It's decided. Next spring, I'm buying those baby chokes three times a week! My local TJ's has stopped carrying the box of baby chokes, and instead, have the large, globe artichokes.
I've never cooked the regular duds, and I had a mad craving for the baby versions, so I decided to give it try. Plus, the stuffed artichoke recipes I've been seeing have been looking might de-lish.
The prep took an hour! An hour for TWO artichokes!
I ate them, and they were good, but the prep was way too long. They were...okay I guess.
My bf said he understands why people like artichokes so much now, he even likes these ones better.
My tastebuds (and heart) are with the baby versions.
For the stuffed artichokes, I tried VeganYumYum's recipe (I like her step-by-step pics!):
Stuffed Artichokes with Herbed Sundried Tomato Stuffing
For two artichokes
2 Artichokes, prepped as shown above
Stuffing
2 Cups Breadcrumbs
4-5 Tbs Fresh Chopped Herbs, I used Marjoram
1/3 Cup Chopped Sundried Tomatoes, oil packed
1/4 tsp Salt
Black Pepper, to taste
Olive Oil
Broth for Steaming
3 Cups Water
1 Vegetable Bullion Cube
3-4 Lemon Slices
1 Bay Leaf
Black Pepper
Herbed Sundried Tomato StuffingToss all the ingredients of the stuffing together, save the olive oil. Drizzle the olive oil into the stuffing mixture until just moistened.
Stuffed Artichokes
Fill the center cavity of each artichoke with stuffing. Use the remaining stuffing in between the leaves of each choke. Spread the stuffing out as evenly as you can, stuffing in as many leave crevices you can get into.
Stuffed Artichokes - Ready to Steam
Place broth ingredients in the bottom of dutch oven large enough to fit the ‘chokes. Set the ‘chokes inside, making sure the broth level only covers an inch or so of the bottom of the ‘chokes. Simmer, covered, for 30-45 minutes, or until the leaves are tender and can be removed with a gentle tug.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Lakers Lose Game 3, Apt Rubik's Cube Succeeds in Popular Recipe for Seitan Sausages
Every vegan food blog lately has been mentioning these things!
So, I finally decided to make them. And a good thing too - I had all the ingredients in the recipe (luckily they are all pantry staples). What a great recipe! They turned out pretty fantastic - not the 8 sausages expected. I kind of plunked a glob of the mixture into the foil and folded, until finally, I had 4 plump sausages, and 2 squimish mini dogs. It was wayyyy easy.
What made things difficult was, "Seitan Sausage Day" occurred on the same day as "Maintain the Sourdough Starter Day with No-Knead Bread."
Initially, I thought it was fantastic! I envisioned fresh, baked sourdough rolls around homemade seitan sausage, with a little habanero honey mustard. I was in the kitchen for 3 hours (mostly because of the bread)! In the end, the sourdough bread was baked as a large round loaf (where I thought I could just cut the "ends" off as hot dog buns.
In the end, the Lakers lost, but dinner was still served. I might of put too much mustard on you-know-who's dish. Sorry!
This is thePPK's twist on Julie Hasson's famous (and brilliant) recipe, from Everyday Dish - it's a lot simpler than the original version:
Spicy Pinto Sausages
Makes 4 big sausages
1/2 cup pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, grated (with a microplane, or very finely minced)
1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seed, crushed
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Several dashes fresh black pepper
Before mixing your ingredients, get your steaming apparatus ready, bring water to a full boil. The rest of the recipe comes together very quickly.
Have ready 4 sheets of tin foil. In a large bowl, mash the pinto beans until no whole ones are left. Throw all the other ingredients together in the order listed and mix with a fork. Divide dough into 4 even parts (an easy way to do this: split the dough in half and then into quarters). Place one part of dough into tin foil and mold into about a 5 inch log. Wrap dough in tin foil, like a tootsie roll. Don’t worry too much about shaping it, it will snap into shape while it’s steaming because this recipe is awesome.
Place wrapped sausages in steamer and steam for 40 minutes.
(I found them to be a little flimsy, so I pan-fried them in a little olive oil to give them a crustier outer layer, which kept the inside still soft and juicy.)
