White Girl Attempts to Create Her Ideal Saag/Dal Combination

I love Indian food. It may be my favorite type of ethnic food (aside from Mexican food, but being from New Mexico, Mexican food is "normal," non-foreign food to me. Chile rellenos, tamales, and pasole are about as ethnic to me as lobster and drawn butter is to New Englanders). Anyways, saag has long been one of my favorite sauces, and I have recently been exposed to dal. 

Saag refers to any sauce that is spinach based. Dal refers to thick lentil based stews. Well, because I can't decide and because I just wanted to have my protein and veggies in the same dish, I created "Dalsaag." While it may not be traditional and might be akin to calling TexMex Mexican food, it is still delicious in its own right.

I'm sure that there are many of you non-vegans who probably don't see the point in eating something like this. "Where's the main course?" and "This can't possibly make me feel full!" you sneer. Well, let me tell you something. This dish has some very unique and undeniable properties:

• Makes you immortal.
• Like most vegan food, gives you magical powers.

What? You don't believe me? I can't imagine why not. I can't think of many things that could be more healthful for you than this dish, with its spices, spinach, lentils, brown basmati rice, and tomatoes. 

I used red lentils. Since lentils are really still a new world to me and likely are for you too, here's a picture of my red lentils so that you know what you're looking for at the grocery store.

White Girl Dalsaag

Serves 2-4 depending on how hungry you are.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1-2 tablespoons grated ginger

1 jalapeno, not seeded because you're tough, minced

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon cardamom

1 teaspoon tumeric

2 cups red lentils 

4 cups water

1 tablespoon veggie bouillon 

1/2 pound spinach

1 large tomato, diced

1 medium eggplant, diced

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

3 tablespoons soy creamer (obviously not the sweetened kind)

Freshly cooked brown basmati rice, for serving

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger and jalapeno. Saute until translucent. Add curry, garam masala, cumin, cardamom, and tumeric and saute for 30 seconds. Add water and lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until lentils they are soft (this took about 20 minutes I believe, but the package suggested up to 45 minutes so leave extra time in case they take longer). 

Once lentils are cooked, stir in spinach, tomato, eggplant, cilantro, and soy creamer. 

Serve over rice.

Cheers!

Coffee Sometimes Leads to Inspiration, But Today Has Been a Bust.

Oh magnanimous enthusiasm in a cup.... I was depending on you to help me finish my letter of inquiry and begin my grad school admissions essay today. So far, you have only helped me succeed at publishing your photograph online while I apparently should have been in a job interview that I thought had been rescheduled for Friday.

My one accomplishment was running five 7 1/2 minute miles, but that was no thanks to you Soy Latte.

C'est la vie. You were beautiful AND delicious, and I suppose that is enough.

Top of the afternoon to ya.

Almond Joy Cupcakes

Last year my friend Meghan made me chocolate cupcakes for my birthday and they were bomb. She gave me the recipe she used and lately I have had a hankerin' for some. I kept wanting to make some fancy shmancy cupcakes since that's what everyone's into these days, but all the variations I could find required ingredients that I definitely didn't have. I did however have shredded coconut and slivered almonds. Hence, the Almond Joy version of these chocolate cupcakes was born! 

And, I should just add that I was on the subreddit "vegan complaints" recently (as they explain, because every complaint has its place) and came across someone commenting about how every time she made dessert for their family, the rumor would spread that the dessert was made by "her" and that it was "vegan" and then no one would touch the dessert that she made. Her response to this situation is one that will haunt me forever- 

"It's a cupcake motherfucker! Put it in your face!" 

Enjoy. 

Almond Joy Cupcakes
Makes 20 cupcakes... I know that's not a proper number, but that's what it makes. 

2 cup soy milk

2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup canola oil

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract, chocolate extract, or more vanilla extract

2 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners. 

2. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are OK). 

3. Pour into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Coconut Frosting with Almond Slivers Pressed Into It

1 cup (2 sticks) Earth Balance
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract
1/4 cup plain soy milk 
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup slivered almonds, for topping

1. Beat the shortening until fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes. 

2. Add the coconut extract and soy milk, and beat for another 5 to 7 minutes until fluffy. Add the shredded coconut and mixed until combined. 


