What to do with Agar Agar? Make a Coconut Milk Dessert-Puckery Good Lime Bars (soy free, can be vegan)

Having fun with the camera art filter with the less than photogenic citrus dessert

Inspiration: First I purchased a package of kanten bars (or agar agar) at the Japanese market. These are very odd looking, plastic-y looking footlong, semi-translucent bars. I never thought of agar as something to eat. Agar makes me think of the science experiment I did in grade school. Dad helped me dissolve agar powder and pour it into petri dishes to serve as a growing medium for bacteria cultures. Walked around swabbing items around the house like door handles, areas of the bathroom and our pet dogs' noses. Contrary to my young intuition of what would be dirty and have more bacteria, the experiment taught me it's how much use influences the bacteria present! 

Anyway, agar agar is a good substitute for gelatin for vegetarian/vegan folk. It's made from seaweed. However, I did read a message board that suggested some teeny sea critters could be inadvertently taken in the process. Makes me think though, when we harvest veggies sometimes we lose bugs too. I don't think I know anyone that strict, but maybe you do and should be aware . Cook's Thesaurus has a lot of useful information about equivalencies in different forms of agar and other gel-ing agents. They also make notes about which types of fruits need to be cooked first so that the agar or gelatin can set. From this recipe and the other I would like to try, it's important to keep the agar warmed (but not boiling) on the stove to keep it from setting before you're ready.

Second, this month my fabulous co-worker shared a large basket of limes with us.  Dave hasn't had Corona's lately so, what to do with all 20 (hey I collected them over a week, just taking 5 at a time, don't judge!) of them other than hot water/lime juice in the morning and squeezing over stir-fried greens? 

A perfect opportunity came up to use both agar and limes as my friends were having their annual holiday potluck party and it didn't sound like many desserts were on the menu. Had to patch together a few recipes to make it work for what was on hand and to meet the gluten free desire! But the results were worth the chance taken. My changes and notes in strike out or after * This could be made vegan with a butter substitute.

Give yourself some time for this one, not an instant 1/2 hour dessert. Again apologies I don't have an estimate as I was simultaneously making the noodle salad I posted about last time and the coconut macaroons. If I had to gander maybe 1-1.5 hours for prep the filling and crust including baking. Then add 3 hours to chill. It yields a 9 x 11 pan of the dessert.   

For time saving, I am fairly certain I have seen pre-made gluten free pie crust sold at Whole Foods. I just don't have one near me (half an hour drive one way) so it was easier to make from scratch since I had everything in the pantry. Or perhaps you could just try making the filling as a custard and eating alone or serving with some store-bought gluten free crispy vanilla cookies or graham crackers (gluten free version also hard to find for me locally, only seen them at Whole Foods again.)

Don't be afraid of the coconut milk, with all that lime juice and sweetness, I could not even taste the coconut flavor. 

CRUST from Brittany Angel's Key Lime Bars-

1/2 Cup Butter at Room Temp (*note to self: try using coconut oil as a vegan option)
1/4 Cup Sugar (Refined or unrefined-a white sugar will work best- such as xylitol, or organic cane sugar)
160 Grams (1 Cup) Sweet Rice Flour   Gluten Free Flour Baking Blend (recipe below)
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 TBS Cold Water

GLUTEN FREE FLOUR BLEND from Land O'Lakes
To make flour blend, combine 2 cups rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch, 1/3 cup tapioca flour and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Use appropriate amount for recipe; store remainder in container with tight-fitting lid. Stir before using.

FILLING from Post Punk Kitchen's Latchkey Lime Pie
1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
2/3 cups fresh lime juice (*# depends how juicy your limes are, mine were heavy and I used 7)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond *hemp milk, at room temperature (*imagine any type of non-dairy milk will work)
2 tablespoons agar flakes (or two teaspoons agar powder and skip the soaking step) (*or use 1 kanten stick with the soaking method)
1 16 oz can coconut milk at room temperature
2 tablespoons tapioca flour (or try it with corn starch or arowroot – but I like tapioca best) *I did try cornstarch and had lovely results
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla


1. Start out by preheating the oven to 350F. In a small sauce pan, soak the agar in milk substitute for about 15 minutes for your filling.

2. Make your gluten free flour blend for the pie crust if needed.

3. Use a food processor or you can make do using 2 blunt edged dinner knives (or if you happen to have a pastry cutter tool), by combining the first two crust ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces to blend with the sugar.

4. Add the rest of the crust ingredients and mix to incorporate evenly. You may need to use your hands if not using the food processor.  A dough should form.

5. Butter/grease your pan-I used a 9 x 11 glass baking pan and did not realize to do this as it was not in the original recipe instructions (maybe using the original sweet rice flour changes this, but my GF flour blend stuck stubbornly). Then press the dough into an even layer in the pan.

6. Bake for 30-45 minutes until the crust is lightly browned. Remove and let cool.

7. While your crust bakes,work on the filling. Grate the zest off and then juice the limes.

8. Mix together coconut milk, tapioca, sugar and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Make sure your coconut milk is at room temperature so that it doesn’t affect the agar when you add it to the pot.

