Food As Art

My mom worked in the art field while I was growing up. So naturally I was always drawing, painting, or working on an arts and crafts project. Until recently, I never thought to turn food into art. One of Danny's coworkers is an art specialist, and she introduced him to "watermelon sculpture." We checked out some YouTube videos on the subject and became intrigued. One particular series of videos, by Chef Chang, seemed really easy to follow. We decided to start with an easy flower design. One thing we noticed was that Chef Chang used a special "bird beak knife" to carve intricate designs in the watermelon. I was able to find this set on Amazon, but you might already have a thin carving tool in your own kitchen. After some hesitation, we dove right into carving and surprised ourselves with the end result!                                                                                                                       

You don't need to create a fancy sculpture to create food art. By simply paying attention to detail as you plate your dishes, you can create a satisfying work of art. I have found this to be especially important in raw food. The color and design of raw food dishes provides an additional sensory experience that makes the meal even more enticing. You can play up the natural colors and shapes of raw fruit and vegetables to enhance the taste, smell, and texture of a dish. This is also a useful technique in getting kids to eat more fruits and vegetables. Kids are drawn to anything visually appealing. You can use food design to make meals "fun" for kids (remember the old "ants on a log?"). 

Here are some of my recent creations that look just as great as they taste....

Strawberry Banana Parfaits for my mom's birthday

luscious chocolate avocado mousse, cashew vanilla cream, strawberries, and bananas layer to form a dessert that looks decadent, but is healthy and comes together in a snap

Raw Swiss Chard Salad

rainbow swiss chard, thinly sliced carrot (I usually shred them, but my garden carrots just looked so beautiful this way), onion, raisins, almonds, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, and maple syrup

Southwestern Purslane Salad

Purslane is a highly nutritious edible weed that adds a delicate quality to any salad. It makes a beautiful garnish to any dish as well. Here I added tomato, cucumber, onion, avocado, and a Southwestern style creamy chipotle cashew dressing

And some other pictures of my recent culinary adventures 

(though not as visually appealing as the pictures above)....

My first attempt at veganizing my past love, quiche, was a success! 

Tweaking this recipe, I created a rich filling that included kale, swiss chard, 

broccoli leaves, and leeks. I also used an organic spelt flour crust that I found in 

Fairway Market (it's probably carried in Whole Foods as well).

Vegan Diner Night!

TLT's (tempeh bacon, lettuce, tomato, and hummus) sandwiches, cole slaw, 

pickles, and sauerkraut - way healthier than my typical high school lunch!

(Almost Raw) Thai Peanut Noodles

zucchini noodles, carrots, onions, cilantro, raw peanuts, peanut butter, lime juice, 

olive oil, maple syrup, mellow white miso, and tamari 

And from the garden...

garlic is finally ready!

and big fat carrots!

A First Taste of Spring

      I'm currently on "Spring Break" from school this week. That translates to studying for 3 exams, working on a group project, and taking advantage of my "free time" to make the doctor appointments that I've been putting off all year. I tested a few new recipes over the past two weeks, including:

• VegWeb's Barbecue Tempeh - a little too tomatoey and sweet for my taste; Danny pinpointed the missing flavor, and with a few drops of liquid smoke we had the barbecue taste we were looking for
• Mexicali Tofu Bowl - my version of Chipotle's Burrito Bowl using the "Mexicali Tofu Scramble" from Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook as my base: rice sprinkled with fresh lime, black bean mash, salsa marinated tofu scramble, sauteed peppers and onions, and black olives served with corn tortillas; amazing as is, but next time I would add some guacamole, corn, and fresh cilantro

•  Homemade pizza - This isn't a new recipe, and I think I've mentioned it before. It's becoming a weekly thing now because it's such a quick and easy recipe: Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough layered with tomato sauce, grilled veggies (Trader Joe's frozen eggplant and zucchini blend), sundried tomatoes, and olives. Bon appetit!

