fruit while you're chopping it)

2-3 Tb. soy sauce

1/2 Sweet & Sour Sauce

Pour these into the tofu and add 1/2 c. diced pineapple (cut it the same size as the tofu). Now would also be a good time to add other veggies-- bell pepper, baby corn, whatever strikes your fancy. Simmer tofu and pineapple in the sauce until well incorporated and heated through. Serve over brown rice with sliced green onions and cilantro.

New Summer Tagine Recipe

(First off, let me admit I do not own a tagine. Nevertheless, this is delicious and easy to make.)

Driven by the usual summertime necessities (65% poverty, 35% laziness) I found and tweaked a wonderful Moroccan-inspired chickpea/chik'n recipe for dinner tonight:

1 12 oz. bag Quorn Chik'n Tenders

1 14 oz. can vegetable broth

1 14 oz. can whole tomatoes

1 14 oz. can garbanzo beans

1 med. yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

1 bell pepper, diced

2 Tb. olive oil

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

In your tagine (or dutch oven or other large-ish heavy-bottomed pot) saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 min. Then add the quorn tenders spices and saute for another 5 min. or so. Pour in broth, tomatoes (and juice from the can), garbanzos, and bell pepper. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until everything is nice and incorporated and the aroma of everything drives you insane. Salt and pepper to taste (but you probably won't need it at all).

While that's happening, bring to a boil 1 1/4c. vegetable broth, a little of the juice from the canned tomatoes, and a sprinkle of cumin, coriander, and chili powder. Stir in 1 c. of whole wheat couscous. Cover and turn off the heat immediately, and allow the couscous to absorb the liquid (5-8 min).

Serve the "tagine" mixture over the couscous, and don't be stingy with that sauce. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Another good protein, low fat dinner that we didn't even have to leave the house for!

Veg-Friendly in San Antonio!

On a quick trip to San Antonio, we tried out the lone star's lone all-vegetarian restaurant (well, in that town anyway), Green Vegetarian Cuisine.

It has an eclectic, arty look on the outside, and I was encouraged by the fact that the small parking lot was full and that the street out front was lined with parked cars. A full restaurant is a good sign!

I was also excited to see they also have several thriving garden beds out front that are chock full of herbs, kale and other greens that are served in the restaurant.
The inside has two narrow, funky boho-chic dining rooms.
Since we're in San Antonio, Zips was feeling like Tex-Mex and got the chalupa plate-- with refried black beans, guac, pico, tvp crumbles that came with a side of quinoa with cilantro and red onions. (She was waffling between that and the taco salad)
I opted for comfort food and ordered their "neatloaf", (tvp and breadcrumb base) which was a little dry, but very tasty. It had a pleasantly tangy, smoky flavor. And the mashed potatoes & gravy were delicious-- there were pieces of carrot in with the potatoes. And the wilted greens (from the garden out front) have left me completely craving this again. I'm going to have to go out and find me some kale!
They came right up to the table with a platter of desserts (rather than asking if we want to see the dessert menu-- they make it impossible not to order dessert). They boast a whole case of vegan desserts-- cupcakes, cookies, and even offer whole cakes and wedding cakes!

We got a take-away cookies and cream and a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. My cookies and cream was tasty-- the frosting tasted a bit like cookie dough (in a good way). Zips' peanut butter chocolate was less of a hit-- a little dry and unexciting.

We'd love to try eating here again, though. Especially the breakfast menu! We had a whole meal planned out, but then found out they're closed on Saturday! Next time.

21 Needle Euphoria

So one of the happier discoveries we've made has been Zips' acupuncturist up in Albuquerque. She's been dealing with an extremely painful and rare neurological disorder since December of last year. The seizures and waves of pain have gone into remission and returned. At our wits end in early Feb. this year, I started calling around to acupuncture places here in town. No one could get us an appointment within six weeks, so I looked online for clinics that could schedule an appointment immediately and also took our insurance, and that brought us here.