9. After soaking agar, turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Watch it so that it doesn’t boil over. Immediately reduce heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes, until agar stick (kanten) is dissolved. If using powdered it will only take about 5 minutes to dissolve. (original directions say 15 minutes for agar flakes)

10. Very slowly whisk in the coconut mixture and then the lime juice and zest.  Whisk often for about 10 minutes, until mixture has thickened. If it isn’t thickening, turn the heat up just a bit, but you don’t want it to boil.

11.  Add the filling to the crust, then let cool on the counter for about half an hour. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, until fully set.


How to you plan to unwind during the holidays?

2013 Vegetarian Holiday Delights-Noodle Salad and Unconventional Sweets

I'm really surprised I hadn't shared this recipe with you, one of my old favorites from Epicurious, with a few adjustments. Inspired by hearing about how much meats were going to be dominating holiday feast this year, the lonely semi-vegetarian set out to add more veggie power. This recipe is wonderful if you receive or grow  large seemingly unmanageable amounts of dill.  It is somewhat similar to the post earlier this year about the spunky grapefruit noodles salad in that it's a refreshing, sweet-spicy salad.

Also, how surprising and embarrassing, I found out I'm saying the main spice (tumeric) in the recipe wrong! Courtesy of my friend Kelvin, learn about those foodie words we have been saying incorrectly : 

#48 TER-muh-rihk. Not tomb-er-rick.

Also the rooster sauce...SHREE-ra-cha is the right way? Oh dear. It's like telling me to call the Wild Animal Park, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. It hurts.

Pineapple Noodle Salad topped with Sweet Turmeric-Tofu and Roast Cauliflower

 Serves 4-6

Apologies for no time estimate, I was also cooking molasses macaroons and a lime bar recipe at the same time...

Salad

1/2 cauliflower head (yield about 1.5-2 cups chopped)

Olive oil

1 fresh lime

4 cups of chopped lettuce (recommend 1 cup of lettuce per person)

1 pkg Saifun noodles (lists as 4 servings on package)-plan to use about 4 oz dried noodle per person. Use any thin rice based noodle for it to be gluten free.

 Tofu Marinade

14 oz package of firm tofu

2 tbsp sweet chili sauce

1 tsp tumeric

Dressing

 1/2 cup fresh dill chopped (I might increase this next time, I could not taste it that well, but this was another herb that I froze and had leftover from summer-all I had on hand. Cilantro or mint might taste nice with this too.)

 1-14 oz can pineapple rings and juice

 2 garlic cloves

2 tsp lime juice

1 tbsp sugar

1/4-1/2 cup soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Amino (to taste)

1 thai chili (I used one "ice cube" of chili I froze from the summer)

TO DO FIRST, THINGS THAT TAKE A LITTLE EXTRA TIME: 

*First, get the cauliflower (1.5-2 cups) chopped into bite sized pieces -Squeeze of half lime and toss with 2 tsp olive oil. Save the other half of the lime for the dressing below. Roast at 400F on a foil sheet for 20 minutes until you can easily pierce with a fork but is still has bite to it.

* Drain & chop 14 oz block of firm tofu into bite-sized cubes. Use 2 tbsp sweet chili garlic sauce and 1 tsp tumeric to toss with tofu in a medium mixing bowl or tupperware (just be careful, tumeric can stain plastics and woods yellow). If you have time, let marinate for 10-30 minutes.

*Get water boiling:  Boil or soak noodles-I used saifun (rice and cornstarch based) noodles and soaked them for 10 minutes, and then boiled another 3-5 minutes or until desired softness. Drain and rinse in cold water. One thing I really liked about saifun is they stayed pliable after being refrigerated. Other noodles may need re-heating to be able to be eaten with favorable soft texture.

WHILE WAITING FOR CAULIFLOWER AND TOFU:

*Chop lettuce (I used about 6 leaves-it made about 3 cups) thinly. Chop green onion or onion tops. 1/2 a cup.

*Make the dressing  in a blender: 1/2 to 1 cup fresh dill chopped,  1 can pineapple rings and juice, 2 garlic cloves, 2 tsp lime juice, 1 tbsp sugar, 1/4-1/2 cup soy sauce or for gluten-free option Bragg's Liquid Amino.

* Place 1-2 tsp oil in the frying pan and heat over medium a few minutes before you want to cook the tofu. Place the tofu in the pan and let it sizzle and lock in the flavorings for at least 5 minutes.

Molasses macaroons (original posts-substitute molasses for syrup or agave)

Since I've done this Chocolate Covered Katie recipe before, just wanted to report that I substituted molasses for the original plain flavored macaroons' stevia/agave and think they are just warm and fuzzy! These were my back up desert to my vegetarian lime bars (no eggs, no gelatin. I did use butter only because it was in my freezer, am pretty sure coconut oil would taste just fine)-which I will hope to get better pictures for you and post within the next 30 days about.