• VegWeb's Cinnamon Buns - I have finally overcome my fear of yeast! This recipe was definitely time-consuming, but most of it was downtime (letting the yeast rise). The instructions were so easy to follow, and the buns came out perfectly! I brought them to my friend's Arbonne party, and she had an amazing array of all vegan desserts prepared: homemade pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, and gluten-free banana waffles topped with ice cream! 

• Spicy Wehani and Cashews - I usually never follow the suggested recipes on food packaging, but I bought a bulk box of my favorite aromatic nutty brown "Lundberg Wehani Rice," and wanted to try something new with it. I tested this recipe in my new cast-iron dutch oven, which reminded me of the amazing little cast-iron pot that my roommate's family swore by to cook their Puerto Rican rice dishes. The rice came out really fragrant and moist in the dutch-oven, and best of all - no sticking to the bottom of the pot!  If you can handle the bold flavors of cumin and cloves, try this recipe! 

To make all of these tasty dishes, I need some fresh, inexpensive veggies! Hence, my backyard garden! My dad and I started some organic seeds indoors a over a week ago, and they are doing well. We planted indoors: kale, tatsoi (an Asian green), red swiss chard, green lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, bell peppers, basil, butternut squash, delicata squash, cilantro, San Marzano tomatoes, and another unidentified tomato variety from my dad's family in Sicily. My dad went a little seed-happy and threw handfuls of seed into each cell, so we have lots of thinning to do! Outdoors we planted peas, sugar snap peas, red radish, mizuna (another Asian green), Indian Mustard, and garlic (from Sophia Garden, planted last fall). I've been on a gardening kick lately, thanks to two great events I attended this past weekend. On Friday, I attended the Small Farm Summit at SUNY Old Westbury. This conference attracted hundreds of Long Islanders interested in supporting sustainable local agriculture. The keynote address was given by Joel Salatin, the famous organic farmer and author featured in Michael Pollan's books and documentaries like Food Inc. and Fresh. At the event, I attended a lecture on starting an organic garden and another that featured new and experienced farmers on Long Island. There was also an expo at the event center featuring non-profit organizations and sustainable businesses on Long Island. The next day, Danny and I attended the Cornell University Cooperative Extension's Spring Gardening School in Riverhead. We attended two informative lectures by Master Gardeners: one on Asian herb & vegetable gardening and the other on growing vegetables. The Asian lecture was given by this cute and funny little Thai woman who made it sound really easy to grow things like ginger and lemongrass indoors. She went through so many other exotic herbs and vegetables that can grow outdoors in my region or in the home. The vegetable gardening lecture was given by a British man who runs an organic farm on eastern Long Island that grows just for food pantries! It's a beautiful day today, so I'm going to go study outside and watch my plants grow! Oh, and don't forget Earth Day (tomorrow, April 22nd!)

Cook Now, Study Later

  It feels like forever since I wrote my last post. This past week dragged on way too long. I had exams in two different classes yesterday, so I spent most of the weekend studying after working the 5am opening shifts at Starbucks. I don't know if I've mentioned before, but I'm working towards a Masters in Nutrition and Registered Dietitian certification. I applied to Hunter College in Manhattan, so I'm still waiting to hear if I've been accepted to the program. For the past year, I've been taking the pre-requisite science courses at my local community college. I was also busy playing homemaker this week, since my mom was visiting my grandpa in Florida for his 93rd birthday. I always cook my own meals, but this week I had to feed my dad as well. He was born and raised in Sicily, so he really only has a taste for dishes with familiar Mediterranean ingredients. In addition to Italian food, I can usually serve him Greek or Middle Eastern style dishes, but Asian is out of the question. I made the "French Lentil Soup with Tarragon and Thyme" and "Chestnut Lentil Pate" recipes from Veganomicon one night. The soup was nice, but next time I would add tiny pasta and give it a spicy kick with cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes. I used a bag of organic roasted chestnuts that I bought at a Korean market in the pate and substituted green lentils. I served the pate with melba crackers. It had a subtle sweetness from the chestnuts, but the nutmeg was a little overpowering for me. I also made a side of "tempeh bacon" from Vegan With a Vengeance, which is one of my favorite recipes. Another night I adapted a recipe for a chickpea, artichoke, and almond salad from Vegan Yum Yum by adding crushed tomatoes and serving it over whole wheat pasta. I had made this variation once before, and it was definitely better the first time. I think I overcooked the pasta a bit, because I usually prefer mine to be chewy "al dente" style.

