Blueberry, Vanilla, and Bread Pudding

I had my first taste of blueberries today. We don't get blueberries around here - like ever, not because its winter. So, I'd bought a can of blueberries a couple of weeks back. Having heard about a friend gorging on wild berries in another part of the world, I just decided to bust open the can and have some. I was quite disappointed - the berries looked purple rather than blue, for one; and they were swimming in a sugar syrup and I just tasted sweetness rather than any real flavor from the berries. That's Rs 270 gone down the drain. I was so looking forward to making a spinach and blueberry salad later this week. So, the only sensible thing to do with these sugary babies is to make dessert and put the syrup to good use.

My blueberry and bread pudding turned out quite nice. Would be so much better had I had some fresh berries. But then again, if I had fresh berries, I wouldn't dream of cooking them.

Mushroom, Potato and Pepper Open Sandwich

I love Scandinavia - I'm currently reading Stieg Larson (the second book); have always had a very soft spot for hunky Scandinavian men - they've got a wicked sense of humor and their blue-eyed/blonde hair look, preferably with a golden tan acquired sunbathing (Cough: naked) in Goa, really does it for me. Indian men are like goats - and not in a good way. And the daily recipe emails from My Danish Kitchen had me yearning for magically being in Sweden or Denmark this morning.

If I can't be magically teleported there, at least I can take my first jab at their cuisine. An open sandwich - what's more Danish than that?! Well, the Danish Pastry is, but I ain't got the time or requisite skill to attempt something so complicated. I had a nice loaf of organic multigrain bread from the farmer's market that was unused. And I had a boiled potato (the advantages of living with your family) and chives (I love chives - they seem so buttery). So, made an open sandwich for breakfast. But Indian that I am, I did make it a bit spicy with some green chutney. Good thing I only made one slice, coz the bread was really hearty and filling.

Mushroom, Potato and Pepper Open Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 slice bread/baguette
• 1/2 boiled potato
• 2-3 white button mushrooms
• 2 teaspoons coconut milk/cream
• Handul of finely chopped green pepper
• 1 tablespoon green chutney
• 1 teaspoon chopped chives
• 5-8 black pepper corns
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

To make:

• Mash your potato along with some coconut milk to make a thick gooey paste. Ideally, do this while the potato is still hot.
• In a pan, heat the olive oil.
• Chop your mushrooms and add to the pan, along with freshly ground black pepper.
• Saute the mushrooms for 3-5 minutes until brown.
• Slice your bread (fairly thick). You may want to toast/grill your bread if its too flimsy.
• Spread the green chutney over the bread.
• Next spread the mashed potato over the bread.
• Layer the sauted mushrooms next.
• Next come some finely chopped green pepper.
• Finish off with a sprinkling of finely chopped chives and a dash of olive oil.

Beet and Bean Sprouts Burger

Milk solids. Two words that are increasingly cropping up on things I have bought. Two words that are making me question how I can in good faith call myself “100% vegan”?! A miniscule amount of milk isn’t the greatest sin in the world, but still.

First my cracker biscuits and now my store bought burger buns contain milk solids. What does ‘milk solids’ even mean?! And why the heck is it mindlessly added to everything? As a former non-vegetarian, I am just not used to scrutinizing food labels – It may be unhealthy, but there’s nothing on those food labels that would make me stop and go “Oh, I can’t buy this. This contains XXX”. That habit of mindlessly picking up stuff that I think should and ought to be vegan will have to be seriously managed.

But I believe in learning my lesson and moving on. I just don’t see the point of just throwing away a perfectly good burger bun that I already wasted my money on. I’ll eat it now, but will never buy the same brand again, and examine all burger bun food labels now that I am aware there might be milk solids. After all, this is a journey and I’m still learning – only about 3 months since going completely vegan. At least I do not consciously crave more obvious no-go items like meat and milk.

Anyhoo…there are a ton of vegan burgers that mimic various meats. I especially liked this burger recipe that uses beets to mimic meat. It looks great, but there is so much effort involved with making stock and cooking and grinding up various nuts and seeds. So, my version – not nearly as pretty or great tasting, for sure – uses beets and bean sprouts. You just grind it all up and deep fry the pattie. However, you do need some sort of flour or beans to hold the whole thing together because beets will start to shed water, and you – like me – risk having a runny pattie.

Beet and Bean Sprouts Burger

Ingredients:

For the pattie:

• 1 beet
• 1 cup mung bean sprouts
• ½ cup fried onions
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon curry powder
• Juice of half a lime
• Handful of coriander
• Corn starch or plain flour (if needed)
• Dash of semolina

Other trimmings:

• Burger bun
• Green chutney (coriander and chillies with some coconut)
• Tomatoes, sliced
• Lettuce, finely chopped
• Jalepeno peppers

To make:

• In a blender, blend together all the ingredients except corn starch/ plain flour.
• Make a pattie. If it’s too runny, add some corn starch or some sort of flour.
• Let the pattie rest in the fridge for 4-8 hours so that the wateriness goes away.
• Coat the pattie in semolina (or bread crumbs if you have them).
• Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side.