FYI, macaroons are different from macarons if you read the mispronounced foodie link above.

Another fun finding: at the holiday feasting Albert showed us a new Taiwanese dessert he discovered at a street fair, he dubbed ice cream burritos. Vanilla ice cream with peanut-brittle bits and cilantro leaves wrapped in a spring roll type paper (not sure if it has a specific name, it's not the Vietnamese spring rolls that you have to soak in hot water first, you can just take these paper thin pieces right out of the bag and roll them up-though if you're looking for gluten-free/wheat free this dessert must omit the wrapper unless you make your own or find one to substitute-if such a thing exists do share!) Any how, this blog A Hungry Girl's Guide to Taipei,  shows us some pics from a vendor and the peanut brittle is actually shaved! There are soy-based ice creams or even coconut based vanilla ice creams (I have had and love the SO brand from Sprouts and now Target even carries it) if you're not doing dairy.

What's left on your holiday to do list?

Fall Vegetarian Comfort: Provence Style Zesty Stew

Here comes fall with preparations for the holidays ahead! At a loss for what vegetarian/vegan do for holiday meals when they dine with the omnivores if they aren't in charge of the hosting/menu? They might not admit it to a host or others bringing the food for fear of inconvenience but the making do with the meat-free dishes such as mashed potatoes, salad and picking bacon bits off the green beans does not make for satisfaction.

They'll likely fend for themselves to bring something they can enjoy, but asking others to bring a few more veggie-friendly dishes to munch on would be appreciated for certain (also giving everyone at the table extra vitamins, minerals and fiber woo hoo!) Instead of reaching for the meat-analogue Tofurkey, why not offer another filling dish with less sodium! The recipe that follows is also gluten-free (we folk who get glum being unable to have most pies and crispy-onion-topping green beans).

Province Style Tofu Stew

Adapted from Williams and Sonoma Soup cook book to be veggie friendly

For people who eat fish the original calls for 1 lb of firm white fish. A similar recipe I was given by a former mentor also added a soft cheese to her fish stew and there was no orange zest. See what's in your fridge/pantry, and play around and make this recipe your own! I added beet greens because I didn't have tomato pieces and wanted more texture/substance. Veggies rock as they tend to be very interchangable in most recipes.


Equipment: optional blender or food processor to make a less chunky soup
Prep-work: rinse and chopping and zesting, 5-10 minutes worth; optional homemade stock made fresh 2 hrs (or grab from your freezer)

3 servings

 

1 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced (substitute celery if you cannot find)
1 large garlic clove, minced
2-3 tbsp of tomato paste OR 14 oz chopped tomato (fresh or canned, saving juice to use in this recipe)
2 cups of vegetable stock (may make 1 cup of red wine if on hand, I didn't have)
zest of 1-2 small oranges
12-16oz package of firm tofu, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/4 cup dill (or another herb, original recipe calls for parsley)
2 cups thoroughly rinsed beet greens (or other greens), chopped

1. In a medium soup pot over med-high heat, warm the oil. Add the onions, stirring occasionally until lightly brown. Less than 5 minutes. Add carrots and fennel. Cook until slightly softened about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic cooking 1 more minute.

2. Add tomatoes and their juice, wine and/or vegetable stock and orange zest. Reduce the heat to medium and bring to simmer. Add the beet greens. Cover with the lid cracked open slightly for about 10 minutes, veggies should be well softened and your kitchen smelling great.

3. Blend about 1/3 of the soup to puree in the blender/processor and then return it to the pot (careful about the lid coming off due to the steam build up-let the soup cool a bit first OR if you have a stick blender go for that instead)

4. Add the tofu and heat until warmed through.

5. Put soup into bowls and top with the chopped herb.

Tastes great served alone or with some bread (yes, there's gluten free ones out there) or add 1/4 to 1/2 cup cooked grains, beans or quinoa per serving for extra belly-filling goodness. 


I attended a cardio kick-box class this week and the instructor reminded us to eat mindfully (chewing slowly to notice the tastes, the smells, the colors, the conversation being had with loved ones) and go ahead and indulge having a bit o' the "bad" stuff.

What sensations describe your Thanksgivings?

Sweet and Sour: Squash Soup for Fall

My car clock mistakenly changed itself early this weekend for daylight savings which reminds me to remind you to set an alarm to change your clocks Saturday Nov 2 before bed (extra hour of sleep!)

How do you welcome the change in seasons? Lots of ways to be adding some warmth in your life with fall. Perhaps doing some warm yoga to take care of yourself with the busy holiday season coming up (the studio where I did my training called Yoga80 offers multiple classes each day and is having some fabulous workshops open to the public now-Dec, should be getting some updates soon. I do teach Tuesdays at 7:15pm and every other Saturday at 9am for folks living in San Diego). Getting or making yourself a new cozy knit hat or scarf. Checking that your umbrella still opens after the months in the closet. Finding heat in your food: firing up the oven for some spiced cookies and breads. Simmering soups and spicy foods (Korean tofu soup and Southern Indian sambar are nice...you can buy powders or pastes at the ethnic grocery stores to make them lickety split if you have time restrictions, maybe be social and host a hot pot with friends) are one of my favorite ways to welcome fall.

