black magic, brown rice

I know, I know - how many posts can I really devote to brown rice?

At least one more.

I am just so pleased with myself at the moment.  Tonight I made the Seitanic Jambalaya from Veganomicon in just under an hour!  The book gives it an hour and a half, and previous attempts
have seen me begging the rice to be plump and done after two and a half hours of simmering uselessly on the stovetop.  Tonight, though, I nearly made this into an express meal!

Well, okay, let's not get out of control here.  Besides, it's not like I did anything terribly innovative - I just used the same trick I've employed for other brown-rice-stovetop-simmering recipes - I cooked the rice separately and then added it to the pot.  Ah, yes.  The pot.

Another contributor to my success may have been the use of my beautiful 4-quart saute pan.  Everything fit!

Speaking of perfect fits (and awkward segues...), I am so excited about a new development exactly halfway between the two center city locations of my company.

HipCityVeg is the new venture by Nicole Marquis, who was formerly the General Manager at my dear, departed, and sorely missed Horizons.  I knew I was in love when I read a review that featured a casual mission statement from the proprietress: "I wanted to put Horizons on a sandwich."  Um... you had me at Hello!

Great reviews abound and apparently there have been lines out the door since the place opened on Monday.  I am hoping to stop by there for lunch tomorrow since I will be traveling from one store to the other and, like I said, it's mid-way.  My mouth absolutely watered checking out the menu...

I'm putting my camera in my purse now and with a little luck (and probably a lot of patience), I'll finally have some food photos for you tomorrow (and of course, as detailed a review as I can muster!)  Until then, chickpeas, take care!

celebrate tweakin'

When I first started cooking from cookbooks, I was strict to the letter.  As time went by, I found I had to tweak things a little, either because they contained onions (which make my breath sad) or eggplant or mushrooms (which make Mister sad).  The more I cooked, the more comfortable I became with tweaking, so that now I can even mix together two recipes the way an artist my blend a few paints on her pallet (though I'm usually surprised when they come out this well)...

Last night's dinner was Easy Manicotti Alla Romana from The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook.  In case you were wondering, there is actually a way to further simplify a recipe with "easy" in the title.  Ironically, but maybe not unexpectedly, the shortcut came from another recipe for Cheese Manicotti on the back of the pasta box.

Just as I was gearing up to be annoyed by the extra step (and extra time) of having to boil the manicottis first, then stuff them with the awesome filling (verrrrry carefully so they don't break apart) before covering them with marinara sauce and baking them for 45 minutes, I saw my little miracle: according to the manicotti box, I could stuff the nice, dry, rigid pasta with the stuffing without boiling it first, and all I had to do to ensure they were not still rock hard when they came out of the oven was add a cup of water to the marinara sauce!

It's so exciting when that nonsense is true.  The spinach and "cheese" filling was also quite flavorful and good.  The cookbook almost had it right without my help, but they wrote for me to add a 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese to the tofu "ricotta" so I substituted the same amount of nooch.  The final tweak involved spinach.  For reasons I will probably never know, the author of the recipe felt like it needed a ratio of 48oz of frozen spinach to 10oz of tofu.  Mister's eyes almost popped out of his head when I shared that and he was quick to agree with me that two 10oz blocks of spinach were far more fitting to the 14oz block of tofu.

Yesterday afternoon, I spent a lot of time flipping through pages and furrowing my brow and then thinking I had everything figured out until I consulted with Mister and found that I was doing it wrong.  Well, maybe not all of "it" but certainly some of it.  I figure that there will probably be plenty of people grabbing last minute Thanksgiving things on Wednesday night/Thursday morning, and I don't want to be one of them, so I wanted to plot out my Thanksgiving menu along with the regular week's menu and shop for the whole lot over the weekend.  Now seems an opportune time to share the "normal" part of the upcoming menu, since dinner came from it...

