The blog formerly known as Some Like it Spicy.

It's got a new name and it much less of an eye fuck now! Don't get used to it though, I'm still playing around with things. Although the name will stay because I love it. Stay tuned for a post tomorrow on the cupcakes I baked and the pumpkin seeds I roasted today.

The beginning of a love affair

With Vital Wheat Gluten. Whoa that shit is amazing! I had a box sitting in the cabinet for a while and my intentions had always been to attempt making seitan for the first time. To be honest, seitan really intimidates me so it's something I keep putting off.... Someday I will get to it. But until that day comes, I have cutlets. Chickpea Cutlets. TVP Cutlets. And whatever other types of cutlets I can dream up. When the vwg is kneaded in with whatever you are making cutlets out of you can see the gluten strings forming and it gives it an amazing and slightly chewy texture.

I saw a post on the PPK about 2 weeks ago about Chickpea Cutlets. The recipe is in Veganomicon, which I did not own yet. Luckily for me, and you if you don't own it either, the recipe is only a short Google away. I read the reviews and the recipe and decided I HAD to give it a try. I can only take so many store bought faux meats. I made them a few weeks ago with a nooch gravy(nooch is nutritional yeast for all those who don't know the term) and veggies. The recipe came out fantastic even though I didn't follow the recipe exactly(i changed the spices around but that's it), but I didn't take any pics and forgot to blog about it. The very next day I went out and bought my very own copy of Veganomicon as well as Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World and The Uncheese Cookbook.

Fast forward a week and I was craving those delicious, crispy, chewy cutlets again. This time my mom and I made a big dinner out of it for us and my dad. I forgot to photograph alot but I did get one good one.

That's the uncooked cutlet. You can see the minced bits of garlic and even though I just ate, it's making me hungry. We pan fried them til they were nice and crispy on the outside and served with a side of sweet potato fries, nooch gravy and green beans. Even my dad loved it. He is mostly vegetarian but I don't think he is big on faux meat unless it's a veggie burger.

All I have been able to think about for the past two days is what else can I make cutlet type foods out of. And then I remembered the bags and bags of TVP sitting in the cabinet with the vwg.

When tvp is rehydrated it has a smiliar texture to the chick peas when they were all food processed up so I figured, why the hell not? That idea literally consumed me ALL DAY. I couldn't get home fast enough to test it out.

I couldn't find any recipes on line for the creation I had in my head so I modified the Chick Pea Cutlet recipe which resulted in a serious party in my mouth. Here is my recipe for TVP Cutlets:

1 cup dehydrated TVP
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 1/4 boiling water
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, garlic and/or any other combinations of spices you like - to taste
olive oil for frying.

In a mug or bowl mix the boiling water with the vegetable bouillon cube and stir until dissolved. (Normally you are supposed to do i cube for every 2 cups of water but I wanted the flavor a little more concentrated since tvp is virtually tasteless)
In a medium bowl mix the tvp, bread crumbs and spices together. Add 1 cup of the hot liquid and stir until everything is moist and all the liquid has been absorbed.

Add the vital wheat gluten and remaining liquid to the tvp mixture. Knead with your hands until everything is mixed and you can see the gluten strings forming

 Gather all of the mixture into a ball and form it into a rectangle log and cut into 4 sections.
Take each section and flatten out on cutting board.

Heat oil in skillet over medium to medium high heat.Add cutlets. Fry about 5-8 minutes per side until nice and crispy. Serve with whatever sides you want and devour!

I had them with some Road's End Organics Mac & Chreese topped with some cut up grape tomatoes, leftover mashed cauliflower and left over gravy. It really was the perfect comforting meal for a chilly, rainy New England night.

 I can't wait to keep modifying this recipe to see what I can come up with. Maybe half chick pea half tvp, black beans with Mexican spices, an Asian cutlet, buffalo, bbq?!?!!? The possibilities are endless!!!!!!!!!!!

Gizmo and Gimli waiting very patiently for me to drop something.

Baking Success!

So after my big fail from last week(see previous post) I was more motivated than ever to bake something delicious. Especially because I had already offered up baked goodies to a bake sale for today, I had to come through.

I spent the majority of the morning and afternoon in the kitchen yesterday, baking, mixing, washing, testing, tasting and obsessing over cookbooks and cookies.

My first batch of cookies were the basic Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I followed the recipe exactly and it says to roll the cookies in your hand and flatten them. My dough was a little too oily for that. Since I had a seemingly endless amount of time and supplies I decided to just drop them onto the cookie sheet with spoons and see how it came out. If they tasted good, than I didn't care.

 

Well taste good they did. They spread out a little more than I think they should have during cooking but whatever I did, they were the perfect amount of crisp on the outside and an even more perfect amount of soft chewiness on the inside.

The second batch was the exact same recipe except I added a dash, or two, of cinnamon to the batter. It's something one of my best friends, Janine, taught me years ago. She always used to do it in her cookies and it made the cookies 100x better than plain chocolate chip.  This dough seemed more like it was supposed to. I was able to roll it in my hand and flatten it. I made them sort of small to get the most cookies possible out of the batch. They came out much more round and even looking.They too were the perfect amount of crisp on the outside as well as the perfect softness and chewiness on the inside.