3. Spread  on top of cupcakes and press almond slivers into frosting.

Peanut Butter Cookies and Undocumented Oatmeal Pancakes

I regret to say that I actually won't be able to post the recipe for these cookies. I baked them straight out of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, so I feel it may not be legal to post the recipe online. 

My point in posting the picture is to show you that they were delicious cookies. Peanut butter cookies remind me of when I was little and my Dad would make them. As far as I can tell, this is the recipe he was using! That's how good they are. Even when I creamed the Earth Balance, peanut butter, and sugar it tasted just like when I was little, sneaking smackerels out of the mixing bowls. Although.... this recipe removes all the risk factor out of eating the cookie dough, since there are no eggs. I haven't had them for years because someone *ahem* was allergic to peanuts. But now, a year after becoming vegan, his peanut allergy has dissipated (I have no explanation for this other than I know what I saw) and life is as it should be.

Additionally, I just want to point out that I am adding a new pancake recipe to my previous pancake post. I made some seriously delicious oatmeal pancakes (adapted from a non-vegan recipe) this morning, and I really didn't have the stamina to snap photos of them while they got cold. So, no documentation of them, but just know that they met my high quality standards and that you will enjoy them. :) You can get the recipe here.

Veganism: An Evolutionary Perspective and Why I Find "Paleo" Diets So Aggravating

So this post is going to have nothing to do with food I have made recently and will not have a recipe at the end. I have been spending a good amount of time on the r/vegan subreddit, talking to people, and responding to nasty-grams about veganism in my inbox, and have encountered a fair number of philosophical "complaints" about veganism that bring the evolutionary biologist in me to a screeching halt. These complaints make the argument that "we evolved eating meat, thus we should eat meat now."

Okay, okay, okay. To be fair, I myself have said this. Multiple times even! "But we're classified as omnivores" and "We have big brains because we ate meat in our evolutionary history!" Well, so what?! Our evolutionary history really doesn't have any say in what we do as modern humans. Let me remind you that the definition of evolution is "change over time." Just because we find ourselves stuck in this veritable snapshot of evolutionary history, where we seem to ourselves to be the be-all-end-all culmination of human evolutionary perfection, we are still a species in flux, held to the same biological standards of all species of plants, animals, and bacterium on the face of the planet: that is, we are subject to change. We still are kept under the thumb of natural selection, where the most effective reproductive and survival strategies to fit a given environmental situation "win." However, we may constitute the first known species to recognize their evolutionary past and use it to justify their evolutionary future.

I think it is a bit unfair to make claims about what is optimal for our survival today, based on what was necessary for survival hundreds of thousands of years ago. Our modern world bears little resemblance to that of our ancestors, especially in terms of our resource and food availability. Is meat-eating a successful strategy in the modern world? Probably. Is strict adherence to a plant-based diet a successful strategy in the modern world? Probably, for the first time in history, yes. Think about it. Take most native cultures prior to the invention of agriculture: hunters and gatherers. They were subject to the elements and the length of the growing season and as such, ate plants only during the season they were available. What about food between growing seasons? Well, animals compartmentalize and effectively store nutrients, potentially for our use when plant resources are unavailable. While the invention of agriculture revolutionized human society, that limited growing season still hung over our heads, and thus when all the fruits and vegetables went on their annual hiatus, meat was necessary for survival.

Paleolithic lifestyles sure were glamorous! They just look so vivacious!

How does that compare to our modern world? Firstly, technology and transportation (for better or for worse from an environmental perspective) have completely demolished the feared end of the growing season. For most industrialized countries, you can find fresh produce at any grocery store year round. Sure, oranges still have a growing season, and you know that you should buy them in the winter because they just won't taste as good in the summer, but you also know that in the summer you will have things like strawberries and peaches, even if you live somewhere that those items don't necessarily grow.

Secondly, globalization, like the Columbian Exchange, has exposed us to new (to us) and nutritionally dense foods from around the world. For example, tempeh, tofu, and seitan have all been eaten in Asia for thousands of years, but only recently have been discovered in the aisles of our local grocers. While it may take a while for many of us to warm up to these foods, our adaptability to new foods is one of the many things that has made us such a successful species.