1. Cottage Pie because I still haven't made the seitan and at this point, I may just buy it.

2. Farfalle with Shallots and Chard from Celebrate Vegan, because I have been waiting to remake this for nearly a year and now I have my new cookbook.  By the way, the rest of this week's abbreviated menu comes from Celebrate Vegan so I'm not going to bother writing it again.

3. Pasta with Red Peppers and Basil because this is also a super recipe that makes Mister happy.

4. Jambalaya, because I need another jambalaya recipe like I need another beans-n-rice recipe or another pasta e fagioli recipe, but the ingredients were just so intriguing and this was a recipe I did not have the opportunity to test.

Why not, you ask?

When Dynise communicated her desires and expectations to the whole group of us testers, she requested that we make the recipe exactly as written and then make it a second time if we felt the need to tweak it.  I completely respect that, since she won't know how a recipe she wrote came out for someone else if they don't use the recipe she wrote, ya know?

As a result, I did a lot more cooking with onions than I was used to, or comfortable with, but in the course of doing so, found that it's not always a terrible thing.  In fact, being "forced" to follow her recipes without what had become a natural inclination to tweaking was delightfully education and helped me to expand my repertoire further because I used ingredients I would never choose on my own.

Nevertheless, there were many recipes I could not test because they contained an ingredient to which Mister was allergic or had an aversion.  Now that I have the cookbook in its completed form, I can find substitutes for tempeh and mushrooms so Mister doesn't end up in the emergency room or wake me from a sound sleep with his moaning and wincing.  I can sleep through a police raid outside our window but I can't sleep through the aftermath of feeding Mister tempeh.

Fortunately, my tweak-creative mind was able to find an adequate substitute for the tempeh bacon I was supposed to use in Dynise's delightful Jambalaya in the form of Hickory-Smoked Tofurky deli slices.  I just unwrapped the whole stack and "diced" the slices - it was possibly even easier than if I had used tempeh bacon with the added benefit that tonight won't be the night I'm widowed.

three pounds

What does a person do with 3lbs of leftovers?  I mean, seriously.  The only reason all that was left of Seitanic Red and White Bean Jambalaya fit into only one Gladware container was because I forced it to by putting my full weight on the lid to seal it.  It won't surprise me if it busts loose in the fridge.  I hope it doesn't though, because that will be a mess to clean up.

We'll get back to that in a moment, though.  Today was an interesting day.  I had gotten myself into this panicked mindset that my little R&R Staycation was drawing to an end way too quickly.  I mean, yes, when it's over I get to go to my new job, but it's still work and no one really wants to go back to work.  Except possibly new mothers after a year of being home.  Maybe they do.

Anyway, once I realized that my last day of work was a half a week earlier than I had given notice for, I was relieved that I was 4 days into 10, rather than 5 - 40% is way better than 80% in this situation.  I got up a little before noon - I got into "bad habits" these last few days because I was so overjoyed that I didn't have to go to bed by any particular time.  Unfortunately, since I will need to return to a "workingman's" schedule next week, I don't want to let myself get into the habit of staying up later than I have in years and sleeping later than I have in, well, years.  So, once I'd had a couple of cups of coffee and a nice little breakfast, I got ready to go do stuff.  Mister was sleepy, so I decided to just wander around Center City East looking for somewhere new and fun to eat lunch with my parents on Thursday.

Local folks - have you ever been inside the Curtis Center?  To be completely honest, aside from housing offices of various companies, I have no idea what goes on in that building.  I wouldn't mind working there one day, though, for two reasons:

Reason #1 - that's the lobby!  There is a huge waterfall/fountain thing with this huge arcade with a solitary baby grand piano hanging out in the middle (roped off presumably so loonies like me don't think it's okay to play it), flanked by an Mid-Atlantic attempt at palm trees!  And I must say, I wouldn't have thought to put huge potted ferns up on 3-story high pedestals to imitate palm trees.  I wonder who has to water them...