On Friday night I picked an unassuming recipe from Vegan With a Vengeance, because it sounded healthy and I had most of the ingredients on hand. I made "beet, barley, and black soybean soup with pumpernickel croutons" (which is author Isa Chandra Moskowitz's interpretation of the classic Russian borscht). The soup had a beautiful magenta color, and interesting sweet, sour, and earthy flavor. I didn't have pumpernickel bread, but substituted some dense, chewy German dark rye bread for the croutons. These, as well as some fresh dill, rounded out the dish. My picky father actually ate two large bowls of this soup!
                


















Tonight, Danny and I made a vegan version of "Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos" from AllRecipes.com, which we served with arugula salad and Trader Joe's sweet potato chips. We substituted black beans for the kidney beans and added some sweet plantain. They were good, but to make them really addictive I would add a lot more plantain, some brown rice, and corn. After dinner we baked up "Chocolate Chai Cupcakes" from VegWeb. They had a nice moist consistency, but the chai flavor was not strong enough (I even used three tea bags). I don't bake often, so I've never made frosting before. We attempted a recipe for "fluffy" frosting, but it turns out that coconut oil is not a good substitute for shortening. The frosting tasted good, but didn't really thicken, so we were unable to pipe it. If anyone has suggestions for making good frosting, let me know!

It seems as though I've tested a ton of recipes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's books this past week. Some were hit or miss, but overall her recipes are solid. I just remembered that I also tried the "chickpea cutlets" with "mustard sauce" from Veganomicon last weekend. I was actually really grossed out the first time I tasted the cutlets. I'm not a fan of vital wheat gluten, so the gumminess that it gave the cutlets turned me off. The mustard sauce was also overpowering, because I used a strong Dijon mustard and the capers were too vinegary. The next day I baked the leftover cutlets in the toaster oven, and they seemed to cook through more in the middle. I spread some tahini on them and then the mustard sauce and voila! the taste and texture had improved tenfold. Next time I make them I might try baking them instead of pan frying them and serving them with a different sauce. I had a gallon of this mustard sauce leftover, but found a great use for it! My new favorite salad is romaine lettuce, orange wedges, kalamata olives, chopped Medjool dates, and hemp seed with the mustard sauce as a dressing. If you don't want to whip up the mustard sauce, I've had this salad before with a simple olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.

Virtual Vegan Cooking Classes With "Spork"

I have been cooking for a few years now (well I guess only 4...I taught myself during my junior year of college by watching the Food Network). Since then, I've come a long way! I've only been cooking vegan for nine months though, and lately I've been looking to expand my vegan culinary skills. I still have an irrational fear of preparing tofu and seitan, and I'm not quite comfortable with vegan desserts yet. A recent Google search for vegan culinary classes in the New York area only came up with Manhattan's expensive Natural Gourmet Institute and a few other private companies I'd never heard of. However, one particular link caught my eye. Spork Foods is the
brainchild of two L.A. sisters who offer 100% vegan cooking classes in the L.A. area as well as subscription-based online cooking classes! Their site was a winner of the famous VegNews Veggie Awards of 2010. As a member, you can watch one hour-long episode each month, access archived episodes, view recipes, and ask the sisters questions about vegan cooking. You can watch one complimentary full length episode as a non-member, so I checked out the free brunch episode. Within the first ten minutes I was hooked: the sisters are super fun and enthusiastic, the video is shot in high-definition, so you can literally smell and taste the food, and they provide helpful culinary tips and the history or healing benefits behind certain foods. After watching the free episode, I subscribed to the site, and I've already watched four episodes in the past 48 hours! The sisters just make everything look so easy (and their recipes really are!), and they are able to complete four courses in the hour long episode. Today I made their "Ginger, Agave, and Mustard Glazed Tempeh," which was so easy and delicious! I didn't have all of the ingredients for their "chocolate orange mousse," so I made a healthy variation that used silken tofu, banana, avocado, cocoa powder, maple syrup, and orange zest. I can't wait to try some more of their recipes. The only downside to the virtual cooking classes is that I can't sample their food myself!

