Vegan Mofo: Sweet Potato w/ Apple Corn Salsa

Hey guys! Just a normal Monday night, nothing too exciting but as its Vegan Mofo I will share my simple dinner. This was a baked sweet potato with some garlicky kale and "apple corn salsa" which is actually really good. You just saute some chopped red onion and add in a chopped apple and a handful of corn. Salt and pepper it up, then when everything is well-cooked add in a splash of balsamic vinegar.

The kale was also special because its super-rare in Berlin (at least, as far as I can tell.) I found a stand at the Farmers Market last week selling it so I bought a metric ton and froze it so I can have kale all winter!

Hurrah! Not every day can be exciting. :P

Song of the Day: Nie Mehr- CRo

Corn Soup and Scenes from late summer

I love summer as much as the next Leo, but can anything beat the back-to-school feel of early September? You still have all the best things about summer- sunshine, perfectly ripe veggies and fruit, a tan- but the focus subtly shifts from decadence and laziness to a feeling of getting down to business. I'm not in school anymore, but I still love to re-arrange my closet, sharpen my pencils, and get to work.

But even so, here in Budapest the last few weeks have had all of the pleasures of late summer- perfect bike riding weather, all the amazing peaches, plums, and sweet corn you can eat, and even a quick day trip to Tokaj, Hungary's volcanic wine region. (As you can see from the photos above, its pretty gorgeous, and full of cute dogs.) But now, with the days already getting shorter I'm ready to get on my grind. And for me, that also means actually cooking, instead of, say, rubbing garlic and tomatoes on crusty bread for dinner every night. (Not that this isn't a lovely meal.)

Last night I decided to cook all the leftover bounty into a nice hot soup (that's right Hungarians, none of this cold creamed frout soup bullshit, I'm an American!) with plenty of late summer's greatest hits. Wilted peppers, sweet corn and their cobs, with just tomatoes and potatoes for a little umami and heft. It was deeply satisfying, and actually easy enough that you could probably figure it out yourselves, but I'll give you just a run down of how I made it below and you can adjust it to what's left in your kitchen if you so desire.


****
End of Summer Corn Soup
1. Make the stock- remove the kernels of corn from 2-3 cobs of corn and set aside. Fill a stock pot 3/4's full with water, and add in: the leftover cobs, 1 onion cut in half, 2-3 smashed garlic cloves, a buillon cube, salt, and several whole peppercorns (a dried chili wouldn't be out of place either, just be sure to fish it out later). Let it boil down for an hour or so.

2. Next add in a good glop of olive oil and any chopped up veggies and beans that you have laying around- diced red peppers, diced boiling potatoes, peas, cranberry beans, greens, the corn, ect.

Serve with salt and pepper and crusty bread, and baby, you got a soup on!
****

Yes, I'm fully intent on squeezing the last bit of summer into my Fall, and also getting every last minute of enjoyment out of Budapest. In a few weeks I will head to Belgrade, Serbia for a conference, and then back to Germany... and who knows where the wind will take me next?


Song of the Day: Squeeze- Tempted

Quinoa Corn Chowder

Perhaps a future chapter in my autobiography will read as follows:


"I shall always remember the first occasion on which I realized that soups could change my life. It was the winter of 2011, and I faced a dangerous trifecta of unemployment, ever-growing debt, and a kitchen practically devoid of fresh food. As I often did during those dark times, I sat on the kitchen cabinet drinking coffee, absent-mindedly flipping through cookbooks, and waiting for the phone to ring offering me a job. As the radio blasted monotonous German electro-pop, I came across a recipe in Terry Hope Romero's now classic, Viva Vegan, Quinoa Corn Chowder with Limas and Aji. I sighed... oh, those fat summer days, when both sweet summer corn and money were plentiful! I pined for the past, before law school, when the world seemed full of meals and possibilities.

Suddenly, I realized: I had some frozen sweet corn in the freezer! Racing to my pantry I discovered I also had quinoa, some red beans, and a passable number of the spices! With a gleam in my eye, I gathered my last few cents and raced to Kaisers, hoping to find a decent avocado to round out my meal. Miraculously, on the top of the pile sat the last passably ripe avocado, beckoning to me.

A few hours later, I sat with S., staring at my creation: bursting with corn, plumped quinoa, red beans, a warming spicy broth, and ripe chunks of avocado, it looked amazing. And friends, it was. I sent up a quick prayer of thanks to God for blessing the planet with that celebrated genius Romero, and dug in. Maybe things were just about to turn around, I thought to myself. If I can eat like this when the money has dried up, just imagine what I can do when that phone finally rings..."

