Vegan Mofo: Baking up a storm

There's nothing I like better than spending a weekend morning in the kitchen making baked goods with whatever is left in the cabinets. I would say it feels a bit like playing housewife, especially when S. is in the other room hard at work and I am in the kitchen measuring cups of flour, but its a little pathetic to be "playing" anything at 28, let alone "housewife" when half of my friends are younger than me and married. So, we could say that rather than "playing" I am "being" a house-girlfriend, while simultaneously consciously and consensually reproducing a socially enforced gender role and thus fulfilling my Butler-ian feminist obligations. How 'bout that?

So anyways, the food! I made bagels! I've made them a zillion times before, (and here is a recipe) but this time they were different because I forgot the sugar! So, that was an innovation, of sorts, and they taste a little sour, but not necessarily in a bad way. And like many baked goods, after making them 5 times you can make them with your eyes closed so they aren't really a pain in the ass anymore. Try it, "T's 5X Method" on anything that you don't know how or don't like to do. It really works.

Song Movie of the Day: The Stepford Wives (the original, 70's version)

International Women's Day!

Happy International Women's Day, citizens of the world! Did you know that this holiday was created by a famous German leftist and feminist, Clara Zetkin? And that it used to be international women workers day? And that in the Soviet Bloc it was celebrated like a mixture between Mother's Day and Valentine's Day, with candy and flowers for all the ladies in one's life? Now, I wouldn't promote all traditions of the Soviet Sateelite States (like, say, gulags, just off the top of my head) but I kind of dig this idea! Instead of being owned by Hallmark and having shitty ensemble movies made about it, International Women's Day celebrates all women, not just women who deserve validation because they are attached or have produced offspring.

I rather doubt that I will recieve some commi-red roses or any sweets today, but I decided I would celebrate by mentioning one of my favorite women of all time.


Emma Goldman

"Red Emma" is basically one of the most badass women in history. Born amid progroms in Russia, she emigrated to the US as a teen and was inspired to become involved in radical politics by the Haymarket Affair. She soonafter started a public speaking career that would last the rest of her life. She spoke and wrote about topics as diverse as family planning (she was also a nurse), gay rights, free love, revolution, and mostly, anarchism. She spent countless nights in jail for speaking about things most of us would consider fairly innocuous today. (Oh yeah, but she was sort of involved in an assasination attempt as well.)
She was eventually deported from the US to Russia along with other anarchists for seditious speech, and arrived in her homeland of Russia followning the revolution. Disenchanted by what she saw there, she broke with most of the left in condemning the violence against the population and starvation of large portions of the population while Moscow leaders continued to live in comfort.

In short, the woman never met a popular stance that she didn't disagree with. But she almost prophetically fought for what would become some of the major causes of the twentieth century, long before it was polite (or legal) to do so in public. And if you are looking for a kickass book to read, check out her autobiography, "My Life."

At any rate, I am also an international working woman, so I celebrated this morning with a special treat: a mango-strawberry-banana smoothie and two of Mihl's crispy cherry muffins. They were cinnamon spiked and supremely delicious, great preparation for a day as one of the world's countless working ladies.

Looking for an event to go to or something to do to honor WOMEN? Check out International Women's Day HQ for details.

song of the day: Le Tigre- Feminists We're Calling You!

Breakfast of Champions... or cleaning ladies

Now that I actually have a job (my dream job, as a cleaning lady in a kindergarten) my weekends have taken on extra significance. I used to be happy eating a little bread and jam, but not anymore... now I have to clean out my fridge and eat huge, epic, brunch-like feasts on Saturdays and Sundays. It just makes my celebration that I don't have to use a mop that day all the more enjoyable. This weekend, I made tofu scramble for the first time in, it feels like, years. (In fact, I think it has been years...) This is partly due to the fact that I *finally* found some local tofu that doesn't have the consistency of feta cheese, so now I have to eat it everyday in some form. The above pictured foray back into scrambled tofu territory brought me back to my college days,when me and my 3 roommates would often cook together and tofu scrambles were pretty much standard on weekends. (This was before I mastered pancakes.) Just a bit of tofu, some red peppers and onions, and a bit of turmeric and thyme, and you are cooking with gas. (Or electric. Whatever.)

Sunday I took advantage of the bulk of frozen blueberries in my fridge to whip up some banana blueberry pancakes for S. and I... they were gone before we had finished our first cup of coffee.
Not being satisfied with that carb feast, I also whipped up some sesame-poppyseed bagels to enjoy throughout the week (or, lets be honest, through Tuesday) so that my weekday breakfast can have a little flair as well. As you can see, they turned out lovely, even in my cold kitchen. (Ever since I got the tip to keep rising dough in the oven with a bowl of hot water, I haven't had nearly so many disappointing dough experiences. Thanks, SMP!)

Now, feeling fortified from the weekend, its on to the freezing, mop filled days of the working week... let's hope Spring comes soon...