 Ok, so we have established that humans continue to exist under evolutionary pressure that forces us to optimize our strategies in light of our environment, and that our environment in almost no way resembles that which our ancestors existed in. Indeed, possibly the only vestige of our early existence is that sex is still necessary for reproduction.... or... erhum... never mind. Anyways, lets just talk briefly about how evolutionary behaviors justify our current actions. I, for one, have never taken a class on evolution that was not prefaced by an explanation that states that evolutionary behaviors have nothing to do with the morality of said behaviors.

 Take rape, for example. Rape has been described as a biologically successful strategy for males that otherwise would have near zero reproductive success. It is a behavior that manifests itself, obviously, in our species but has also been observed in an array of species, from chickens to dolphins. Does that in any way justify its occurrence in our modern society? No, it does not, and most sane individuals find the thought abhorrent. Why? Because we are somewhat of an anomaly in that we are capable of practicing empathy and reason that often sometimes overcomes our natural, evolutionary, animalistic urges.

 Additionally, there are a number of more innocuous disparities between our modern lives and those of our ancestors. If you choose to follow a "Paleo" diet because it is "healthier" for you, why is it that you should confine the possible benefits of a paleolithic lifestyle simply to your dinner plate? I mean, we evolved living in caves or shacks, without medical care, and if food needed to be cooked, we cooked it with fire. We didn't watch television or use our iPhones when we were lost or to ask the internet for help on "DIY Oldowan Tool Kit." Is domestic pig, with all its growth hormones and antibiotics really an adequate substitution for mammoth meat? So if you're going Paleo, why not forego medical care, sturdy houses, and other modern conveniences while roasting the flesh of beasts killed with spears over a raging fire. Why is it that we have decided to pay homage to our past in the one way that benefits us but causes a great deal of suffering to other animals? It couldn't possibly be because we are grasping for anything that we feel affirms our need to eat meat?

DIY Guide for an Oldovan Toolkit

 And as far as whether our big brains can be only attributed to our meat-eating ancestors, a common statement from defensive meat-eaters, I would appreciate it if someone could direct me to the scientific literature that supports this claim (no popsci articles, please). However, recent research in avian intelligence in corvids (crows and ravens) suggests that the extreme intelligence of this family may have arisen not because they occasionally include meat in their diet, but because they must learn how to obtain one of the most varied diets in the animal kingdom. They have evolved not only to memorize hundreds of different food items, but also to invent novel methods to obtain new food items. Sounds analogous to our species.. hmm?

 And finally, I just want to point out one of the most prominent and convincing evolutionary occurrences that prove that carnivores can evolve into herbivores. Ailuropoda melanoleuca, also known as the Giant Panda is classified by the scientific community in the order Carnivora. Additionally, these bears retain many digestive and genetic adaptations specific for meat consumption. However, the diet of these bears is derived 99% from bamboo. Yes people, pandas are the original vegans, we're not so clever after all. 

An evolutionary innovator!

We should also note that Gorillas, one of the more intimidating species within our own family Hominidae, while consuming a limited amount of insects, subsist otherwise entirely on plants. 

One of the most feared beasts of the jungle, sniffing a flower.

So, is our supposition that we have always eaten meat and thus should continue to do so a notion based out biological fact and reason? Or is it just a naive way of making ourselves feel better about something that our ethical little minds feel uncomfortable thinking about? Since it seems incongruous to invoke evolutionary history as a reason to remain the same, my guess is the latter.

Cheerio!

Lavender Hearts for Your Valentine

When I was fifteen years old, I made these cookies for my high school sweetheart. They weren't vegan then, and neither was I, but clearly I was willing to experiment a lot with my food. I mean, how many fifteen year-olds are willing to try making a cookie with dried lavender in it? 

Lavender just seems like such a bizarre ingredient, don't you think? Well, these are some very unique cookies, to be sure. But they are so sweet and flaky and are perfect for February, because the smell and taste of the flowers really touches that little part of your soul that is retaining hope that spring is just around the corner. I would say these cookies begin the transition from the heavy and dark baked goods of winter, you know, pumpkin bread and ginger cookies, the type of foods that remind you of golden leaves and heaps of snow on the ground and that make you feel warm inside. These cookies make me think of little green buds on the tips of tree branches and daffodils and tulips peeking up through cracks in the concrete. Just like a big orange slab of spiced pumpkin bread can send you into hibernation under a mountain of blankets next to a big fireplace, these cookies wake you up out of your hibernation so that you can sit in that warm pocket of air just behind every sunny window and watch the water drip off of the icicles on the other side of the pane.