"Better than Tofurkey"
With the leftover beans, I made a improvised "baked beans" side dish with a little BBQ. It was okay...next time I'll just double the recipe!
So, I finally decided to make them. And a good thing too - I had all the ingredients in the recipe (luckily they are all pantry staples). What a great recipe! They turned out pretty fantastic - not the 8 sausages expected. I kind of plunked a glob of the mixture into the foil and folded, until finally, I had 4 plump sausages, and 2 squimish mini dogs. It was wayyyy easy.
What made things difficult was, "Seitan Sausage Day" occurred on the same day as "Maintain the Sourdough Starter Day with No-Knead Bread."
Initially, I thought it was fantastic! I envisioned fresh, baked sourdough rolls around homemade seitan sausage, with a little habanero honey mustard. I was in the kitchen for 3 hours (mostly because of the bread)! In the end, the sourdough bread was baked as a large round loaf (where I thought I could just cut the "ends" off as hot dog buns.
In the end, the Lakers lost, but dinner was still served. I might of put too much mustard on you-know-who's dish. Sorry!
This is thePPK's twist on Julie Hasson's famous (and brilliant) recipe, from Everyday Dish - it's a lot simpler than the original version:
Spicy Pinto Sausages
Makes 4 big sausages
1/2 cup pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, grated (with a microplane, or very finely minced)
1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seed, crushed
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Several dashes fresh black pepper
Before mixing your ingredients, get your steaming apparatus ready, bring water to a full boil. The rest of the recipe comes together very quickly.
Have ready 4 sheets of tin foil. In a large bowl, mash the pinto beans until no whole ones are left. Throw all the other ingredients together in the order listed and mix with a fork. Divide dough into 4 even parts (an easy way to do this: split the dough in half and then into quarters). Place one part of dough into tin foil and mold into about a 5 inch log. Wrap dough in tin foil, like a tootsie roll. Don’t worry too much about shaping it, it will snap into shape while it’s steaming because this recipe is awesome.
Place wrapped sausages in steamer and steam for 40 minutes.
(I found them to be a little flimsy, so I pan-fried them in a little olive oil to give them a crustier outer layer, which kept the inside still soft and juicy.)
"Better than Tofurkey"
With the leftover beans, I made a improvised "baked beans" side dish with a little BBQ. It was okay...next time I'll just double the recipe!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Baby artichokes, an ode. An obsession.
Prickly on the outside, tender in the inside.
Artichokes are like most people.
We all have to grow these hard exteriors to combat negativity, stress, prejudice, racism, stereotypes, etc., but deep down inside, we are all the same. Underneath the layers and layers of obstacles and experiences in life, we are soft and tender. We are sweet to those we love. We all have a heart.
What a great metaphor, but really. I LOVE ARTICHOKES, specifically baby artichokes. I think it started at Houston's 2 years ago. They had them as their special roasted and seasoned with butter and lemon. It was heaven. And I've got them at King's fish after that, which were not too stellar.
But before all this, I had never had a deep feeling for these prickly chokes, I only semi-liked the canned artichoke hearts that came in salads or pastas. They always seemed so intimidating, since my parents never really cooked them, they could've been an alien from mars, because I had no idea how to cook them. But when I saw a great post in early May about how baby artichokes were much easier to prep and eat (since they don't have the purple choke like their larger cousins) AND were in season - I decided to go out and buy a box from trader joe's.
Such love discovered for a mere $3. The love has grown, quite greatly into an obsession. My lust for roasted baby artichokes rivals my roommate's adoration for eggs. We just simply must have them. It is truly our Achilles heel.
I've been buying them nearly every week and preparing them the same way. Peeling off the hard outer leaves until I see yellow, trimming the stem and top. Dumping them into a lemon-infused bath, lightly seasoning them with salt, pepper, and olive oil, and then roasting them for 15 minutes at 425F.
I can eat the whole box. I really can, and I still want to. The in-season for baby artichokes was May, and now it's getting into June...I think I'll push them into my cart just a few more times while they have them at TJ's.
My favor towards them inclined me to search for the famous Artichoke festival in Castroville (where Marilyn Monroe was once queened) and to my dismay, I found I was too late. This year's festival was on May 17th. Looks like Castroville will have to wait until next year. (a sad sigh)
Artichokes are like most people.
