A little Cilantro love

A dinner staple at our house is Isa and Terri's Chickpea Cutlets from Veganomicon. They are a breeze to whip up, can be baked or fried, and used in dishes across the board. This time around I decided to add chipotle to them for an extra kick and made a delicious cooling cilantro aioli to dollop on top. Cilantro, an herb that is used all around the world, comes to us from the coriander seed. These little sprigs are also known to have aphrodisiac qualities, so please, spread the love around.

Cilantro Aioli
(makes about two cups)

• 1 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1 tsp. brown rice syrup
• 1 cup cashews
• 1 cup water (more or less depending on thickness)
• juice from 1 lime

Place all ingredients in high speed blender and have at it!
Serve on chipotle chickpea cutlets or use as a dip or spread for sammies.
Enjoy!

A Carat of Carob Please

Carob is a foreign pod to most Americans; however, this sweet little pea has gained quite the reputation among the the vegan and health-conscious communities.  Usually used as an alternative to chocolate, carob has been wrapped around raisins, powdered on pastries, and stirred into sweets as a rich, all-natural dairy free substitute.

Carob, like chocolate, is a legume. It is the fruit of the carob tree, Ceratonia siliqua, a member of the pea family.  Native to the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions, these sweet pods are very popular across the pond and used in a number of dishes and desserts. The genus is derived from the Greek word for carob - keration. Back in the day (and by that I mean thousands of years ago) they weighed gold and gemstones against carob seeds, thus deeming the term "carat," from the Greek keration. With modern advances, the carob beans were left to be eaten and the carat was standardized to .2 grams.

Lia stopped in our favorite Middle Eastern market, Bitar's, and picked up some Carob Molasses.

Carob Molasses has proved itself as my new favorite sweetener. Also, mix it with tahini and it makes a killer breakfast spread.

 Carob molasses is made by soaking milled carob pods in water, straining the liquid, and boiling it down until it forms a thick, dark syrup. That's right: No cane sugar, thickeners, or any other ingredients, just pure, sweet, delicious carob.

Lia in front of a Ceratonia siliqua in Schinos, Greece.

Fresh-off-the-tree carob pod.

I decided to calm my craving for pizza with a Middle Eastern spin, and instead of using tomato sauce, I spread on some of this new sweet love. Paired with caramelized onions and red peppers, this pizza turned out absolutely delicious! And of course, we all know the rules to pizza making:
1. has to be made with friends
2. consumed with a nice cold bubbly beverage 
3. you can't make just one.

Along with the carob 'za, we put together a lovely veggie with broccoli, tofu ricotta, and roma tomatoes, and a portobello and onion 'za, both with red sauce.
Enjoy,

Carob 'Za!

Look at that team work - just screams fun.

Spanakopita = Spinach Pie!

My apologies for the long delay in posts, but as always I have a viable excuse: I'm in Greece!
This is the land of meat and cheese, I don't even bother saying vegan because it doesn't mean anything here. Even with the word "vegetarian," we are greeted with quizzical stares and many questions of how and why. But one word that has gotten us through thick and thin - Spanakopita. The ever wonderful hand filled pocket pie packed with spinach, leeks, and dill.

Currently we are staying on an organic farm full of orange and olive trees, an acre of fresh greens, and veggie patches galore. Our host is a real "DIY" guy (we call him D) and even has us grinding wheat for bread. It's been absolutely lovely. We will return stateside March 3, so be on the look out for more deliciousness from some ordinary vegans reaching beyond the imaginary cuisine. (sooo excited to cook and bake again, its going to be great folks!)

Here are some of the pictures from the adventures thus far... ENJOY! 

Homemade Spanakopita - there was a little feta sprinkled in, but have no fear, we picked it up from the local shepherd!

All of the happy little goats! These billies roam the beautiful lush hills all day. On a hike in the nearby mountains we ran into a mother giving birth au naturel.

Fresh picked oranges (navel), mandrins, and lemons. Since Feb. 1st I have consumed 107 oranges.

D loves mushrooms! Every time we go for a hike he's in the woods searching. Here's a Saffron Cap.

Deb, Lia, and D showing big love for the big bread.

Melomakaronas. The best cookie in the world.

Home for the past 3 weeks...

Homemade bread and baked olives, the go-to snack, lunch, breakfast, etc ..

Shelling beans.

How can you not eat more than 5 of these a day!?!

Lia cleaning horta (greens) for dinner.

Whole grain wheat berries = whole grain wheat flour. Voila!

Fresh carob - it's super sweet.

...so many olives to be picked.

Step 1. Clean olives.

Step 2. Put the olives in a sewn-shut pair of pants with salt and shake shake shake for 10 days straight! (curing)

Another find - Hedgehogs!

Underside of Hedgehogs.