Reason #2...well, that is actually a tie.  My dad works right around the corner (in fact we've wandered in on lunchtime breaks near Christmas to see the gargantuan tree they put up in that same lobby), so it would be great to work less than a block from him - we could have lunch every day!  The other great thing is Cooperage, which is why I saw this magnificent sight today to begin with.  I wanted to see their menu to ensure there was something Mister and I could eat because they have these awesome outdoor "booths" that I've been wanting to eat at for at least a year.  Outdoor dining season in Philadelphia is relatively short, though, because not as many places have heat lamps as they should for such adventures, but even still, autumn can be a very rainy time here.

By the way, the only reason an awesome restaurant is comparable to working close enough to my dad to have lunch with him every day is because eventually, the old man will retire, and then what will I have?  An awesome restaurant :)  love you, Dad!

Anyway, after wandering around town for a bit, I stopped into Bodhi Coffee with my book and enjoyed a tall, steamy cup of Stumptown Roast before heading home to make dinner.  Good thing I had some coffee!  Actually, it didn't take all that long to make the Jambalaya since I was using the Le Creuset of Doom, apparently.  I don't know what magical powers that pot has, but it boils water more violently and enthusiastically than any pot I've ever seen.  As such, I can't imagine why I didn't think it would cook the heck out of the Jasmine rice I used in the Jambalaya in about 10 minutes flat.  Really.  It's a good thing I thought to check on it, even though it still had at least 15 minutes to go (according to the recipe, which uses a heavy dutch oven, which I have, but didn't want to clean), it was actually starting to adhere to the bottom of the pot.

I didn't take pictures of it hot because it really wasn't all that interesting looking, but have you ever wondered what 3lbs of leftover Jambalaya looks like?  Yes, I really did weigh it on our bathroom scale.

You can't really tell, but the top is definitely a little domed upward.

I figure it will be a good thing to just reheat if there is some point this week that I was too busy doing nothing of great import to have the energy to cook.  I mean, it's happened before...

seitan's just a little shy

Well, we're a week into VeganMoFo and I have to admit... I'm limping a little.  I think I might have shot myself in the foot, or at least been a little overzealous in my menu planning this week.  I got so excited about cooking out of Veganomicon and The Urban Vegan that I didn't use any common sense.  A smarter person than I would have made the extra effort to open a couple of quicker-cooking cookbooks and stagger the slow-cooking recipes with the express recipes.  There's still next week for that, though.  As far as I can tell, I have at least 9 more days before my world starts to spin faster.

I took an ambitious bite out of my menu tonight and cooked up Seitanic Red and White Bean Jambalaya from Veganomicon.  I absolutely love this recipe, despite that it always takes me way longer to make it than it probably should. 

I thought I was pretty slick tonight and figured I stood a good chance of winning my battle against rice - I cooked it separately in broth while I simmered the beans, seitan, herbs, and peppers in another pot.  It probably did prevent me from starting to eat right about now, but the recipe itself just takes a really long time.  I don't think I will ever be able to convert this to a quick-cooking recipe, short of preparing it ahead of time and warming it back up.

Maybe I'm not supposed to, though.  Some foods are meant to be cooked slowly.  There is a depth of flavor that only gets its chance to shine through when you let it sit and stew for a while.  Some recipes are kind of like introverts - they will do their most brilliant work when left alone to simmer for a while.

Lesson learned.  The next time I make this will be on a snowy Sunday (or, if the Farmers Almanac is right, at least a Bitterly Cold Sunday) when I have nothing to do but let this one-pot meal simmer all afternoon if it wants to.  I have never made this without rushing it.  I love this recipe too much to stunt its growth so you are all my witnesses now: I promise not to make this again until I can give it the time it needs to reach its tastiest potential.