This is How We Roll [Sushi!]

I usually stick to simple recipes, but I was feeling a little adventurous lately. Danny and I used to enjoy going out for sushi when we could eat fish. Now the "vegetarian sushi" we order with a skimpy cucumber and carrot stick per roll just doesn't cut it. We decided to create or own Japanese dining experience, complete with wooden takeout chopsticks. The first recipe listed in Veganomicon is for "Spicy Tempeh Nori Rolls," which is a vegan take on the "spicy tuna roll." We chose this recipe as well as the "Yamroom" version, which is stuffed with mashed Korean sweet potato and shitake mushrooms. I prepped the spicy tempeh mixture and steamed the sweet potatoes and
mushrooms ahead of time, then brought the ingredients to Danny's house for the assembly. There we cautiously followed the instructions for making perfect sticky sushi rice, which was actually super easy (but you MUST use white rice that is labeled "sushi rice" on the package if you want it to stick nicely!) While the rice was cooking, we sliced carrots, cucumber, and avocado into long, thin sticks. After the rice cooled, we laid out our bamboo mat with a sheet of nori seaweed on top, spread on some rice, and piled on the fillings. Now it was time to roll: with a few flicks of the wrist Danny had created a perfect photo-worthy maki roll. Feeling competitive, I attempted an inside-out roll (the kind you usually see in Japanese restaurants, with the white rice on the outside). I rolled in the wrong direction the first time, so I couldn't get the roll to stick. The inside-out roll was definitely more time consuming, and our tummies were rumbling, so we stuck to the tried-and-true rolling method. In the end, we successfully created 9 maki sushi rolls, enough for dinner and leftovers. The "Spicy Tempeh Roll" was filled with the spicy tempeh mixture, carrot, cucumber, avocado, and sprouts. The "Yamroom Roll" was filled with mashed sweet potato, shitake mushrooms, and carrots. We included sesame seeds inside and outside the rolls for flavor and garnish, and we served them with pickled ginger, wasabi, and tamari soy sauce. We included small side dishes, like miso soup, cucumber and wakame seaweed salad, and a carrot salad. Overall, the process took awhile, but it was really fun and the sushi turned out so flavorful! What are you waiting for? Get rolling!!

Reunited with "Vegan With a Vengeance"

When I first became vegan, my mom borrowed Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan With a Vengeance (VWAV) cookbook from the library that she works at. Having been so overwhelmed with new information about veganism at the time, I only made one or two recipes from the cookbook. I had been resisting purchasing any cookbooks over the past few months since my mom works in a library, but I finally caved recently and bought both Vegan With a Vengeance AND Veganomicon. I started the week with one of my favorite recipes of all time from VWAV, "Tempeh and White Bean Sausage Patties." These do not really resemble breakfast sausage patties, but they taste far superior!  I have gotten my family members to try this recipe, and I now have to hide the patties from them if I want to keep any for myself. I have made this recipe over half a dozen times and I've tweaked the recipe to perfection:

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. package tempeh, crumbled into bite-sized pieces (Lightlife Tempeh with Wild Rice is best)
• 1 -3 tbs. soy sauce or teriyaki sauce (I use a blend of tamari soy sauce and Soy Vay Hoisin Garlic Marinade)
• 2/3 can cooked black beans (sub white beans)
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 1/2 tsp. fennel seed, crushed
• 1/2 tbs. chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh sage (about 5 leaves)
• pinch cayenne pepper (sub paprika)
• pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 tbs. hummus (sub tomato paste)
• 1/8 cup wheat germ (sub bread crumbs)
• 1/8 cup nutritional yeast
• dash salt/pepper

Preparation:

