Wish I Could Go To San-Fran

Expanding the Frontiers of the Vegetarian Plate, NY Times, 11-18-07.

PETA kinda sucks.

They did it again.

Some of the black and white shots of her make her look like a corpse. Once again, PETA seems to miss the point; instead of a hamburger we're visually eating her body. Ho hum.

Pumpkin Broth and Spaghetti Squash

Dan always tells me that I'm turning into his grandmother, Margaret. It's because I pick up cans and bottles on the street and bring them home from the restaurant to recycle, I'm obsessed with the notion of 'dumpster diving' (simply because I can't stand the idea that good food is just being thrown away, uh, and I'm a poor student), and I've been known to do really odd frugal things, like save dental floss (in my defense, we were traveling and damn if I didn't know if I would need some dental floss) and bring home chicken carcasses from friend's dinners to turn into broth for someone else's meal. My most recent thing is that I've been collecting the pumpkins that silly people throw away, assuming that now Halloween has passed, their usefulness is exhausted. Not true! A pumpkin is tasty! It has lots of seeds that can be baked! Sure, it's a pain in the ass to process it, but sometimes I feel like lobotomizing and cooking a pumpkin.
I had no idea what I was doing last night but decided to go at the smallest one I had. Knife in hand, I attacked, but discovered that the outer shell was like pressed wood. By the time I had gotten about a quarter of it peeled and cubed, I decided that would be enough. Then I tossed it into a pot with some onions that I had carmelizing, plus some cumin, and waited for it to cook. A little bit of vegetable broth later, I started wondering what else I could do with it. How about some dried galangal and kaffir lime leaves? Tossed that in. A little bit of allspice, some salt, some sugar...

It kind of looked gross. But it tasted okay. I let it cook a while longer, and in the meantime wanted to use up some leftover wonton wrappers on their last legs, so made stuffing out of a package of mixed mushrooms, a little soy sauce, minced garlic, and sausage (vegan, and quite spicy) squeezed out of the casing. Soup tasted better, but I didn't like the idea of eating all the solid stuff in there, so I decided to strain in, squeeze out the pumpkin mix, and use the pumpkin-broth as a base for egg-drop soup. Brilliant! I'm serious, this turned out to be one of those rare moments that I exhibit true and unwavering brilliance. It was so, so good. Plus, I added the pumpkin (sans galangal and lime leaves), to the wonton filling and hence pumpkin-mushroom wontons were born. What didn't get stuffed into the wee wrappers I mixed in with a spaghetti squash that I was baking, so then I had pumpkin-mushroom spaghetti.

So, in conclusion, I take this as a positive development in my culinary evolution, and wanted to share. Also, I realized the other day that I don't think about sex anymore, I think about food.

Bento

Okay, please go here, now.

Tasty Lil' Wontons

Okay, first thing's first. I got my birthday present from Dan yesterday (thankyou thankyou thankyou), Isa Chandra Moskovitz's book Vegan With a Vengeance and her's and Terry Hope Romero's Veganomicon. Yah yah, I'm not exactly a vegan, but that doesn't mean that I'm not amazed by the creative ways that foods are tackled. Plus, I don't see anything wrong with eating vegan (except missing out on honey...that's messed up).

Second thing: yum, I did real good last night. Reeeeal good. These wontons were easy, incredibly delicious, and smacked of a professionalism that I didn't realize I possessed.

Tasty Lil' Wontons

1 package of wonton wrappers (I used Nasoya)
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
5-6 small shiitake mushrooms
1/2 of a large carrot, grated
tamari sauce
soy sauce
olive oil
vegetable oil

for sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
sesame seeds
1 Tbsp finely chopped green onions
1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1. Heat a tablespoon on olive oil in a medium size pan. Add the onion and garlic. Allow them to soften and become transparent, then add the carrots. Cook for another 5 minutes before adding the mushrooms. Mix in a teaspoon of tamari sauce, and let that puppy cook on low for about 20 minutes. Turn of flame and allow the mix to cool.