D lived in Portland for 20 years and was craving chocolate covered raisins for our "movie night," so we made our own! SO easy and delicious when using real 70% dark chocolate.

Donut Daze

It was a bash. A birthday bash. Myself celebrating 26 years of life, Lia the roomie moving onto 23 years. Our birthday party theme was "forever young" which entailed ample amounts of refined sugar, cheap toys, and pastel streamers. We all met a new sugar high that night with vegan birthday goodies such as: Dirt N' Worms, Jello Jiggler shots, Salt water taffy, a double-layer apple walnut maple cake, and the cherry on top ... hand-made donuts!

 Lia took it upon herself to bake up these delicious beauties for our party. But these weren't just any party donuts to munch on here and there, oh no, the purpose much more. These donuts hung from string, which hung from a broom, which someone held up while guests raced to finish without using their hands. Covered in chocolate and sprinkles this proved to be quite an entertaining party game I would highly recommend to anyone.

 

Battle royal - Jared vs. Birthday Girl (I won)

Andrew and Kristina duking it out.

Here's the recipe that Lia found online and veganized it - substituting one banana for the eggs, rice milk, and earth balance.

Old-Fashioned Cake Donut Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 c. flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 Tbsp. softened unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. milk

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and sugar with a mixer.
3. Add the softened butter, vanilla, and milk and mix until well-incorporated.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Do not overmix.
5. Lightly coat the inside of the donut maker with nonstick cooking spray and fill with batter.
6. Hold the machine just over the hot oil and lightly press on the lever to release the batter. Then gently release the lever and allow the donut to fall into the pan. **NOTE: we did not have a donut maker - Lia shaped the donuts with her hands, and simply dipped into hot vegetable oil.**
7. Fry the donut batter in hot vegetable oil, turning halfway through to ensure even browning. Fry approximately one minute per side, although that time can vary depending on how hot the oil is.
8. Remove golden-brown donuts and allow them to cool on paper towels.

Makes about 1 dozen donuts.
Read more at Suite101: How to Make Homemade Donuts: Old-Fashioned Cake Donut Recipe http://www.suite101.com/content/how-to-make-homemade-donuts-a196698#ixzz189g7LN00

There ya have it folks. They are simply delicious. The chocolate ganache was made by melting down about 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips with a tablespoon of earth balance.  Let the donuts cool and then just dip 'em on in.
ENJOY!

Early Bird

This morning I awoke from the sun beaming through my east facing window at 7:00 am. Feeling ambitious and wanting to try a new scone recipe, I decided to take advantage of this quiet sunny morning. I came up with cranberry pistachio spelt scones. Quite a mouthful but they have a nice ring yea??
I started with Isa's basic scone recipe from Vegan Brunch, substituting regular flour for spelt flour.
Her recipe is:

• 1 1/4 cup almond milk
• 2 tsp. acv
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus a little extra for dusting
• 1/2 cup vegan shortening
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 and spray or line a baking sheet. Mix the milk with the vinegar and set aside to curdle. Mix the dry ingredients and cut in the shortening. Make a well and pour in the milk mixture, oil, and vanilla.  Now, here's what I did to jazz these babies up.
First, I used rice milk instead of almond, and again spelt flour. 
In the dry ingredients I added 1/2 tsp cardamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. 
I added 1 tsp. orange flower water to the wet ingredients.
Folded in one cup dried cranberries and one cup finely chopped pistachios.

The nutty flavor of the spelt is the perfect compliment to the sweetness of the cranberries and salty pistachios.
Sitting in the sun with a cup of Rooibos, crossword, scone, and worm (new cat) was well worth getting out of bed at 7:00 am.

New Endeavours

Its official, the South Philadelphia Vegan Baking Society now has a blog so FOLLOW US!!!

http://spveganbakingsociety.blogspot.com/

Constant Falling

Oh how I love love love fall. I can't express it enough, and as the days get shorter, the light a little dimmer, my love for the season gets a little bigger. Gords, leaves, colors, brisk mornings and nights, scarfs, boots, apples, apples, apples. What could be better?? This year I have embraced fall to the fullest. Thus far the activities have included: apple and pumpkin picking, making and canning apple sauce, apple butter, candied pears, all baked goods are pumpkin ginger this, apple cranberry that. I just can't stop. Here's a little photo montage of the best east coast fall ever.

Stephanie K. Visco picking apples in Downingtown.

 so beautiful and delicious

 our harvest

 

 stuffed pie pumpkins with oatmeal, cranberries, raisins, and apples, with roasted seeds and cherries on the side! YUM!

 Fall dinner includes ... apples arugula salad with tahini lemon garlic dressing, roasted root veggies, spaghetti squash and bbq seitan. 

 my new fave ...

Pumpkin pancakes with cranberry ginger syrup ...