 If you love pumpkin, you're probably in heaven right now if you visit any coffee shop, ice cream parlor or even the grocery stores. Trader Joe's  had a whole shelf when I went (check out Kirbie's Cravings pumpkin scouting trip for more details)

Your soup may be a different color, my stock was bright pink from making it with beets

 

Delicata squash (image credit: Chezpim)

Sweet and Sour Squash Soup

Time depends if you already have certain items made! Making your own soup stock will take about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Single Serving:
1 delicata squash (about 6"-8" long)-for about 3/4 cup cooked flesh
1/2 to 1 cup veggie stock
1-2 tbsp cilantro chutney

2-3 corn tortillas
1/4 avocado

1. Cut the delicate squash half lengthwise, remove the seeds (separate from guts, spread out to dry out a couple days and then toast) and place skin side up, bake at 400F for 20 minutes, until fork tender (shortcut idea: used 3/4 cup canned pumpkin)
2.  Make cilantro chutney while waiting for the squash.
3.  Scoop squash flesh out and discard skin. Add to a blender with 1/2 cup soup stock to start and 1-2 tbsp of  cilantro chutney (to taste). Blend until smooth.
4. Heat the soup on the stove on low or microwave
5. Toast a tablespoon nuts in the oven (just a few minutes at 350) or in a pan on the stove over low if desired to sprinkle on top of the soup.

Serving idea: For a more substantial meal and a counterbalance to the tangy, enjoy with the creamy flavor of warmed corn tortilla and sliced avocado on the side! Or maybe the dairy-lovers want to make a grilled cheese/quesadilla. For time saving, you could try buying canned pumpkin or buying microwave steamable bags of pre-cut butternut squash. although you could substitute it, but they do embrace orange colored produce.

Practical Question: Speaking of warming up, I saw a Groupon deal for a food warmer that you plug in and it warms to 200F, so no need to use a microwave. Anyone have experience with food warmers or thermoses they like or dislike?

Fun Question: What's going on for Halloween tomorrow? If nothing, what's your favorite seasonal fall food/beverage?

Fall Fruit and Celery Salad + Home-delivery CSA

I love my Suzie's Farm subscription, but was willing to also try out a farm that has a good variety of fruit that gets delivered. I found out my first home delivery CSA called Farm2You got sent to my old rental address (they didn't confirm before sending, boo-be aware the promoters may not convey this accurately!) since they finally got enough subscribers to deliver to my neighborhood. It seems nice because you can have them deliver every 1-4 weeks and not locked into a number of deliveries. On this one you can also log into your account and change out a fruit or vegetable of equivalent value if there is something you don't like or feel like that time. This would probably be a great CSA to start with if you are wary of getting produce you dislike (many other CSA you just have to see about trading with a friend or deal with it.)


Since last week we got our first big rain of fall, the box was sitting out on the old porch for me like a sad, soggy dog. I quickly, lovingly shoved the box into my car. At home when I could open the box, although everything seemed fresh as a daisy, I was dismayed to see celery. Very few veggies that I can't make friends with but this along with radishes are force fed. (I refuse to let them go wilty and don't have a compost still.) For future deliveries I am going to exclude celery, but for now I got inspired by a suggestion from a fellow yoga teacher, Sonja, and a recipe I saw (but could not re-locate on Food.com) with pomegranate seeds and orange juice.  Perfect that the box also came with some fall fruits-apples and pomegranates.

Fall Fruit and Celery Salad

Crunchy pops of sweetness from the fruit and the zing of mint helps tame the celery's strong flavor.
2 servings

2 celery ribs-thinly sliced moons (I did about two quarters-stacked together thick)
pomegranate seeds-half of the fruit
fresh orange juice-2 tbsp (or more to taste to taste)
pepper (to taste)
1 mint sprig, rinsed and chopped
4 tbsp chopped nuts, toasted (optional)
1 apple-sliced, quartered then cut into 1/4" pieces
2-3 cups of torn salad greens (lettuce, arugula, sprouts...whatever you've got)

Do your chopping and mining for pomegranate seeds.

Then toss to combine! May let it marinate a few hours for best flavors.



Tips: for the optional nuts, you can try different kinds and toast at about 350 a few minutes or on a pan low heat, I used macadamia.

Getting the pomegranate seeds out with less mess: cut the pomegranite in half, and then separate the seeds out in a large bowl filled with water. 

Try substituting mint with a different soft, leafy herbs. Oregano? Lemon verbena?

Are you ready for Halloween?