Ok. Enough imagery. I made these cookies for my sweetheart, every year, until we graduated highschool, and I remember making them several years in college too. I don't remember where I found the original recipe, but I used to keep a little notebook where I wrote down all of my favorite recipes. These cookies are in that notebook next to my other old favorites, such as the Guadalajara Burger, Beef Bulgogi (Korean BBQ), Om Rice with pork, my veggie chile recipe, too many recipes with shrimp, and one loner recipe for marinated tofu with bok choy. I clearly was willing to try anything at that time in my life- not only things with the name Bulgogi, but anything vegan or vegetarian (despite the fact that at this point in my life I scorned vegetarians and especially vegans). So, yes, I was eating tofu long before becoming a vegetarian, albeit alone, because my sweetheart used to have a soy allergy. Its actually really good stuff if you are just willing to have an open mind about it! But anyways...

I was looking through this notebook a few weeks ago, and came across this recipe again. Now that I've married my high school sweetheart, I figure, what better time to bring back these sentimental cookies than our tenth Valentine's Day together? There was only one thing standing in my way. This recipe isn't vegan. Luckily though, since it's a shortbread cookie with no egg, veganizing these cookies was a piece of cake! They came out exactly the way I remember them. All I had to do was sub in some Earth Balance Vegan Buttery sticks, which by the way, taste more like butter than butter itself. 

As far as the lavender goes, you need to try and find culinary lavender. I'm not positive, but if it doesn't say culinary on it, it might have things added to it that are not really intended for humans to eat. It can be difficult to find. After thoroughly searching the herbs and spices at Whole Foods, I couldn't find it. I asked someone for help and after he was gone for about 10 minutes, returned with a bottle of culinary lavender, but I have no idea where in the store it came from! If you can't find it right away just ask for help. 

Lavender Hearts

1/2 cup Earth Balance Vegan Buttery sticks

1/4 cup sugar + extra for dusting

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dried lavender

1/4 cup water

Cream the margarine and sugar together until fluffy (this is what will make the finished cookies have lots of flaky layers so don't skip!).

Stir in flour, salt, and lavender and mix until thoroughly combined. If you cannot form a coherent ball of dough, add water one tablespoon at a time, and combine (I only needed 2 tablespoons of water before mine formed a dough ball). 

Form dough into a disc and refrigerate for 15 minutes

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Roll dough until about 3/8 inch thick and use a little heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out as many hearts as you can.  Place on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with extra sugar, pressing the sugar gently into each cookie. 

Bake for 8 minutes, or until the edges turn a golden brown. 

Cheers!!

Seitan Pot Pie!

It appears my new obsession is savory pies! Although this one may be a little more familiar than the previous one. I really didn't like Chicken Pot Pie as a child, and have had the most "Pot Pies" after becoming vegan, but I tried to make this pie as classic as possible. 

Something that I have found as a vegan and also when I was a vegetarian, is that you associate certain flavors with certain meats, for example: sage or rosemary with chicken. When you use sage or rosemary in a vegan recipe, it is reminiscent enough of the food that used to be there and is really satisfying. That being said, this pie makes use of sage, thyme, marjoram, and mustard, as well as a lot of wine, which, coincidentally is really important to vegan cooking!


This meal is also REALLY filling. You will not. I repeat- You will NOT feel like you just ate something vegan. I have been told by people who briefly tried vegetarianism that they just couldn't "get full" and that they had to go back to eating meat. I had a similar feeling when I became vegan, that is, until I relearned how to cook. Becoming vegan and learning how to cook this way has been really rewarding and has rekindled my interest in cooking, period. This recipe is is a product of that journey, so I hope you enjoy it!