1. Place tempeh into a saucepan and just barely cover with water (some tempeh can peek out); add 1 tbs. soy sauce, cover and bring to boil; simmer for 15 min or until most of water is absorbed; drain remaining water and transfer tempeh to a large bowl
2. Add beans to the bowl of tempeh, give a quick stir, and set aside to allow the beans to heat up 
3. Give the saucepan a quick rinse and dry; saute garlic and fennel seed in 1 tbs. olive oil over low heat, just until fragrant (about 1 min); add remaining spices and stir constantly for 30 seconds; add to the tempeh mixture along with hummus and remaining tbs. of soy sauce
4. Mash everything together with a potato masher or fork, until it’s  just a bit chunky and there are no whole beans left (you don’t want it pureed, you should still see some beans); add wheat germ and nutritional yeast and combine well with fork; taste for salt and spices and adjust as needed; let sit for 15 min to allow flavors to meld
5. Form into patties, using about 3 tbs. of mixture; heat remaining tbs. of olive oil over medium heat; cook the patties until brown, about 3 min each side; you may need to add a little more oil when you flip them over
6. Serve with tahini or rolled in a wrap with hummus

The tahini drizzle is a must for this recipe! For those of you who have never heard of tahini, I'm sure you've had it in hummus and never realized! Tahini is a paste made of sesame seeds, and it is usually sold in a peanut butter-sized jar in the nut butter section of the grocery store. It's also the base for hummus that makes it creamy and a bit tangy.

I also tried a new recipe from VWAV: "Curried Split Pea Soup." If you're picturing your grandmother's green split pea soup with chunks of ham, think again! This split pea soup is pig-friendly and is flavored with a blend of Indian spices, onions, garlic, and fresh ginger. It is so easy to make--just throw the ingredients into a pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for an hour! This recipe resembles one of my favorite Indian inspired recipes that I would make in college with yellow split peas. I used to serve it with brown basmati rice or pita bread for dipping. Don't be intimidated by the long list of spices and herbs that I used in both of the recipes listed above! If you will be cooking a lot of vegetarian and vegan dishes, spices and herbs will give your dishes fantastic flavor, color, and health benefits. Most of the spices listed above can be found at your local grocery store. Buy the smallest containers that you can, and they will usually last you the whole year. Many of these spices can be purchased cheaper in bulk at health food stores and ethnic grocers. As for herbs, I grow most of my own outdoors in summer and dry them or freeze them for winter. You can do also dry or freeze fresh herbs purchased at the store to have on hand all year. 

Tempeh vs. Tofu

I'm not your typical vegan. I don't really care for tofu or soy products. I get most of my protein from legumes, nuts, seeds, etc. But, I have recently fell in love with tempeh, which is literally a block of fermented soybeans that like tofu, originated in Asia. In my opinion, tofu is too soft and tasteless, but tempeh has a nice texture and flavor. Since tempeh is less processed than tofu, it is a whole soybean product that has more fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. I first tasted tempeh in the "tempeh and white bean 'sausage' patties" recipe from Vegan With a Vengeance. I now substitute black beans for white beans in the recipe and it has become one of my favorite things to make (drizzled with tahini of course!) I've even tried the Vegan With a Vengeance recipe for "tempeh bacon," which is totally addicting! While I usually try to make things from scratch, I have recently become obssessed with Turtle Island Foods' marinated tempeh strips. These are made by the same people that produce Tofurky, and you can find these at Whole Foods or most health food stores. I stocked up on them during a recent sale, and I have been putting them in everything from salads to sandwiches to curries. For lunch yesterday, I tried the coconut curry flavored strips served with a ridiculously easy carrot kinpira salad. As with all soy products, make sure that your tempeh is made with only organic soybeans (most soybeans grown in the U.S. are genetically modified!) Don't completely shun tofu in favor of tempeh though: organic tofu is still a minimally processed healthy food that is even more versatile than tempeh. I will have to give tofu another chance--I hear that pressing it improves the texture. I have a block of tofu in the fridge right now, so I think I know what my next project is...