Good to Go Easy Seaweed and Bean salad along with product reviews for Indian Market's Priya Dosa Mix and MTR Sambar(soup) Curry Paste + "The Good Bean" dried chickpeas + Daiya Cheddar Cheese

Apologies for my lapse in weekly posts, I have been overwhelmed with end of year at work and having exams and class projects. I will do my best to make up for that by posting more consistently, possibly about:

• A bread machine gluten free recipe that rose! (this one isn't soy free however, I want to play around with using other types of non-dairy milk)
• San Diego Night Market visit
• Executing the book recipes on a bi-weekly basis (minimum)

It's been a huge morale damper to have my clients and teammates on furlough this week. In food related news, I have yet to come across any food (or other) deals for San Diegans who are furloughed except for popcorn at AMC movie theaters (not required to purchase a movie ticket). D.C. has a whole slew of places offering free meals, cupcakes, sandwiches, burgers...where's the San Diego love? We have so many military bases here!

GOOD TO GO -EASY SEAWEED-BEAN SALAD

Combo of beans and rice, something so satisfying.

School doesn't have a microwave that's easily accessible...if I heat it before I leave work it will get too cold by the time I am hungry (did not bother looking for the lunch-bag thermos type kit yet). Enter the tasty meal that does not require heating. The Seaweed Bean Salad uses Hijiki Seaweed (found it at Marukai market and love it because it doesn't have a strong ocean flavor...recall it from July with sprouted lentils?) Good source of iron (40% of daily value according to the nutrition label!), top it off with some citrus or strawberries for dessert to help absorb that non-heme iron. The recipe makes four servings at a time:

INGREDIENTS:
40 g  of dried hijiki, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes and then drained)
1 large avocado (1/4 per serving) or 2 small (1/2 per serving) sliced
1 cup dried Adzuki Beans (soak overnight and cook until tender 45mins-1 hour, or give a can of rinsed kidney beans a try or pinto beans)
1 fresh lime's juice
Fresh rice 1 cup cooked

Mix ingredients together and for best taste let it marinate for a few hours. For individual portions-make up 3/4 cup combination of rice and beans, 1/4 of the seaweed, 1/4 of the avocado and 1/4 of the lime juice.


Because it's been so busy I have started stocking time-saving foodstuffs. Here's what I have tested over the last few weeks: 

WHAT: Priya Dosas Mix
WHERE I GOT IT: Namaste Market, Mira Mesa
RESULTS: Although I have a crepe pan that worked well, I should have watched this video to know that the batter needs to have more liquid (than what the package called for), use a ladle to spread it and know that it's ready to turn when the edges curl up! My dosas turned out very thick and the batter itself seemed very salty (sodium listed at 120 mg for a single dosa, but since mine were so thick, it was probably heaps more!)

WHAT: MTR Sambar Curry Paste
WHERE I GOT IT: Namaste Market, Mira Mesa
RESULTS: I'm used to a more salty/savory sambar from Annapurna restaurant. However given that I paired this with the salty Priya dosas, the sour spicy flavor worked very well. It also paired well with something a little sweet (roasted sweet potatoes)

WHAT: The Good Bean snack pouches (dried chickpea)
WHERE I GOT IT: Marshalls, Mira Mesa, check out the manufacturer's website
RESULTS: I bought the chili lime and cracked pepper flavors. It's nice to find a snack that has 6 g protein that I can take to class or could travel well for a hike. Given it was at Marshall's, I probably won't see it again (and not at $1.89 per pouch). The website lists them at $2.88 when you buy a multi-pack and free shipping over $25 order. They are a Berkeley, CA business. If you have nut allergies they also have no-nut snack bars!

WHAT:Daiya Cheddar Cheese shreds (dairy free, soy free)
WHERE I GOT IT: Fresh and Easy, Mira Mesa,
RESULTS: I had only seen the mozarella flavor before (which to me tastes nothing like real mozarella, but adds a nice buttery, salty flavor-worked great in my salmon-potato patties). This tasted exactly like mozarella to me though.

What new projects are you working on for fall?

Namaste Market, Boulder has a Gluten free heaven & Hot pepper-Tomato Jam Recipe

Readers, sorry for the delay in my posts. I had dear sister visiting as yoga teacher training wrapped up with a beach graduation party & then my annual reunion with my college girlfriends (which we did cook in our cabin one meal not including breakfast, but it ended up being a variation on the quinoa salad dish I made with Lisa on our southwest road trip, so nothing to blog about except about the restaurant we ate at in Boulder and a lovely few snacks from Namaste Market). I am just getting used to a new weekly schedule that requires late nights 3 days during the work week.

NAMASTE MARKET

Hit this market up after hearing that my co-worker and yoga teacher both had positive things to say about it. I gaped at all the desserts at the bakery that the buffets never offer. The man at the counter was patient enough to explain to me which ones had wheat/all purpose flour and which had dairy as you would never guess it from how they looked. Uber bummed that a dessert I thought was safe and made of cheese (my restricted but not banned list) is actually usually made with a pancake like batter-as confirmed by a restaurant I went to last month too.

