Ahoy hoy! It's Friday night and I am holed up at Darin's in NYC. We just finished eating the small feast I cooked up upon arrival. Happy stuffed but by no means finished (a meal with Darin is not complete until we have dessert) I thought I'd take a break from the kitchen and get started on this post. I feel as though the days have been slipping by at an alarming rate leaving me little time for blogging. Hopefully things simmer down and I'll be back to posted on a more regular if not daily basis.
Moving on, tonight's dinner included: Cheesey Broccoli & Sundried Tomatoes, Baked Rice Balls, and Sundried Tomato & Herb Pinwheels, and for our upcoming dessert, homemade Crack Jacks.
Moving on, tonight's dinner included: Cheesey Broccoli & Sundried Tomatoes, Baked Rice Balls, and Sundried Tomato & Herb Pinwheels, and for our upcoming dessert, homemade Crack Jacks.
I apologize for the horrify picture (posted above: balls to the left, cheesey brocc & sundried tomatoes are to the roll and the pinwheel is at the top). Sadly enough that is the best one I could get of tonights meal. Earlier in the week I downloaded the new blackberry software and still havent figured it all out. While browsing the latest apps, I stumbled upon "Everyday Vegan", where I found the following "Creamy Mozzerella" recipe:
1/4 cup onions, diced
1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup pure water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 Tbs rolled oats
2 Tbs arrowroot
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs sesame butter or tahini ** (I used sesame seeds as I did not have either)
Saute onion in olive oil until browned. Place onion in blender. Add remaining ingredients. Process until smooth. Then pour into saucepan and over medium heat, stirring constantly, cook until very thick.
Unfortunately Darin doesnt have the best of blenders (truth be told its the worst blender i've ever used) so I ground the sesame seeds and rolled oats in a coffee grinder prior to placing them in the blender + I added 2 tsp garlic salt. The sauce itself was delicious. I spooned it over lightly steamed broccoli and sundried tomatoes, which we ate along side the Baked Rice Balls (recipe also from Everyday Vegan blackberry app):
1/2 cup brown rice cooked in 1 1/2 cup of vegetable stock
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup parsley, minced
1/2 cup ground almonds
Preheat over 375F Combine all ingredients well and roll into walnut size balls. If they won't hold their shape, add a little almond or cashew butter. (In hindsight, the creamy mozzerella sauce would work amazing well in this recipe). In a well oiled baking dish or on a baking sheet, baked 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly before removing from pan.
1/4 cup onions, diced
1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup pure water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 Tbs rolled oats
2 Tbs arrowroot
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs sesame butter or tahini ** (I used sesame seeds as I did not have either)
Saute onion in olive oil until browned. Place onion in blender. Add remaining ingredients. Process until smooth. Then pour into saucepan and over medium heat, stirring constantly, cook until very thick.
Unfortunately Darin doesnt have the best of blenders (truth be told its the worst blender i've ever used) so I ground the sesame seeds and rolled oats in a coffee grinder prior to placing them in the blender + I added 2 tsp garlic salt. The sauce itself was delicious. I spooned it over lightly steamed broccoli and sundried tomatoes, which we ate along side the Baked Rice Balls (recipe also from Everyday Vegan blackberry app):
1/2 cup brown rice cooked in 1 1/2 cup of vegetable stock
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup parsley, minced
1/2 cup ground almonds
Preheat over 375F Combine all ingredients well and roll into walnut size balls. If they won't hold their shape, add a little almond or cashew butter. (In hindsight, the creamy mozzerella sauce would work amazing well in this recipe). In a well oiled baking dish or on a baking sheet, baked 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly before removing from pan.
The pinwheels, pictured above, I had made yesterday and brought the left over ones in with me. Recipe is adapted from Vegan Everyday and uses the basic pizza dough recipe located in my recipe list.
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup sundried tomoatoes (not the kind packed in oil)
1/2 cup fresh basil, minced
1 Tbs fresh rosemary, minced
Combined the first 3 ingredients and let stand for about an hour. If you are making a fresh dough, like I did this works out perfectly. In the mean time, pour boiling water and let stand for 30 minutes. Then drain and chop.