My third batch of cookies were the Peanut Butter Crisscrosses, also from VCIYCJ. There really isn't a lot I can say about this recipe. It has very common ingredients, takes minimal time to prepare and bake, is very easy, and tastes delicious. The recipe called for using the dark metal baking sheets for crispiness. I prefer soft and chewy(and I don't have dark metal) so I stuck with the light baking sheets. It isn't a fancy recipe, but definitely a basic worth keeping around and one that I will certainly go back to again and again.

My baking skills magically reappearing weren't the only success of the weekend though. According to Beth(a PPK peep) so far the amount made on bake sale items(all of my stuff sold!!!), raffles, donations and table fees for the craft fair (some of the crafters are donating portions of their sales so those amounts haven't been factored in yet) was $2,500. This all goes to the Milton Animal League. They are having a new shelter built because the one they are in now was originally built as a temporary shelter in the 1970s. This shelter is run entirely by volunteers and because they are a 501 C3 non-profit they receive no funding from the government at all. Every animal that goes through those doors is taken care of until they are adopted into their forever home. No animal is ever put down because it has been there too long, or may need expensive medical treatment. If they need it, they receive it. If you would like to make a donation to help this local shelter meet their goal and achieve their dream of a new, modern building that will allow them to greater serve these animals while they are in the care of the shelter, please visit Milton Animal Rescue. There are several ways to help. Become a volunteer(if you live in the area), send items from their wish list, adopt an animal or make a donation.

Baking Fail

This post is a week overdue but I've been running around like a mad woman all week. I suck at getting this blog going.

When I was an omni and a vegetarian I was always good at baking and used to do it alot, but in the past 2 years I think I have baked a total of 4 times(mainly because I was living with my [ex]bf and our oven was broken, I cooked in a toaster oven, not fun.) And the times I did bake were all before I was vegan. This is my first fall as a vegan, and fall is when I do alot of cooking and baking(asides from the 2 years mentioned) I decided that it was about time that I get back into it. Of course I couldn't just start out with something quick and easy like cookies to boost my confidence. Nope. I had to start with cupcakes and pumpkin brownies. Big mistake.

The cupcakes I made were the vegan vanilla cupcakes from Crazy About Cupcakes. I followed the directions exactly with the exception of adding a handful of confetti sprinkles to make them "Funfetti" cupcakes, so I don't know where I went wrong but they came out like dense little pound cakes. They were heavy too. The flavor was o.k. but nothing I would serve to anyone else. I also made the vegan frosting in the same cookbook which called for cooking some of the ingredients together. I think I let it boil for 1 second too long because instead of a smooth creamy frosting I ended up with a lumpy bowl of what looked like man juice, you know what I'm talking about...... That had to go in the trash. I also tried veganizing a regular frosting recipe subbing vegan butter for dairy butter and soy milk for cow. This frosting ended up just like a glaze, I beat in a ton more confectioner sugar to get more of a frosting consistency but once it was piped on to one of the cupcakes it went from a perfect little spiral of frosting to a melted goopy mess all over the counter... I think part of what my problem was that I used Smart Balance Light, according to some peeps over at the PPK forums, Earth Balance is the way to go when baking and make frosting.

The recipe for Pumpkin Brownies was the one from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. Another fail, but only a semi-fail. The brownie batter tasted amazing and cooked up nicely too, they were fudgy and moist. The pumpkin layer however was a mess. It was really liquidy when I put it and and it stayed that way throughout the cooking. I am not giving up on that recipe though, I will try again, and I will succeed.

After all of that, I felt like I was not meant to bake as a vegan. But I had already offered a fellow PPKer to donate some baked goods for a bake sale at a craft fair that benefits the Milton Animal League so I couldn't give up. The bake sale is tomorrow so of course I waited until today to try baking again. Luckily this time I used different recipes and everything came out delicious. I'll save that for another post though. And I actually took pictures of stuff this time!

Short & Simple

Normally a single 26 year old like myself would never stay in on a Friday night but after the long week filled with endless car problems and little to no sleep I barely had energy to take pre-made frozen food out of the freezer and put it in the oven, never mind showering, getting dressed and going out. And normally I wouldn't take the time to blog about pre-made frozen food unless it was something new and exciting, which is what is happening in my mouth as I type.

Tonight my dinner is consisting of good ole' Boca Chik'n Nuggets and some AMAZING sweet potato fries. Don't get me wrong, I love sweet potatoes but they aren't anything special, unless they are the new Spicy Sweet Potato Fries by Alexia. They are the perfect balance of sweet potato flavor and spice. I mean, really perfect. They are made with chipotle peppers to give them a little kick. They are fabulous on their own but phenomenal when dipped in Veganaise mixed with some pureed garlic. I have always used Alexia's regular sweet potatoes when I am too lazy to cut and bake a fresh sweet potato and they never disappoint. I didn't have any expectations when I put them in the oven other than it was a quick meal for a lazy night. If I did have any other expectations, they surely would have been blown away. I'm pretty surprised at how impressed I am with a frozen food as simple as this. This is definitely something I am going to be recreating with fresh sweet potatoes next time.