We all have to grow these hard exteriors to combat negativity, stress, prejudice, racism, stereotypes, etc., but deep down inside, we are all the same. Underneath the layers and layers of obstacles and experiences in life, we are soft and tender. We are sweet to those we love. We all have a heart.
What a great metaphor, but really. I LOVE ARTICHOKES, specifically baby artichokes. I think it started at Houston's 2 years ago. They had them as their special roasted and seasoned with butter and lemon. It was heaven. And I've got them at King's fish after that, which were not too stellar.
But before all this, I had never had a deep feeling for these prickly chokes, I only semi-liked the canned artichoke hearts that came in salads or pastas. They always seemed so intimidating, since my parents never really cooked them, they could've been an alien from mars, because I had no idea how to cook them. But when I saw a great post in early May about how baby artichokes were much easier to prep and eat (since they don't have the purple choke like their larger cousins) AND were in season - I decided to go out and buy a box from trader joe's.
Such love discovered for a mere $3. The love has grown, quite greatly into an obsession. My lust for roasted baby artichokes rivals my roommate's adoration for eggs. We just simply must have them. It is truly our Achilles heel.
I've been buying them nearly every week and preparing them the same way. Peeling off the hard outer leaves until I see yellow, trimming the stem and top. Dumping them into a lemon-infused bath, lightly seasoning them with salt, pepper, and olive oil, and then roasting them for 15 minutes at 425F.
I can eat the whole box. I really can, and I still want to. The in-season for baby artichokes was May, and now it's getting into June...I think I'll push them into my cart just a few more times while they have them at TJ's.
My favor towards them inclined me to search for the famous Artichoke festival in Castroville (where Marilyn Monroe was once queened) and to my dismay, I found I was too late. This year's festival was on May 17th. Looks like Castroville will have to wait until next year. (a sad sigh)
The Adventures of Sourdough Starter and the No Knead Bread
Week 6 Report: Pizza. Not as good as previous weeks, but it looked better than previous weeks.
I've been reading a lot lately about the No-Knead Bread, or No-Time Bread on food blogs everywhere. So when my co-worker mentioned she had had a dinner party and made bread with some sourdough starter, I pounced. She gave me some of her sourdough starter (which she also obtained from another co-worker (one who remains anonymous to me) on April 28th, and I've been trying to bake bread to make use and keep it alive every week. One thing that I think disadvantages the "greatness" of my attempts at the No Knead Bread is that I don't have a heavy, cast-iron covered pot. I've been using a casserole dish with foil on top (something that needs to be sprayed well, because as I found out on my first attempt during week 1, the coveted crust attached itself to the aluminum foil).
Let me recap my breadmaking trials and tribulations from the past couple weeks.
Week 1: I find instructions online on how to make the Jim Lahey's phenom No Knead Bread (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08mini.html) and also how to incorporate the sourdough starter. I try and come back with not-so-stellar results: semi-impressive texture, weird twang, and so-so crust.
Week 2: I try the bread again. Better taste. Still not impressive.
Week 3: I get lazy and just feed the starter (dump 1/2 -3/4 of it, add 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup water)
Week 4: I find "Notes from the Vegan Feast Kitchen" and get inspired to make pizza dough. The dough is really wet, and I just dump it half-assed on the pan with some spinach on top. Great sourdough taste, good texture. Yum!
See: http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/2008/03/5-minute-no-knead-yeast-bread-and.html
Week 5: see week 3
Week 6: The only thing I did different was add more flour to the dough after it rose to make it more manageable. I have been trying to figure out how every no-kneader has worked with handling the dough after it rises. Mine have always been so wet and sticky, sticking to everything it touches! So I added more flour, worked it flat like a pizza and baked for 10 minutes @ 500 F.
The crust was a different color, beigey-white...
Well, tune in sometime, I'll definitely post my trials in the upcoming weeks.
Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.