PS: I added a recipe index, as much for my use as for yours, as well as a page with some photos from my travel. I didn't do an "about me," as blogger suggests because, well, don't the posts say it all?

song of the day: Kanye West- All of the Lights

Shivering in the Kitchen

Ah, my first real winter in Berlin. So far I've been torn between thinking, "Bah, I hate this weather, these gray skies, the fact that I can't understand Celsius enough to figure out what to wear, I hate this continent! winter!" and thinking, "SNOW! Pretty." But I suppose so long as I can reconcile myself to a lot of time spent indoors wearing German military grade long-underwear, I will eventually make it through to the other side. (I guess you can only imagine how I look sitting around all day in men's long underwear, swearing at the cold and applying to an ever broadening selection of jobs. Its pretty damn attractive, let me tell you.)

In the meantime, I'm trying to bring in sunshine via baking! What you see above is yet another batch of bagels (although that one has no hole, interesting) topped with peanut butter, bananas, and a drizzle of maple syrup, the very best thing about winter. I also attempted to make pumpkin cinnamon rolls the other day, as promised, but oddly the dough never rose! I tested the yeast so it should have, and I'll have to chalk this one up to the mysterious different flours in this country and their vastly different rising properties. Oh well.

Another delicious recent meal was the potato-mushroom enchiladas (rather than kale) from Veganomicon complimented, just for fun, with Venezuelan black beans and Orange rice from Viva Vegan. This wasn't exactly the kind of meal that you whip together in a few minutes, but I had some hungry friends coming over and suspected that Enchiladas alone would not do. (I usually make two batches and its still not enough for a small group.) I may have used every pot and pan in the kitchen, but everything turned out delicious- spicy, savory and sweet. And let's face it, as an unemployed and freezing cold American I have lots of time to spend in a nice toasty kitchen.
Song of the Day: The National- Conversation 16

From the Archives:
More Bagels!
More Enchiladas!
More Viva Vegan!

Austerity Measures: Baking

So you may have heard about the austerity measures introduced in Europe that many are protesting these days- cutbacks on government spending designed to reduce debt. Unfortunately, we are also participating in my household- not just to reduce debt (ha) but because there is no more money to spend. Turns out getting a job isn't as easy as I'd hoped... nevertheless, I am prepared! From a whole year of insanely cheap living in Brussels I have honed my skills for cheapest of the cheap living. And one of my favorite tactics to eat inexpensively but not feel overly deprived is to use lots and lots of flour. Pancakes, bagels, muffins, pierogies, and more can be had majorly on the cheap, especially if you keep a well-stocked pantry leftover from more profitable times. Not to mention when you are making something with dough, you are usually getting something you can eat all week. And of course, baking is also fun. :)

So in the spirit of saving dough through dough, I have 3 recipes to offer (as opposed to the usual none). First, the delicious Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles pictured above are from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar! and the recipe can be found (along with a helpful video) on the Post Punk Kitchen website, here. I'm not usually the biggest cookie person (more Team Cupcake, if you must know) but these were so amazing its ridiculous. They are made with very simple ingredients that you already have and I don't even want to tell you how quickly they disappeared.

Next up, here is a recipe for *slightly healthier* bagels that are a nice treat with peanut butter and bananas, or soy cream cheese.
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Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

-1 packet active yeast
-3.5 Tbs sugar, or sub out 1/2 with agave nectar
-1.5 C. warm water
-2.5 tsp. cinnamon
-1/2 C. raisins (or cranberries)
-1.5 C. whole wheat flour
-2.5 C. flour (Europeans: I recommend Type 1050 for bagels)
-2 tsp. salt
-1/2 c. oatmeal flakes

1.) Combine yeast and water in a large bowl and let sit for 5-10 minutes, until starts to bubble.
2.) Add in both kinds of flour, salt, sugar, raisins, and cinnamon. Knead together for 10-15 minutes, using additional flour if necessary, until dough is less sticky but not completely dry, and relatively smooth. (The raisins might want to fight their way out, but stick them back in.)
3.) Drizzle a bit of vegetable oil in a large bowl and place dough inside, flipping to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp towel or plastic wrap and set somewhere sunny. Let dough rise for at least an hour.
4.) In the meantime, set up your bagel workshop. Here's how it should look: on one side you have a large floured surface that you can roll the bagels on. This is right near the stove top, where you have a large pot filled with water. Then, a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and finally a plate filled with the oatmeal flakes.
5.) So, after an hour, bring the large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and preheat the oven to 400(f) or 200(c). While these items are heating up, you get to form the bagels! Punch the risen dough down and divide into 8 separate balls (for big, huge bagels) or 10 for smaller ones. On your floured surface, roll each piece into a loose ball, flatten a bit in a thick circle, and pierce a hole through the middle using your thumb. Smooth out a bit and place on floured surface.
5.) Now its time to boil the bagels. On one side, you have your floured surface with 8-10 bagels. In the middle you have the boiling water. On the other side, a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Lower bagels (carefully!) two at a time into boiling water, and let boil for about 3 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Remove each with a slotted spoon to cookie sheet and repeat with the next batch. As soon as bagels are cool enough to handle, dip quickly into oatmeal.
6.) When all bagels have been boiled and dipped, place cookie sheet in oven and cook for 15-20 minutes (depending on your oven and bagel size.) They should be golden brown and fully raised. Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack until ready to eat!