 I settled on a golf-sized date-cashew-pistachio-spices balls (forgot to copy down the name-guess I have to go back-darn!) to enjoy while sis-star was here and a bag of Chana Dal (lentils with savory spices) snacks to tide me over on my CO trip.  Chana Dal was my hero during the layovers and going to the airport without lunch on the way back.

I'm excited to try out the dosa mix and sambar soup mix. I love trying things from scratch, but some days you just need some help. I'll post if they end up being really great (or really awful!)  Decided to try out chestnut flour as well-seems to be a mild taste. So many kinds of flours-made from beans and grains, gluten free jackpot! I added it to my protein pancakes and tastes ok. Not super nutritious as far as I can tell but does have 4% D.V for iron. 

So very happy with the pickles and veggies-can never have fried stuff usually (aside from lentil flour pakoras)

Chicken or Jackfruit Tacos-love the smoky flavor

Trout salad (front) and beet hummus (back)-go for the beets unless you love celery

BOULDER RECOMMENDATIONS
Since Yanny brought up stopping in Boulder for the Celestial Tea Factory --which is a cheap, interesting thing to do on the way to Estes Park from Denver-but check your GPS ours thought we were on some other road and actually we still had 30-40 more minutes of driving! I had to use android phone to get us there...but I digress. After the tea tastings we worked up an appetite for Shine. They have an all gluten-free menu, and not to worry carnivores-they do offer local meats in addition to vegetarian dishes. Amazing to not feel restricted at a restaurant-ordering normally taboo restaurant food: mac n' cheese, fried pickles (never seen that before) and veggies with blue cheese sauce and coconut shrimp. We had other items but those are normally safe. We sampled and split 7 happy hour dishes for $12.50 per person! Hard to find a dinner made with organic ingredients for that cheap! I wish we could have stayed for the live entertainment.

THE RECIPE-Hot Pepper-tomato Jam

The recipe this week is inspired from a bunch of tomatoes obtained from a work assignment (I picked them once we finished for the day. Nothing like getting your hand dirty after cramping up on the computer all day) so I decided to try out a recipe received on the CSA list from the blog "There's a Newf in my Soup" (very memorable!) called tomato jam. This is perfect because I still have a bunch of hot peppers from my CSA pick up three weeks ago. I had to half the recipe, but kept most spices at their original strength since I only cook for myself as the yield was originally 2 cups.

Really easy recipe stepwise, just give yourself an hour total for cutting, simmering and clean up. One pot, cutting board, knife, measuring spoons and one stirring spoon to clean up-oh YEAH!

1 pounds ripe tomatoes (cored and coarsely chopped)

3/4 cups sugar (try coconut sugar)

1 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon

1/4 tsp powdered ginger (or 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 whole cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Serrano chile, stemmed, seeded and minced

¼ cup veggie stock (or Ruby Port, I didn't have any)

1. Put all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Bring to boil and then simmer.

2. Let cook 45 minutes or until reduced to a thick jam consistency.

The suggestion and lovely picture of Newf shows the spread atop bread and mozzarella cheese. I'm trying out my own loaf of bread (yeast's expiration date is tomorrow, ack!) in the machine tonight. The bread looks lumpy and ugly...but it has the crispy crust and tender inside.

What's your favorite airplane snack?

Vegetarian Summer Series #7: Clean n' green citrus cucumbers & Basil-tomato Beans

Many things coming to an end this month-teacher training is down to the last week, furloughs end next week, getting a few 2+ year old projects out of my hands and into their final stages at work and hopefully before sis-star gets here next week I should be unpacking my last office boxes. I'm just wondering what I would like to do to celebrate these things.

I have a food related accomplishment: finally making a recipe I marked & the bonus was finding another way to eat cucumbers (not a fan of them plain. I can handle them best in spring rolls, sushi, juiced-with other items or pickled). If last week's cooked spicy-tomato dish  (including a round up of other cucumber recipes over the last year) wasn't enough and you still need more cucumber ideas from your harvest or your box or spontaneous market purchase, this week I have a raw one for you. A. Clean n' Green Citrus Cucumbers is a CSA-provided avocado/orange dressing that I decided to toss over sliced cucumbers.

The box also presented a bounty of ripe tomatoes and basil as well so the second vegetarian dish features pasta sauce adapted from my Art Smith Kitchen Life cookbook. I placed it with lima beans and quinoa/brown rice instead of pasta. Remember if you want to use dried beans to allow an overnight soak and 45 minutes-1 hour to cook them.

Clean n' Green Citrus Dressing

1/2 avocado
1/2 cup orange juice (about one large orange)
3 green onions (I used 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion)
1/8 tsp ground pepper
1/8 tsp sea salt

Place everything in a blender and whir until smooth. Store for 1 additional day in the fridge.

I put over 1.5 cups of sliced cucumbers and let it marinate for 8 hours.

Another pairing for this dressing as the CSA suggests is with strawberry-asparagus salad. I drizzled some of the dressing on my tuna sashimi too.