I was able to schedule an appointment for the day after I called. The clinic is on the northwest side of town. It has 2 treatment rooms and 2 walls of the office are completely lined with row upon row of Chinese herbs that can be ground into teas, capsules, etc.

It was fascinating and shocking to see what was in the them. A lot of botanical things (blossoms, roots, seeds, etc.), but I can imagine there could be anything in those jars (things with feet?)!

On the walls in both treatment rooms are charts for different points for pins to go into. Again, I'm completely fascinated that a spot behind my ear or near my thumb could relate to elsewhere in my body.

I think we were really fortunate. Dr. Dumont is wonderful. He's patient, gentle, kind. He listens to symptoms, asks questions, asks more questions. The office staff is equally friendly and nice. Since February I think we've seen him 6 or 7 times, and her level of pain has really decreased (more so before our trip to Chicago-- we missed seeing him). I wish he weren't a 3 hour drive away (we'd be seeing him a lot more than once every week or two!), but after seeing being treated by a different acupuncturist here in town, he's totally worth the drive. His manner of treating her, of explaining what he's doing, of how she might react, and generally caring about her is really wonderful. It also helps that at times she's gotten an acupuncture "high" -- a sort of vibrating sense of euphoria and well-being.

Here's hoping for total remission again!

Summer Fever!

We went to the local farmer's market yesterday morning and found it swung into high gear already. Locally grown produce, starter plants for herbs and flowers, a lady selling agua fresca, long lines for kettle corn. It smells like summer. We've got it bad. Just planted tomatoes and basil for the patio garden. Then, covered in dirt, I built a fire in the fire pit and grilled some veggie dogs and corn. Rather than buying that lady's agua fresca, Zips bought me a small locally grown watermelon (it's a little early in the season), and cut out all the flesh, whizzed it up in the blender, and strained it twice-- creating an entire pitcher of juice for the same price as a single styrofoam cup filled with melting ice and a little melon juice! Wanting to contribute more (and not overindulge in charred processed veggie meats), Zips found a recipe on the label of a can of garbanzo beans that looked good. The recipe is called "Rockin' Moroccan Pita" and involves cooking chicken breasts in cumin and chili powder, then tossing with garbanzos and stuffing it all into pita pockets topped with yogurt. All the elements are there for a new twist on a bean salad, so Zips took a 12oz. bag of Quorn chick'n tenders and grabbed a couple of ears of roasted corn and invented:

Mexican Double "Chick"pea Salad

blend together

1 Tb. ground cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

4 Tb. olive oil.

and toss in chick'n tenders, coating them thoroughly. Heat chick'n tenders in a pot (you can add 1/2c. water-- we did this in a pot over the fire and heated it until most of the water evaporated).

In the meantime, combine

1 16oz. can of chick peas (drained, rinsed)

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 tomato, diced

1-2 cobs worth of roasted corn, de-kerneled

1/2 c. parsley, chopped

juice of 2 lemons

drizzle of olive oil

Combine seasoned chick'n to the bean mixture and serve warm or cooled.

I realize the bean company called this "Rockin' Moroccan," but with the cumin and chili and roasted corn, we agreed this tastes decidedly south of the border. The "Double Chick" comes from the combination of chick'n and chick-pea (and it's more fun to say than chickenchickpea salad) It's delicious!

My other obsession this weekend is the memory of the crepe suzette haunting me from La Creperie in Chicago. I already had a crepe batter recipe, so looked around for a Suzette a la Germain that resembled the orange-y goodness that we enjoyed. I settled on one, and realized partway through it that I had misread the directions, so improvised what I think is an AWESOME sauce:

Crepe Zipzette a la Germain (just the sauce)

Juice of 5 oranges

zest of 1-2 oranges

2Tb. sugar

1 Tb. butter

Heat these in a small saucepan about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in 2 Tb. Grand Marnier. Once I'd made a batch of crepes, I folded one in half, dipped it through the sauce and folded it again (now quartered) onto the plate. Drizzle with more sauce, and sliced strawberries, bananas, orange, and some whipped cream.

Try not to let your eyes roll back in your head too much!