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And finally, here are some lecker muffins bedecked with plum and a hint of ginger that one can enjoy using tiny baby plums or regular sized ones.

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Plum and Ginger Muffins

2 C. Flour
1/2 C. Sugar
1 Tbs. Baking powder
1 Tbs. Soy Flour
1 C. Soymilk
1/4 C. veg oil
Pinch salt
1 C. plums, peeled and diced into small pieces
1 Tbs. Ginger, diced into very small pieces

1.) First, preheat oven to 400(f) or 200(c) and line a muffin tin with muffin liners.
2.) Next, deal with your plums. If they are very small plums you don't have to bother peeling them, but for the larger ones go ahead because the peels can be a tiny smidge bitter. Slice in half, remove pit, and chop into smaller chunks.
3.) Peel a large chunk of ginger and dice or grate into very small pieces, a tablespoon's worth. Mix together with plums.
4.) Mix together wet ingredients then sift in dry ingredients. Stir until everything is wet, then add in plums and ginger. Stir until "just mixed" then ladle into muffin tin, filling each cup a little more than halfway. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.


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Hmm, and speaking of baking, time to go take out the next round of bagels...

Random Foodage

Its been a busy couple of weeks here in Berlin. Between writing my dissertation, working (or mostly watching work get done) on our new apartment, and watching Germany's AMAZING ascent in the World Cup, there hasn't been a lot of time for more than delicious vegan currywurst from Vegetarian Diner at Goerlitzer Park. However, I did manage to make my Chipotle Plantain Enchiladas once more, this time relying on 3 tbs. of chipotle powder (still delicious) and to pump out some much needed bagels.

Although bagels are becoming more common at specialty stores in Berlin, I still love my Vegan Brunch recipe the most. This time I topped them with a mix of sesame and poppy seeds along with a little paprika. Perfect with avocados and tomatoes for a lunch at the library. :)

Another library lunch winner? Making a variety of leftover-producing little dishes that compliment eachother. I made a quickie beet salad- with chunks of roasted red beets and fresh grapefruit in a dressing made with grapefruit juice and agave nectar. Then, I made a broccoli salad with toasted sesame seeds, reduced orange juice, a little soy sauce, fresh ginger and sesame oil. (Toasted sesame seeds are so tasty! Like popcorn... except miniscule.) And then finally I made a huge batch of red lentils and rice with caramelized onions from V'Con. This was great, but I should have upped the onion content, because that's really where the magic comes from.


And now, back to work!

Song of the Day: The Mary Onettes- Lost

Bagel Mania and Haiti

For the last two weeks I have been doing only two things: writing papers, and making bagels. (Well, 3 things if you count eating the bagels.) I've basically been chilling in Berlin with S. and hyperventilating over my various topics in between massive bagel orgies. (I also developed a cool way to stack bagels for brunch, as illustrated.) I used the recipe from Vegan Brunch which I thoughtfully received over the holidays. Man that cookbook is awesome.

So basically we've been making both sesame seed and *trying* to make blueberry bagels, with varying degrees of success. Apparently the trick is to fold the blueberries in when frozen, quickly before rolling out the dough and boiling. However, I think the real trick might just be using dried blueberries... well, I'll give that a shot next time.

Anyways, I know bagels seem like a bit of a chore to make from scratch, but I would encourage people to try them. Like tamales, once you get the hang of it, its simple. And best of all, the end product of your hard work is BAGELS! I.e., avacado's best friend! Coffee's soul-mate! And the best thing to bring to brunch, hands down.

At any rate, the bagel part of the week was exciting, but I was somewhat less thrilled to hear about Haiti. One of my paper topics had to do with Haiti's debt to France (a very terrible story, as a matter of fact), so I was already spending a lot of time focusing on Port Au Prince when I heard the news from Berlin. Naturally, the vegan community is usually one of the best responders to things like this (since people that care about animals usually care about people, too!) so I know many of you are probably donating and participating in vegan bake sales. (If not, head on over to the PPK blog for more info.) My Dad, as a journalist, is there right now. And while I'm worried about him, I also know that journalists do a service during times of disaster by drawing attention to the needs of the community in harm's way, so I'm also very proud! Here are a few pictures he sent...


Hope that all of you in the blogosphere are safe, and if you are take a moment to thank your lucky stars (and donate a few more dollars...)!