When your dough is ready (or if using a premade dough after your tomatoes have soaked and your herbs marinated, prehewat oven to 425F and roll your pizza dough out into a rectangle, measuring approximately 15x10 inches. Brush with half of the olive oil mixture onto the dough and sprinkle the sundried tomatoes on top. Then add your basil and rosemary.
Now roll up the dough starting with the long, 15-inch edge. Once rolled cut it into 12 (1-inch) slices and place it on a well oiled or parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly presh on each pinewheel to flatten them out . Then brush the tops with the remaining herb & olive oil mix. Bake for approximately 10 - 12 minutes.
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup sundried tomoatoes (not the kind packed in oil)
1/2 cup fresh basil, minced
1 Tbs fresh rosemary, minced
Combined the first 3 ingredients and let stand for about an hour. If you are making a fresh dough, like I did this works out perfectly. In the mean time, pour boiling water and let stand for 30 minutes. Then drain and chop.
When your dough is ready (or if using a premade dough after your tomatoes have soaked and your herbs marinated, prehewat oven to 425F and roll your pizza dough out into a rectangle, measuring approximately 15x10 inches. Brush with half of the olive oil mixture onto the dough and sprinkle the sundried tomatoes on top. Then add your basil and rosemary.
Now roll up the dough starting with the long, 15-inch edge. Once rolled cut it into 12 (1-inch) slices and place it on a well oiled or parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly presh on each pinewheel to flatten them out . Then brush the tops with the remaining herb & olive oil mix. Bake for approximately 10 - 12 minutes.
While I was making dinner, I had asked Darin to pop some popcorn using my presto power popper. Popping the popcorn while I made dinner gave the popcorn ample time to dry before using it in the following recipe:
Note: we made the sauce in a 6 qt slow cooker, which took about 45 minutes to cook, giving me 45 minutes to relax!!
2/3 cup popcorn kernels, popped w/o oil
2 cups peanuts (I used dry roasted, lightly salted)
1 cup organic dark brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbs Molasses
2 Tbs Vegan Buttery Spread
2 Tbs unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbs Pure Vanilla Extract
2 - 3 tsb cinnamon
In a large bowl, combined the popcorn with the peanuts. Set aside.
In your slow cooker, combine the sugar, honey, molasses, vegan buttery spread, unsweetened applesauce, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Cook on high until hot and bubbly. Ladle sauce onto the popcorn peanut mix and stir until coated (depending on the size of your bowl this may need to be done in shifts). Once well coated, lay out your cracker jacks and a sprayed baking sheet and pop it into the fridge until ready to eat.
Mmmmmmm!!! The cracker jacks were soooooooo freakin good (but sooooooo freakin sticky lol). We had a good amount left over, so I told darin to store it in an airtight container in the fridge, which he did. :-)
Note: we made the sauce in a 6 qt slow cooker, which took about 45 minutes to cook, giving me 45 minutes to relax!!
2/3 cup popcorn kernels, popped w/o oil
2 cups peanuts (I used dry roasted, lightly salted)
1 cup organic dark brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbs Molasses
2 Tbs Vegan Buttery Spread
2 Tbs unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbs Pure Vanilla Extract
2 - 3 tsb cinnamon
In a large bowl, combined the popcorn with the peanuts. Set aside.
In your slow cooker, combine the sugar, honey, molasses, vegan buttery spread, unsweetened applesauce, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Cook on high until hot and bubbly. Ladle sauce onto the popcorn peanut mix and stir until coated (depending on the size of your bowl this may need to be done in shifts). Once well coated, lay out your cracker jacks and a sprayed baking sheet and pop it into the fridge until ready to eat.
Mmmmmmm!!! The cracker jacks were soooooooo freakin good (but sooooooo freakin sticky lol). We had a good amount left over, so I told darin to store it in an airtight container in the fridge, which he did. :-)
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