And then hopefully the next chapter will be about when Angela Merkel calls to personally offer me a job heading up the brand new German open-borders refugee agency... or at least that Irish pub finally hits me back for a waitressing gig.

Song of the Day: Die Sterne- Universal Tellerwascher

Sweet Corn Risotto and More

Fresh fig and Peanut-butter toast in the backyard... Ah, America!

I tried to eat absolutely everything I can't get my hands on easily in Europe while staying in DC, and I think I nearly succeeded. Most important was sweet corn and vidalia onions, which were so delicious I could have cried. (Is it weird to like onions as much as I do? What happens to you if you eat too many?) I saw a recipe in the Washington Post for sweet corn risotto, so I decided to give it a whirl for an evening when my friend James came over to cram for the bar exam. (Majorly flashback inducing.)

Basically, you do your typical risotto recipe (which I have published on here so many times its crazy) and then at the very end add in 3 ears worth of corn kernels. Stir until corn kernels are plump, then serve, with green onions on top.

I thought it was good, although with such a light addition to the risotto the broth really shines through, so be sure to use a good quality one. In addition, I thought it might benefit from some heirloom tomatoes added in at the last minute. I served them on the side drenched in balsamic and it went together perfectly.

Another great dinner was my standard fare: rice and beans, cinnamon-baked plantains, and avocados. This time I kicked up the rice by adding some orange juice, but other than that it was the same old rice and beans, and they were delicious as ever.

For the plantains, its the same technique as I made for the chipotle plantain enchiladas, except I tossed them in maple syrup along with the cinnamon, salt and pepper, and paprika. These babies cooked up great in about 45 minutes at 375.

I'm sure my parents won't miss me destroying the kitchen for dinner every night, but it was so fun to eat all my favorites. And now its back to Berlin...

Song of the Day: Squeeze- Tempted

Summertime in the USA

Now this is American summer to me: soy hot dogs, grocery store buns, vidalia onions and ketchup. Oh yeah, and 110 degree weather. I'm back in DC for a wedding, but I intend to squeeze a lot of enjoyment out of my visit, particularly since I missed July 4th. I want to ride bikes with my Dad, talk anarchism and art with my little brother, and see movies and cook with my Mom. And after a whole year of heady, strong, luscious German and Belgian beer... I'm ready for some weak-ass Miller Light and Yuengling. :P

I've also been missing having easy access to a grill in Berlin and decided to have an all-grilled dinner for my first night back.

We made grilled corn, generously bedecked with earth balance, salt and pepper. Also grilled slices of sweet potatoes, marinated in lime juice, maple syrup, and mustard (and a little olive oil) that was brushed on during the grilling. And finally kebabs with a line-up of cherry tomatoes, marinated tempeh, and vidalia onion chunks. It was a great and filling meal- and lord how I've missed sweet corn and vidalia onions! I had no idea.


I intend to do a lot more cooking for the brief time I'm home and catch up on all the southern specialties I've been missing, particularly fresh blueberries and (sigh!) kale. Ahhh. Its good to be back.

Song of the Day: Tom Petty- American Girl

Tamales!

This year for Christmas dinner I was in the mood for something kind of challenging, since my cooking has been repetitive at best and "just pancakes" at worst. After seeing Tofu Mom's post about tamales on her awesome blog, I figured they were just the ticket.


Now, everyone has their own method of making tamales, and I won't expound too much on the recipe here since you can find it in many places, including the above post and in your trusty Veganomicon. But what I will say is that even though I've often enjoyed these goodies at local Salvadorean and Mexican restaurants, they always seemed a bit too complicated to make: like you need to be in a kitchen in Mexico with your grandmother explaining to you exactly how to do it. And while it was tricky to find the corn husks, even in DC, I think the grocery shopping was actually the most complicated part. The rest of it, while time consuming, is not really difficult.

Essentially, you make the filling first, which could really be anything, then flour mixture, then assemble it in a corn husk, wrap and steam. We chose to make a simple mushroom filling, as well as a black bean and sweet potato filling (just a can of black beans, a steamed sweet potato, and some cumin and cinnamon.) The result was gorgeous little bundles of joy that looked not unlike presents, and were perfect with some salsa and soy sour cream. (Guac would also be a good addition.)
Unfortunately, we didn't have any leftovers, but I'm told they are very simple to freeze and enjoy later on. They were so perfect with some caesar salad on the side as a light and festive Christmas dinner.