Seitan Pot Pie
Crust
2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cornmeal 

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks (12 tablespoons), chopped

2/3 cup water

Filling

1 tablespoon buttery sticks

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup flour

2 teaspoons mustard powder
1 lb seitan, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large yellow onion, diced

2 medium red potatoes, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2 medium sized carrots, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon dried sage

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup white wine

3/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen peas

In a large bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt. Throw in the "butter" and mix with two forks, a pastry mixer, or your two hands, until it resembles coarse sand. Drizzle 1/3 cup water over the mixture and then mix. If a coherent ball of dough does not form, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough coalesces into a ball. Press into a disc, and keep in fridge while making the filling. 


Preheat the oven to 375º.


To make the filling, heat the oil and margarine in a large skillet or dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add the flour and mustard powder, and whisk while browning the flour. Once the flour has come to a deep golden color add the onions, potatoes, seitan, celery, and carrots and stir until the vegetables become translucent. Add the garlic and herbs; stir for about a minute. Add the peas, corn, wine and broth to deglaze the pan, and bring to a boil. Once the liquid has thickened slightly, remove the pan from heat and season with salt and pepper. 


Pour the filling into a 2 quart square baking dish (or any dish where the filling sits about 2 inches thick). Roll the dough out into the shape that corresponds with your pan such that the perimeter extends about two inches beyond the edge of your dish in every direction. Place the dough on top of the filling, centering it on the pan, and then roll the edges upwards and over along all the sides into the pan, to give the crust a thick, raised edge. Push this edge downwards along the edges of the pan into the filling. This is nice because despite the fact that there is no crust on the bottom, the outer edge of the pie has a little bit. With a knife pierce the top of the pie several times to allow steam to escape. 


Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes to an hour. Remove and enjoy.

Cheers!

Easter Pie

I realize it's not Easter, but I saw this recipe and just had to try it. I know many of you associate vegan food as being "health" food. That association is proven utterly meaningless by this recipe. I have adapted it from Vegan Fire and Spice by Robin Robertson and ate it with a spinach salad. The crust was absolutely phenomenal! And for you weenies out there: Stop being afraid of tofu. I wouldn't post this if I didn't think you would like it.

For the Crust:

2 cups flour (I used 1 cup white and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, but its up to you!)

1/2 cup Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks (1 stick)

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup water (more or less a few teaspoons)

For the Filling

2 tbsp olive oil

1 yellow onion, sliced into half moons

3 Chipotle flavored grain sausages from Field Roast, each sausage sliced in half lengthwise and then chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound extra firm tofu, crumbled (you can do this with the back of a fork)

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 cup mozzarella Daiya

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Here are those weird items that perhaps you haven't seen before:

This can be found in the baking isle.

This can be found by the butter.

This can be found in the vegetarian/vegan food section.

Using a food processor combine the flour margarine, sugar, and salt. While the machine is running, slowly add the water, one tablespoon at a time, until a dough ball forms.  Split into two separate balls and place in refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

In a large saute pan heat the olive oil over medium-high. Add the onion only and reduce heat to medium. Continue to stir occasionally until onions become caramelized, about 10-15 minutes. In the meantime chop the garlic and sausage and in a large bowl combine the tofu, Daiya, nutritional yeast, parsley, and spices. Once onions are caramelized, add the sausages and garlic to the pan and saute until lightly browned. Remove from heat. Mix the sauteed ingredients into the rest of the filling ingredients. 

Roll the dough into two 11 inch rounds. Place one round in the bottom of a 10 inch pie plate. Add the filling and cover with second round. Pinch the edges together and prick the top with a fork, to allow heat to escape. 

Bake for 1 hour or until the crust is golden. 

Salads are easy.

I suggest investing in some delicious balsamic and olive oil combinations. There seem to be little olive oil/balsamic boutiques like the Boston Olive Oil Company popping up everywhere. Usually these places will suggest oil and vinegar pairings. Right now I have a lavender balsamic that is amazing! 

When I became a vegetarian I truly became a fan of spinach salads. No other green will do. Since I never really liked it much before, I think it is my body telling me that it loves iron! And by the way, did you know that pound for pound, spinach has more protein than beef (but who would eat that much spinach in one sitting?). 

Anyways, the key to a salad, in my opinion, is spinach, something soft and flavorful (tomatoes, avocados, dried fruits, etc.) something crunchy and salty (croutons, nuts, etc.) and really good olive oil and vinegar. You don't even need to mix the two beforehand! Just drizzle on and enjoy!

Cheers!