Basil-Tomato Sauce-makes enough for about 4-6 half-cup servings

about 2 lbs of diced fresh tomato, 1" chunks
1/2 cup packed rinsed basil leaves
1/2 small onion, diced
optional: 1 serrano pepper diced finely (or hot pepper flakes to taste)
salt to taste
1/6 cup extra virgin olive oil

Beans and Rice/quinoa- for 4 servings with the tomato basil sauce

1 cup dried lima beans (or other white bean)-soaked over night and simmered about 1 hour OR buy it canned-think the yield was about 2.5-3 cups once it was cooked
1 cup rice dried (used rice cooker, takes 30 minutes)   or 1 cup quinoa (boil 7-10 minutes until spirals begin to separate, then drain)

Instructions
1. Combine oil and onion in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, just until onions and serrano pepper soften ~2-3 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes release their juice, about 4-5 minutes. 

3. While this is cooking, coarsely chop the basil. After the tomatoes are juicy, add the basil and lower to simmer for 2 minutes. 

4.Season with salt and if using the pepper flakes.

5. Can keep it chunky or pulse in a blender (allow it to cool so the lid doesn't fly off from the steam pressure or use a stick blender).

6. Portions up to you, I used about 1/2 cup cooked rice or quinoa and 1/2-3/4 cups of beans and topped with 1/2 cup of the tomato basil sauce. Best served warm.

So back to the beginning question-and maybe you can give me a nifty idea, what do you like to do to celebrate an accomplishment? For a few months, I would kind of like to just give myself a break to set some standing recurring dates to be social nights/weekend outings so I don't necessarily have to plan details and coordinate each time. A pedicure might be nice-I think I've only ever had two in my life. Perhaps buying something fun for the house to decorate (was eye-ing art work at La Jolla farmer's market before).

Vegetarian Summer Series #6: Spiced Cucumbers with Coco-nutty Sweetness

Not as much prep space as I used to have (an island) but there is still more on either side of the stove. I like being able to see into the living room.

I broke in the kitchen this past week making tons of salads and spicy noodle soup to combat my summer cold. I even tried baking some pumpkin-oatmeal muffins (they were ok, maybe the type of oats I used). Happily, I hung up some pictures over the weekend, got the shoes out of the garbage bag and into the rack and placed a few boxes into the laundry closet. Decided I would finally try organizing my bookshelves by color. I see it in the decorating magazines so much. Hopefully I remember what color the books are when I look for them!

Taste that rainbow :) 

Our front porch has its welcome mat and plants wave howdy. We'll see how they do with less sun. The tomato plant gave me just enough to make dinner Sunday night. What else inspired my dinner? Over the previous weekend we went to celebrate with Dave's nieces for their birthdays-they twirled and frolicked in the white "princess" dresses. So cute, creative with their playing and always energetic. But as soon as we got there, no time to kick it with the kids, we got put to work making mashed potatoes while his sister went to the store for the cake. The man of the house was out of sight, prepping one of the 5 dishes he was going to be making that day. He eventually emerged briefly with handing one of the girls and I supplies to cover the tables in pink. And then I was also told I could pick some extra tomatoes, cucumber and peppers from their family's garden as they weren't going to be able to eat them all. With cucumber from the party and wee guy from my box I thought I had better get crackin'. Pickles alone aren't going to cut it.

The CSA list provided a Spiced Cucumbers with Coconut Milk recipe from Bon Appetit. How perfect! And it's a cooked cuke recipe...I really liked the sauteed cucumber with black bean sauce and fish that my co-worker (Mr. Tony!) turned me onto so this recipe made me very hopeful.

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups 1/4 inch thick of cucumber peeled (although I left the peel on mine no issues)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 small tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped (left seeds in and had no problems)
4 scallions, thinly sliced (I used about 1/2 cup of spring bunching onion tops instead)
2 red Thai chiles (with seeds), thinly sliced (or other hot peppers)*
1 garlic clove, smashed*
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk ( I used vanilla coconut milk and just omitted honey below)
1.5 tsp honey
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves*

*I substituted my leftover 2tbsp of Cilantro Chutney from earlier in the week.

STEPS

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add cucumber. Saute until beginning to soften, about 1 minute. Season with the kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. Add tomatoes, scallions, chiles and garlic. Saute until vegetables are soft, 2-3 minutes.

3. Add coconut milk and honey; simmer until vegetables are cooked through 2-3 minutes. Stir in cilantro leaves and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired

4. Suggestion to serve with rice or something to soak up the delicious sauce!

It filled the kitchen with the slightly sweet coco-nutty scent. Mmmmm. It tasted so nice and clean too. I'd love to throw in some chickpeas to give it some protein next time and make it a vegetarian main. For Sunday, I ate it as a side with my leftover taco-seasoned chicken. Monday at lunch it was with half cup of quinoa and 2 hard boiled egg whites.

Have you re-organized something lately? 