2. Make your dipping sauce: add all ingredients together.

3. Put a small amount, about 1 tsp, in the middle of the wonton wrapper. Spread it out a bit so that the wontons won't break while cooking. Run a wet finger around the edge and seal the wonton. Put it on a plate and cover, so that the dough doesn't dry out.

4. Immerse the wontons in boiling salted water for no more than 20 seconds, then fry 'em up in about a tsp of vegetable oil.

5. Eat.

Dia de los Muertos

Last Friday we threw a Dia de los Muertos party over at what we affectionately refer to as 'Evangeline,' Evan's home in Pigeon Town off of South Carollton. It was an excuse to dress up like skeletons, and I badly wanted to make skull maracas. Of course, it was also a good reason to cook, and cook we did. I tried to approximate a bean and rice dish that my friend Casey had effortlessly whipped together for lunch a few days before (garlic rice, black beans, caramelized onions, minced garlic, corn, salt, avocado slices, would have liked to add some mole but the new Breaux Mart, R.I.P. Sav-a-Center, didn't carry it), and while it was good it wasn't quite the same as hers. I also made devil's food cupcakes, decorated with little skull faces, and Julie produced some lovely cookies for the altar (see photo) plus anise bread. All of that turned out well and good, but nothing topped our costumes. Obviously, they were quite brilliant, augmented by E-Ray's amazing photography. Toss in a little cerveza and some sangria, and damn, you get quite a good party.

Berfday

It's been a while since I've posted, due to the incomprehensible school workload I've been dealt, but it's Sunday morning and I have all day to read...one of the books is related to food, so I can mention that. For a course on Islam, we were assigned Rebecca Popenoe's Feeding Desire: Fatness, Beauty, and Sexuality Among a Saharan People. It's a fascinating account of a North African desert Arab culture whose ideal of beauty is a corpulent woman, where stretch marks are a thing to aspire to, and from the age a little girl loses her milk teeth, her life becomes an attempt to attain the standard that will bring her a good husband. Aside from that, everything else is theory and statistics, blergh.

My birthday was last Monday and I had family in town. We ate particularly well: oysters at Casamento's, po-boys at Parasol's, drinks at Bacchanal's followed by a paella dinner and sangria at Lola's, then my birthday dinner at Iris, where I had another of the chef's amazing impromptu vegetarian plates while everyone else chowed down on duck and braised beef shortribs. One of the best orders was my dad's appetizer of Ricotta Gnudi (meaning 'nude' in Italian). Very similar to gnocchi, but instead of potatoes they're made with ricotta, so that they end up extremely light. The drinks there also attain a brilliance that should be mentioned. I had a galangal and banana martini while Dan, currently fascinated by Hendrick's gin (which is infused with cucumber and rose petals), had a parsley gin martini.

Last night I came home from work to find that he had orchestrated a lovely surprise party for me, complete with a massive accompanying meal. He even went so far as to print out little menus! They listed 'cremini mushrooms marinated in olive oil and fresh herbs,' 'roasted red pepper and goat cheese crostini,' 'tomato, mozzarella, and eggplant salad with a homemade vinaigrette,' 'Italian pasta salad with yellow squash, zucchini, and Bella di Cerignola olives,' and my favorite, 'Italian style "meat" balls.' My friend Claire also brought over a fantastic chickpea and red onion salad which deserves mention.

Anyways, I must include here the recipe that he used to make the meatballs, because they were definitely on par with the vegan meatballs from Whole Foods, which, if you've had them, are divine.

He didn't use egg at all, used fresh garlic and onions instead of powder, and used freshly grated parmesan instead of the fake stuff.

Sandy's Italian Tofu Balls (from Vegetarian Recipes Around the World, www.ivu.org)

About the ingredients:
Tofu: Don't use tofu in a box, even if it says firm, and don't use anything but firm or extra firm (or a block of each), fresh tofu. It should be possible to hold one end of the block without it breaking in half immediately. Rinse it and squeeze as much of the water as you can out of it right before you start.