1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html
I've been reading a lot lately about the No-Knead Bread, or No-Time Bread on food blogs everywhere. So when my co-worker mentioned she had had a dinner party and made bread with some sourdough starter, I pounced. She gave me some of her sourdough starter (which she also obtained from another co-worker (one who remains anonymous to me) on April 28th, and I've been trying to bake bread to make use and keep it alive every week. One thing that I think disadvantages the "greatness" of my attempts at the No Knead Bread is that I don't have a heavy, cast-iron covered pot. I've been using a casserole dish with foil on top (something that needs to be sprayed well, because as I found out on my first attempt during week 1, the coveted crust attached itself to the aluminum foil).
Let me recap my breadmaking trials and tribulations from the past couple weeks.
Week 1: I find instructions online on how to make the Jim Lahey's phenom No Knead Bread (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08mini.html) and also how to incorporate the sourdough starter. I try and come back with not-so-stellar results: semi-impressive texture, weird twang, and so-so crust.
Week 2: I try the bread again. Better taste. Still not impressive.
Week 3: I get lazy and just feed the starter (dump 1/2 -3/4 of it, add 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup water)
Week 4: I find "Notes from the Vegan Feast Kitchen" and get inspired to make pizza dough. The dough is really wet, and I just dump it half-assed on the pan with some spinach on top. Great sourdough taste, good texture. Yum!
See: http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/2008/03/5-minute-no-knead-yeast-bread-and.html
Week 5: see week 3
Week 6: The only thing I did different was add more flour to the dough after it rose to make it more manageable. I have been trying to figure out how every no-kneader has worked with handling the dough after it rises. Mine have always been so wet and sticky, sticking to everything it touches! So I added more flour, worked it flat like a pizza and baked for 10 minutes @ 500 F.
The crust was a different color, beigey-white...
Well, tune in sometime, I'll definitely post my trials in the upcoming weeks.
Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.
1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Kangkung is not watercress!
Kangkung (water spinach)
Kangkung, the green side dish in Indonesian and Filipino cuisine is my bf's new favorite dish. I keep hearing people calling it watercress, when it really isn't. Watercress is what Louis (from the Trumpet of the Swan) eats in his sandwiches - a popular ingredient in tea sandwiches. According to the Wikipedia entry, kangkung, or "Ipomoea aquatica is a semi-aquatic tropical plant grown as a leaf vegetable..." and "It is not to be mistaken with watercress, which often grows in similar situations."
Kangkung is water spinach, probably called that because it grows like weeds in water or moist soil.
The basic kangkung dish is simple:
oil
garlic
shallots
red chili peppers
kangkung
balacan
salt
Fry shallots and garlic, add chili and kangkung. Season.
Balacan, is unfortunately a common addition to everything in Indonesian AND Filipino dishes...it's shrimp paste!
"It adds flavor" they say...
My mom has said that about everything, chicken broth, shrimp paste, etc... I beg to differ.
Once my mom served me noodles (that looked all good), but once I tasted it, I knew something was fishy...or should I say chicken-y. She had cooked the noodles in chicken broth! And whenever I object, she'll say "it needs it for flavor."
So I say, make kangkung without the balacan, it tastes just as good.
Kangkung, the green side dish in Indonesian and Filipino cuisine is my bf's new favorite dish. I keep hearing people calling it watercress, when it really isn't. Watercress is what Louis (from the Trumpet of the Swan) eats in his sandwiches - a popular ingredient in tea sandwiches. According to the Wikipedia entry, kangkung, or "Ipomoea aquatica is a semi-aquatic tropical plant grown as a leaf vegetable..." and "It is not to be mistaken with watercress, which often grows in similar situations."
Kangkung is water spinach, probably called that because it grows like weeds in water or moist soil.
The basic kangkung dish is simple:
oil
garlic
shallots
red chili peppers
kangkung
balacan
salt
Fry shallots and garlic, add chili and kangkung. Season.
Balacan, is unfortunately a common addition to everything in Indonesian AND Filipino dishes...it's shrimp paste!
"It adds flavor" they say...
My mom has said that about everything, chicken broth, shrimp paste, etc... I beg to differ.
Once my mom served me noodles (that looked all good), but once I tasted it, I knew something was fishy...or should I say chicken-y. She had cooked the noodles in chicken broth! And whenever I object, she'll say "it needs it for flavor."
So I say, make kangkung without the balacan, it tastes just as good.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)