ROUND UP OF CUCUMBER RECIPES:
Cucumber-rice flour pancakes 
Mystery Ginormica Squash Gratin 
In the Savory Salad of Spunky Grapefruit Dressing 
Cantalope-Cucumber-Carrot Juice
Cucumber-Melon Salad
Add into the Seaweed Salad

Vegetarian Summer Series #5: Indian Potluck Inspired Jalepeno Dal (Red Lentils) and Cilantro Chutney

The move happened! We spent 2 hours Thursday night with the help of a friend and 6 hours Saturday moving all our things over.  I'm climbing around mountains of boxes and digging in various backpacks and suitcases for what to wear to yoga practice and to work, but what's the first room I get in order? The kitchen of course!  I can only indulge in Dominoes gluten-free vegetarian pizza and Chipotle so long.

TOP 5 NEW THINGS THIS MONTH:
1) Going out to eat Vietnamese food unexpectedly-got to try Banh Xeo! a rice flour based crepe. The restaurant only had seafood/meat based but I am eager to try out mushrooms instead at home. Vietca says they even sell pre-measured flour with the tumeric portioned out at the markets. I got lots of lettuce in my box right now so this would be great! Want to grow herbs or pick up some mint and shiso (aka perilla, tia to, beefstake leaf, or Gee So according to the seed catalogue for evergreen seeds)

2) Bought sea snail from Marukai .................to eat (not a pet!) Gonna say I'm not a fan of the cartilege like texture.

3) Not food related, but I have had three people offer to pay me for helping to care, cook or make a product in the last week! Really weird...but it times well with the furlough...if I can make the time to do it.

4) Bought a hybrid nectarine plum from one of my favorite farms (I think it's Maciel Farms) at La Jolla. They don't have a name for it yet...any ideas? Fellow yogi Sara-squared says "nums" -which is my favorite so far. Dave says "nectum" which I thought was kind of gross since it sounds very similar to another word.

5) Got a vacation planned for the Denver, CO area for next month-I have never been! Anyone have recommendations for things to do or places to eat? Also hoping to visit the Rocky Mountains park for a day trip.

I broke the streak of raw food, to bring you spicy jalepeno red lentils. I was supposed to have a potluck with a few co-workers last week but they wiggled out of it on me the day before.  I still made the dish since I needed vegetarian Tuesday food anyhow. The recipe comes from Food Network (actually Wolfgang Puck) with very minor modifications.

Dal on the left and variation on Aloo Gobi on the right

 DAL WITH JALEPENOS
Makes 4-6 Servings
~40-50 minutes for making spice, prepping and cooking.

• 1/4 cup ghee or clarified butter  substitute red palm oil or coconut oil
• 1 1/2 cups diced onions
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 jalapeno peppers, cored, seeded and minced
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
• 2 cups orange lentils
• 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger
• 2 tablespoons Garam Masala, (food network provides one if you visit their website or see what I used below)
• 1/2 tablespoon salt  (or to your taste)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 3/4 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 8 cups chicken stock veggie stock (I used 4 cups stock and 4 cups water and it came out ok)

1. In a large pot, heat the oil and stir-fry the onions just until wilted, do not brown.

2. Add the garlic, jalapeno, cumin, lentils, ginger, garam masala, salt, pepper, sugar and bay leaf. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes, until the herbs and spices bloom (aromatic).

2. Add the tomatoes and deglaze with the vinegar.

3. Add the stock, bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer and cook until lentils are tender (about 30 minutes), stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning with cumin, salt, pepper and sugar.

 My sister provided me a garam masala recipe and you don't need to do any toasting or grating (not sure how much a difference it makes, but I'm short on time these days).

GARAM MASALA (I think it was the first one that I used for the dal recipe, but it was a bottle of spice she made for me):

Garam Masala #1
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tsp ground cardomom
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 ground nutmeg

We have just ground cumin and coriander so I don't do the following steps. I
also used a pepper grinder or just used black ground pepper. but if you have
the whole seeds here's what to do:
On medium heat, shake cumin and coriander seed for 3-5 till they pop and brown.
remove from heat and let cool. place all ingridients in a coffee grinder or
food processor and grind till smooth. store in an airtight container.

Kitchen Cupboard Garam Masala
2 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp coriander
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cardomom
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp allspice

Also, because my CSA "boxmate" said she doesn't make a lot of spicy things, thought I would share this recipe that uses one spicy pepper and just makes enough for a few servings (not overwhelming for someone cooking just for one).

CILANTRO-CHUTNEY-inspired by my brief few months working at a Persian inspired restaurant after college. Just grab your blender/food processor and let's make this 4 ingredient peppy sauce. Top it on your breakfast tacos like me, have a go with it on salad or maybe as a dipper for your grilled veggies (or chicken or beef).

Ingredients
1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and stems
2 cloves of garlic 
3 tbsp white vinegar
1 jalepeno, de-stemmed and cut

Put all ingredients in the blender/processor. Blend until uniform sauce forms. All done!

I think I asked enough questions above, so nothing here this week!