Bread crumbs: I make my own from toasted Berlin Bakeries spelt bread, but any crumbs should work. Some people like chunks of bread in the mix, and that works ok. Pre-season the crumbs with a little salt (vegetable salt is nice), basil, (considerably less) oregano, granulated garlic or garlic powder, and pepper. The amount of bread crumbs required will greatly depend on the texture and wetness of the tofu.

Granulated garlic: If you've never had it, you're missing a great seasoning. look for it in natural foods stores.

Dried onion flakes: You can substitute fresh minced onion, but you should probably partially cook it in the microwave or in a saucepan, if you do. Ditto minced garlic, if you use it.

Dry egg replacer: Ener-G makes one; you can probably substitute arrowroot flour or cornstarch. I've used cornstarch.

Tamari: Yes, you can use soy sauce. If you use soy sauce or regular tamari, use a bit less.

Nutritional Yeast: Adds vitamins, micronutrients and a mild "cheesy" flavor. Don't use brewer's yeast, which is bitter.

* Means optional
** Means optional but strongly suggested for best results.

(makes about 22 1 1/2" balls):

• 2 x 16oz blocks of firm or extra firm tofu (or one of each)
• Roughly 1 1/2 cups of preseasoned bread crumbs
• * 1 heaping tablespoon powdered egg replacer
• About 1 1/2 tablespoons (six to ten shakes) low sodium tamari
• Vegetable or sea salt to taste. ( or potassium salt substitute)
• Pepper to taste.
• * About 2 tablespoons dry flaked onion.
• * Soymage Parmesan Substitute to taste.
• Roughly 1 teaspoon basil.
• Roughly 1/4 teaspoon oregano.
• Granulated garlic, minced garlic or garlic powder to taste.
• * 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast.
• ** 1 1/2 quarts pasta sauce.

1. Lightly oil a full-size baking sheet, and begin preheating oven to 350.

2. Rinse, drain, and squeeze dry the tofu, crumble it into a large mixing bowl, then mash it into an even - but not extremely fine - consistency, using a sturdy fork.
Sprinkle on the tamari, and mix it in with the fork.
Add the other seasonings and the yeast, while continuing to mix the tofu without mashing it further.
Taste it several times; you want it to taste mildly salty, and for the flavor of the seasonings to be present, but not overwhelming.

3. Stir in the flaked or minced onion, and the egg replacer.
Then add about 2/3 of the bread crumbs, first mixing them in with the fork, then with your (slightly moistened) hands.
First squeeze it through your fingers repeatedly, then press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the bowl with your knuckles.
While doing this, add enough bread crumbs to make the mixture form readily into firm balls, without being wet or doughlike.
If you add too much bread and it gets dry and crumbly, sprinkle in a little water.
If it's still a little wet and you are out of bread, add a little more egg replacer or some cornstarch or potato starch.

4. Form the mixture into balls. They can be small (about 1") or medium size (about 1 1/2"). Larger ones are possible, but are likelier to end up underdone in the middle.
Place them on the baking sheet. They can be close together, but not touching.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes (small) to 1 hour (medium).
The tofu balls should be well browned, especially if you are omitting the last two steps, but not burned looking.
You can turn them after 1/2 hour, but it isn't absolutely necessary.

**6. Let the balls cool for about 20 minutes, them place them in a large *covered* frying pan that has been coated with canola oil, olive oil, or a mix of the two, and preheated.
Gently saute them for about 15 minutes, turning them frequently.

**7 Add enough tomato sauce to completely cover the balls, then cover and simmer them for one hour, gently stirring them occasionally.
They are ready to eat at this point, but for the best flavor, let them sit in the sauce, in a glass bowl or steel pan, in the refrigerator overnight. They freeze fairly well.

Note: for lowfat tofu balls, try omitting step #6, but not step #7.