To assemble:

• Cut the burger bun and gently toast it on both sides.
• I added a green coriander and chilli chutney to my buns, and added tomato, lettuce, jalepenos.

What I Want Now: Zuccini Bread

Low fat zuccini bread recipe found on Holy Cow Vegan Recipes. Here's a preview:

(c) http://earthvegan.blogspot.com/

Looks delish, doesn't it?

Eggplant and Tahini Pizza on Indian Naan Bread

As discussed, here's my version of an eggplant and tahini pizza made atop a day-old Indian naan bread.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a naan bread
• 1 medium sized baby eggplant/aubergine, sliced into thin discs
• Handful of veggies - peppers, cabbage, spinach etc
• 1 table spoon of Tahini paste
• teaspoon of olive oil
• Pinch of dry basil

To make:
On a sliver of the naan bread, spread the tahini paste all over.

Then, lay some green leafy vegetables, then the peppers and cabbage on top.

Lay the eggplant discs on top.

Drizzle a little olive oil on top along with the basil.

Bake in an oven at 250 degrees celcius for 15-20 minutes.

Servings: 1 sliver of pizza - But be warned that the tahini makes this quite a filling snack/lunch.

Verdict: To be honest, I preferred the earlier pizza I'd made. The eggplant gave it quite a bitter aftertaste. Plus, it wasnt the most portable of lunches -The eggplant discs kept slipping out. Next time, I'll make Baba Ghanoush (simply put, its just tahini mixed with eggplant. Blend it all up to make a paste). And then lay the veggies on top of the Baba Ghanoush paste. 

Indian Veggie Pizza....on Naan

I had a garlic naan left over from yesterday afternoon's lunch. So, inspired by this recipe, I decided to have a slice of Indian-style pizza and make it a healthier version of the original recipe. Plus, I get to use up some of my damn vegetables (Such a mistake buying so much, but hate having it go to waste!).

To make, you'll need a half or quarter of a naan (depending on the size of the naan bread). Basically, each serving of your pizza will be one sliver of the naan - If you have a big round naan, cut it into quarters, and so on.

Mine was a day old, which was just fine with me.

On this, I used a base of green chutney - which is similar to pesto, except its made of coriander, green chillis, coconut flesh, and some herbs. I didnt make a fresh batch, it just happened to be lying in my refrigerator made by my mom. Here's a nice recipe for green Indian chutney. You could use pesto.

PS: In the original recipe, the breads look more like tandoori rotis, not naans. I'm Indian. I would know.

Veggie Pizza on Naan Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/2 naan
• Table spoon of green chutney/pesto
• Some thinly chopped veggies - I used green and yellow peppers, red cabbage, and some greens
• 5-10 black olives
• Dash of olive oil
• Teaspoon of roasted sunflower seeds
• Dried basil, as per taste

To make:
On a sliver of the naan bread, spread the green chutney all over.

Then, lay some green leafy vegetables, then the peppers and cabbage on top. Then the olives. Splash on some olive oil and a dash of dry basil.

Finally the sunflower seeds for crunch.

Bake in the oven at around 250 degrees celcius for around 15-20 minutes.

You can either have it as a pizza or roll it over and have it as a wrap. And yes, I'll admit, its not really a pizza - seeing as there was no cheese (or vegan substitute for cheese) or tomatoes.

I have to say, I really, really enjoyed eating this one. I still have a quarter of a naan left over, which I will use for another pizza - This one with Tahini paste as the base (should go well with the garlic in the naan), and sliced eggplants and some veggies for lunch. Mmmm. Can't wait!!

Monday Gluttony: Bhindi Masala and Garlic Naan

I woke up Monday morning with a huge and painful swelling on the right side of my face - all the way from my nasal cavity down to my chin. I'm usually waking up after a boozy night out with various kinds of bumps and bruises that I have no recollection of the next day. But I can't possibly go to work looking like a chipmunk with walnuts up one cheek. Add to that, it was very painful. So, I stayed back at home to go to a doctor AND a dentist.

And even though my veggies are in the process of withering away and are crying out for me to finish them off, I decided, against my better judgment, that what a sick person really needs is some comfort food. Not some high-brow raw vegan shit. So, I ordered a bhindi (ladies finger) masala, with three tandoori rotis and 2 garlic sesame naans. And I polished that off, with a tub of orange+tutti fruit icecream. Yes, there was - shock,  horror- milk in it. But hey, when in pain, you do what you can to soothe yourself, right? I know, its no excuse, but I still don't touch regular milk (in teas, coffees, etc. And while not raw, most of my meal was still very much vegan (Which is something I'm relating to, much more than being just raw all the time).



How to Bake

Don't ask me - I havent the faintest clue. Though, I absolutely love the smell of baked goods and am really intrigued about making bread or a vegetable cake.

Here's an excellent and really comprehensive e-book on How To Bake I found today on tPB.