My family actually liked it so much that when I took off for more days of miserable travel, this time to reach Hamburg for a new years celebration, they decided to make more! This time my Dad and little brother made the filling out of black beans, sweet potatoes, and garlic spinach, which sounds incredibly delicious. They also wrapped them in banana leaves which they were able to find at a market close by. My Dad's tip? "The trick is to have the masa kinda soupy, like thick peanut butter, and spread on on with a spatula, then a little filling."

My tip would be to make them as soon as possible because they are fabulous and hard to mess up!

Song of the Day: Flaming Lips- I can be a frog

Good luck with Bad luck

(Obligatory Brussels Photo: Grand Platz!)

I'm always amazed at how people can continue to latch on to the belief that people are inherently bad, selfish animals. Sure, you can find plenty of evil things that people do, but they so dim in comparison to the incredibly good things that people do, for no apparent benefit to themselves.

Take the other day. I'm on the bus, and this girl in the seat across from me leaves her cellphone without noticing. The girl sitting next to her, leaps off the bus, and runs down the street to return it to her. In the process, the bus doors close, leaving her to wait for the next bus 15-20 minutes later. Most remarkably, this girl just smiled and shrugged when the doors closed in her face! Just to be nice, she missed her stop and added another wait to her, no doubt, busy morning. I love people.

A similarly bizarre kind thing happened to me the other day, when I was approached by someone who recognized me from my drivers license photo and handed back my wallet! The money was gone, but the documents and identity cards were all intact! Its so amazing how the initial tragedy- losing the wallet, is completely out-shined by the random act of kindness that followed it.

My friend Kat said that I evidently have "good luck with bad luck", and I couldn't agree more! She also made me this amazing pumpkin soup that somehow, magically, lasted me a week when I was dying without my money access cards. There are more recipes for pumpkin soup out there than anything, but this one was basically pumpkin, potatoes, shallots, soy creamer, and veggie bouillon. It was, needless to say, simple and amazing!

When I finally got my money back, I got more good luck: I finally found some black beans! You wouldn't think this would be such a triumph, but I've really been dying for them and they are, evidently, very rare in these parts. I cooked them up with some hot sauce, onions and tomatoes, and served them in a tortilla with sauteed mushrooms and corn with some lime yogurt and avocados. I was literally in heaven. Certainly the first thing I will do upon return to the US is pig out on the freely-available Mexican food!

But still, even with all the good luck, the food expenses here are killing me. I've been eating a lot of witch-sauce, rice, couscous, lentils... I need to get back into strategizing a healthy diet with a shoe-string budget. No more avacados and eggplant for me, its back to basics! But then, restrictions can be good for your creativity as well... Wish me more good luck!

More black beans: chipotle black beans and red quinoa
More pumpkin:Kabocha, Eggplant, and Mushroom Stir-Fry
More Mushrooms: Creamy Mushroom and Leek Risotto


Song of the Day: The Clash- Career Opportunities

Pasta with Creamy Lemon sauce, mushrooms and corn

Its no secret that I'm hugely obsessed with Russian history at the moment. So I was stoked to find a huge tome about the Russian Revolution at a used bookstore, and it has been my constant companion in the morning along with a cup of coffee while I pretend to ignore the thousands of things I have to do before I leave. At any rate, I read this paragraph this morning, about a moment on the historic 25th February, 1917, and I had to share it:

"A young girl appeared from the ranks of the demonstrators and walked slowly toward the Cossacks. Everyone watched her in nervous silence: surely the Cossacks would not fire at her? From under her cloak the girl brought out a bouquet of red roses and held it out towards the officer. There was a pause. The bouquet was a symbol of both peace and revolution. And then, leaning down from his horse, the officer smiled and took the flowers.With as much relief as jubilation, the crowd burst into a thunderous 'Oorah!'" (Figes, A People's Tragedy, 310)

Can you believe that really happened!? Just a reminder that truth is wilder than fiction in this crazy world...

Anyways! Despite the hustle and bustle of my last week in town, and my conflicting desire to lie around and read all day, I managed to make something really scrumptious for dinner, so good in fact, that I made it twice. Its a pasta sauce with lemon, white wine, cream, mushrooms and corn... its too delicious for words. Actually, I think it might be suited well to something other than pasta, but I can't think of what yet. So let me just share the recipe, and hopefully you can think of something better to do with this delicious sauce.

Creamy Lemon Sauce with Mushrooms and Corn

-2 small or one big shallot, diced
-Zest and juice of one large lemon
-3/4 C. baby bella or any other type mushroom, sliced
-1/2 C. dry white wine
-Corn from 1-2 sweet corn husks
-3 T. soy creamer
-3 T. Earth Balance

1. In a large pan over medium heat, add shallots, zest, mushrooms, white wine, and lemon juice. Simmer for 10 minutes or so, until liquid has reduced by 3/4.
2. Add in corn and stir, cooking for another minute or so.
3. Add in cream and reduce heat to low. Continuously stirring, add in EB by the tablespoon, waiting for one to melt before adding the next.