You can just see the chipotle goodness speckled all over them!

You can also see a very patient but disappointed lab/bloodhound(clearly not my 7lb vegan dog) who was waiting for the bite that never come. Yup, I ate dinner on the couch with my feet up and my laptop where it belongs, on my lap. 

That's all for tonight. I need to rest up for my exciting day of vegan baking with my brothers girlfriend tomorrow. I will be test driving some recipes for the bake sale portion of a craft fair that benefits the Milton Animal League next weekend. I haven't baked in awhile so I gotta make sure my stuff is good right? Or am I just looking for an excuse to bake?You'll never know..... muah hahahaha(that was my evil laugh) Anyways, expect a sweet(pun intended) blog on the treats either tomorrow or Sunday.

Also, expect a post soon on Gizmo's homemade vegan dog food. 

Hasta!

Coconut Curry

I never thought I would like curry, I always found the smell very overpowering, until I tried a green curry coconut dipping sauce filled with veggies for scallion pancakes at my favorite local Thai restaurant. It definitely changed. I decided to try and recreate it as a main dish. I don't have an exact recipe, I usually never follow them completely so I scoured the web and combined quite a few of them to make the amazing meal that was dinner last night.

Here is my basic recipe
4 cloves garlic minced
1 shallot minced
1 tblspn minced fresh ginger
1 onion chopped
1-2 tblspns oil
Green curry paste to taste - I think I used about 2 tablespoons.. I add it by the teaspoon and taste
2 cans coconut millk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb tofu drained and cubed.
1/2 head cauliflower chopped into bite size pieces.
1 butternut squash peeled and chopped
1 lb fresh green beans broken into pieces.
1 red bell pepper chopped

Heat oil in wok and stir fry tofu until lightly browned, remove from pan.
Add garlic, ginger and shallot and cook for a minute or two.
Add coconut milk and a teaspoon or two at a time of curry paste and bring to boil.
Add cauliflower and squash and cook 10-15 minutes until they are almost perfectly tender.
Add the rest of the vegetables and cook until just about done.
Add tofu and cook until heated through.

Serve over jasmine rice.

The flavor of the sauce was so light but flavorful, it had just the right amount of spice with the flavor of the coconut coming through. I was nervous about the squash with the sauce but they matched perfectly. 

Luckily I made enough to feed an army so I can eat it all week for leftovers, unfortunately I am a slob in the kitchen so the aftermath is still sitting in the sink and on the counter.

Make it! Eat it! Enjoy it!

Tantric and Xavier Rudd

I have been dying to try Tantric India Bistro in the Theatre District in Boston for quite awhile but I could never get the (ex)bf to go with me, he hates the smell of curry. I finally got the chance to dine there last night, and unfortunately I had hyped it up so much in my mind and from reviews that I expected too much. Or did I? You tell me..

My mother and I were heading into the city for a concert at the Wilbur Theatre, more on that in a minute, we decided Tantric would be perfect. Well, we arrived around 6:30 and it wasn't really busy, maybe about 7 tables with 3 waiters that I saw. Waited about 5 minutes before anyone even came over to seat us, once seated it we were given water almost immediately but it was another 10 minutes before anyone came to see if we wanted drinks. He assumed we were ready to order because our menus were closed but I was really waiting so I could ask for the vegan menu because for some reason the vegetarian options are on the main menu but the vegan one is separate.

I ordered the Persephone's Pleasure cocktail and Aloo Gobi Masallam. My mother ordered a glass of Malbec and the Lauki Kofta in Tomato Gravy. Aloo Gobi Masallam is roasted cauliflower and potatoes with sauteed onions, garlic, ginger and garnished with fresh tomato and cilantro. It was very delicious and seasoned well but was a much heavier dish than I expected and also maybe Thai food has spoiled me because there are always an excellent variety of fresh vegetables in each dish and this one only had the 2.. The Lauki Kofta is Indian green gourd/squash croquets flavored with garlic and green chiles in a light aromatic tomato sauce seasoned with fennel. My mom loved this dish, I did not only because I do not like fennel at all, although the croquets by themselves were pretty good........

All in all the meal was ok but unfortunately service was severely lacking.

Anyways, I'm sick of writing about something that was just ok, let's move on to something amazing, like Xavier Rudd. WOW. I had never heard of him before this week. My parents had tickets to go see him and my dad unfortunately(for him) couldn't make it so my mom asked me to go instead. He is not only gorgeous, but he is a phenomenal singer/songwriter. He plays the guitar, drums AND the didgeridoo. The music is this funky/folky/hippie/make you want to get up and dance kind of music. Oh, and the best part is, he is a vegetarian! Hot, talented and veg? Pretty much a perfect man if you ask me :)

Anyways, that's all for tonight, I am extremely tired. My next post is going to be on the African Sweet Potato Stew I made last week.

Goodnight!