Serve immediately over whole wheat pasta or...?


And thanks to everybody for the tips on what to bring abroad. You guys are brilliant. I think I have narrowed the list to the following:
-Veganomicon
-Nooch and Arrowroot powder (would that I could bring EB)
-wooden spoon, measuring spoons and cups (yeah, f*ck the metric system!)
-my immersion blender (I just cannot resist.)

Also (because I haven't jumped around enough in this post), I would like to direct you all to go read this awesome post by The Discerning Brute about masculinity and consumption of meat. Its so enraging that people think strength or vitality is conveyed by eating a diet of rotting flesh, and yet this stereotype persists, trapping both women and men in its nonsense. Thank goodness young people have such an array of awesome male and female role models to choose from showing that considering your ethics when you eat is subversive and powerful!

Song of the Day: Ben Folds Five- Underground

Caffeine Alternatives

Something about summertime makes the following things mandatory to consume daily, at least for me: mango, lime, corn, ginger, avocado. Well, actually, these are pretty much year-long obsessions. But, there is something about hot weather that entices you to eat things with less preparation, to add a little kick or spice to something and call it a day. Its either laziness or a testament to how sweet summer produce is, or a little of both. (Actually, all of those things together are pretty awesome too.)

My favorite mid-day snack and caffeine-alternative at the moment is mango, doused in lime juice, salt and pepper, (shout out to M.I.A.!) or alternatively, lime juice and sriracha. The salt and pepper just adds a little kick, while sriracha turns it into weird spicy candy. Both effectively kick me back into study mode. Splashed down with a little homemade ginger limeade (still working on the recipe) and I'm in heaven. Ginger is another one of those foods that seems to go straight to my head and wake me up. And lord knows, I'm not above trying anything that will wake me up. (Well, except for like, meth.:P)

The other night to celebrate my brother being in town we had a little bbq with even more summer goodness- sweet corn with lime and earth balance, marinated grilled mushrooms, garlic-sauteed spinach and home-fries. It's so convenient to have grill access for quick and easy suppers after a long hard day of... studying in the air conditioning. I'm trying to get braver about trying things on it, since I tend to burn all things that are not vegetable kebabs.


And speaking of studying, back to it! In exactly 3 weeks from today I'll be walking out of the NY bar exam a free woman!

Song of the day: Regina Spektor- Dance Anthems of the Eighties

More spicy summer lovin:
Instant Mango Avocado Salsa
Jerk Tofu, Mashed Plaintains, Garlicky Kale
Spicy Gingered Chickpeas
Chipotle Black Beans and Red Quinoa

Cowboy Corn Cakes w/ salsa, caramelized onions and avocado cream

I whipped up these corn-cakes the other night in a effort to use up some cobs of sweet corn and the rest of the avocado-lime-cream. All the recipes I've seen for them would have made Paula Deen blush by how packed with butter and eggs they were, so I was a little skeptical about coming up with a vegan version. I shouldn't have been, obviously! It never ceases to amaze how unnecessary eggs and butter often are. Not only were these awesomely yummy without being totally heart-attack inducing, but they brought to mind the kind of easy and hearty food cowboys might eat around the campfire, after a long day of... hmmm, what exactly do cowboys do, other than get in fights in saloons? Anybody know?

Well at any rate, they were super topped with spicy salsa and avocado cream and I highly recommend them for yourself and any badass vegan cowboys you may know. Thinly sliced scallions might be a good addition to the batter as well.



Corn Cakes
-1 C. flour
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1 tsp. salt

-1/8 tsp. onion powder/ season salt (optional)
-1 C. soymilk
-1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
-2 C. corn kernels (preferably fresh)
-2 Tbs. earth balance, melted
-1 tsp. agave nectar

1.) Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and onion powder and set aside. If using fresh corn, carefully cut corn off of cobb, cutting close enough to get some of the pulp. (If you're like me, the corn flies everywhere, so maybe do this into a bowl.)
2.) Whisk together soymilk and apple cider vinegar and set aside.

3.) Add 3/4 C. of the corn, the melted margarine, and agave nectar. Process until fairly smooth. (Some lumps= ok.)
4.) Grease and heat a griddle to medium heat. Combine the wet and dry ingredients along with the rest of the corn and whisk together until "just mixed." Ladle onto the griddle in small batches, heating about 2 minutes on each side.

Serve with salsa (as long as its not made in New York City, since cowboys hate that), caramelized onions, and avocado cream or guacamole. :)

Song of the Day: The Thrills- Big Sur

Cupcakes and Heartbreak Salad

When your relationship ends, the whole world comes to a stop. Minutes seem like days and its hard to believe that you will ever want to listen to music, read a book, or eat anything that doesn't come out of a box again. However, if you can drag yourself out of bed and away from the Jameson's, its possible that some sifting, chopping, and mixing could cheer you a little.

Well, it did for me. Just a little.

The cupcakes I made for a friend's birthday party which she conveniently held at my bar. They're both from VCTOTW. On the left we have the gingerbread cupcakes topped with lemon cream-cheese icing, and on the right the strawberry tallcakes (a variation on my favorite chocolate cherry cream cupcakes. While the tallcakes were good and very pretty, the gingerbread cupcakes were INSANE. Kind of spicy and slightly salty, topped with the most fabulous icing I have ever had, vegan or not. My roomate was furious with me when I polished off the last of those two babies.

Seriously, try them. Its always nice to be the one bringing cupcakes to the party. :)

After the rush of the weekend, I was still (understandably, I think) pretty miserable. On a whim I stopped into Wholefoods, vaguely planning to get something from the to-go section. But walking through the produce aisle, inspiration struck. Some bright and ripened mangos caught my eye, reminding me of all the mango trees in Cuba and what a wonderful thing it is to reach up and grab a juicy piece of fruit when its hot outside. Some avacado and fresh corn got tossed in, reminding me of a delicious guacamole they have at a restaurant in Atlanta that I commonly frequented when I was single. Some fresh cucumbers and tomatoes so red they made me smile. And finally, some wasabi dressing- to wake me up and work magic with the avacado.



So I chopped up all the veggie, sliced off the corn kernals, cubed the mango and avacado, and tossed it all the with dressing. (Actually, I made enough for two servings and squeezed some lemon on one so it would keep for the next day.) Maybe its not the prettiest picture, but believe me. This salad is magic. The entire time I ate it, the sun was shining in the window and all my favorite food memories were popping in my head. I couldn't think about the break-up for even one bite. Now that's a good salad. I highly recommend it next time you find yourself eyeing the boxed mashed potatoes and cookie crisp.

Two-bean Cinnamon Soul Power Chili!

Everyone and their vegan blogger mother has a recipe for chili. And with good reason: just a little variation (sweet potatoes, zuchinni, chocolate?! ect) changes the taste totally. Its also a good clean-out-the-cupboard dish- and that was the plan tonight. I've been meaning to try some of the awesome looking variations from the vegan blogosphere, but I ended up just tossing a bunch of things in and hoping for the best. But here were some of my inspirations:

*Chipotle sweet potato and black bean chili from Swell Vegan
*Red Bean and Lager Chili from Veggie Meal Plans
*Chocolate Chipotle Chili from The Urban Vegan
*Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili from Vegan Visitor

So I took the idea to use sweet potatoes and cinnamon, and the rest all came together based on what I had around (beer! tomato puree! corn!) And actually, it turned out super-fabulous. So here it is, my very own...

Two Bean Cinnamon Soul Power Chili!

1 big ole onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
1 sweet potato, you guessed it, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1-2 jalapenos, sliced and seeded
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can tomato puree
1 can diced tomatoes
3/4 c. frozen corn
1 bottle of vegan Lager
Varying amounts of the following: salt, pepper, sugar, cinnamon, smoked paprika, chili powder, habanero sauce

1. Toss your onion and garlic in a big ole pot with your choice of oil at medium heat. After a few minutes, add in the sweet potato, red pepper and jalapeno, and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and cinnamon. Stir and cover for 5 minutes.
2. Pour in about 1/3 of the beer and cover again- checking occassionally to see if the sweet potatoes are tender (about 5 minutes). Once they are, add in the beans, tomatoes and sauce. Add a few pinches of sugar to cut the acidity.
3. Now comes the spicing. People have different ideas of whats spicy, so start out with 1 tsp. of chili powder and a few dashes of habanero sauce, and add more depending on how spicy you're feeling. ( I probably ended up with about 2 tsp. and 8 dashes and it was spicy but not too much for my Mom.) Add in the rest of the beer, frozen corn, and more water as needed to make it saucier. Bring to a simmer then lower the heat and cover until ready to serve.

Serve over sliced and lightly fried store-bought polenta.

*And for dessert I had "vegan" muffins that my little brother made with soymilk. How freaking cute is that!?*