I want an IKEA kitchen

I've been spending way too much time in the 2010 IKEA catalog, but seriously - every kitchen looks so efficient, organized, and downright clean. My kitchen is actually pretty well organized for how little space I have, and I have been quite creative in adding storage space and effectively using the decently large cupboards. However, my space is far from efficient. There are times I have to move Mister's bike in order to open a door to an extra cabinet and extract the electric mixer, immersion blender, or 8x8 baking pan. My spices have long since spread out from the 3-tiered wall-affixed spice rack, as well as the pan into which I corralled the extras, and are now about to push each other off of the edge of the counter they have taken over. I have all but given up on trying to better organize my kitchen (and my home) because I recognize that there comes a point where no amount of organization, nifty gadgets, or extra shelving will conquer the unnecessary amount of stuff we have crammed into our home.

I can't wait until that fabulous day that we move. Oh, the purging that will occur along with the packing...it will be glorious!

Anyway, I probably should have checked the 10 day forecast on weather.com prior to planning this week's menu, though it probably wouldn't have done much good since I'm convinced they're just guessing. It appears (from the gorgeous 80-degree day we enjoyed today) that we have shaken the first cool-down of September and the first part of this week will be summer-like and wholly inappropriate weather for soup dinners. Fortunately (for me), another cold front is supposed to amble in mid-week, making the second half much more amenable to warming-from-within meals. While I wouldn't mind having soup for dinner just about every night of the cooler months, I think Mister would appreciate not having the three soup dinners I planned for this week three nights in a row, so we'll see how I can work that out.

I wanted to enjoy the day a bit because it really was beautiful out (and because sometimes I think if I stay in our tiny, dark apartment too long I'll scream or lose my crackers or something) and when I went to Whole Foods yesterday I saw that the bookstore across the street was having a "buy 2 get 1 free" sale. Also, I needed to try to find black beluga lentils. Having searched the dried and canned bean areas of 4 separate stores, I have come to the conclusion that only restaurants and Nava Atlas are able to purchase these tiny little legumes. The Spice Corner in the Italian Market alleges to carry them, but all I found where they were purported to be were French green lentils (which I also needed). Perhaps I will check back in later in the week. On to the bookstore!

Not surprisingly, my three books are cookbooks - here's the haul:
1. The Accidental Vegan by Devra Gartenstein - My eyes were drawn to this book because of reasons I mentioned previously about accidentally consuming an almost completely vegan diet. I will not say I am Vegan because I still eat yogurt and honey and occasionally cheese, and even if I forsake those things I will still say only that I follow a vegan diet. The reason is this: Presently, at least, I find the entire vegan lifestyle to be too extreme. I have already "deprived myself" of a lot of things in the best interest of human beings: I strive to purchase fair trade goods, I do not purchase clothing from stores or labels that have been confirmed users of sweatshop labor, I sponsor a little girl named Ruth in Zambia, blah blah blah. My reasons for becoming a vegetarian do not now and never did have anything to do with the animals. I think it's terrible how they are treated but I care much more for the impact of the meat industry on the environment and its greed-induced starvation of the hungry in our nation and others. It is my compassion for milk-cows and disgust with the unsanitary guidelines for milk-harvesting that have caused me to (generally) forsake dairy. On the rare occasion we purchase eggs, they are organic and free-range.

That was way longer than I intended it to be. The point I was getting to is this: my diet has been growing slowly more vegan than ovo-lacto vegetarian, so I thought I would give this book a look. As it turns out, not only is it thought-provoking, but it also has some really fun and inventive recipes (which is why I love vegan cookbooks) and an entire section of savory-sounding seitan recipes - in fact, they were the clincher.

2. The Vegetarian Cook's Bible by Pat Crocker - I loved this book because the first 130 pages are a comprehensive discussion of the various health benefits of vegetables and fruits, as well as some grains. The author shares how your diet affects each of your body's main systems (Cardiovascular, Endocrine, Digestive, Immune, Musculoskeletal, Nervous, and Respiratory) and then goes through whole foods from apples to zucchini, including grains, herbs, and spices along the way, sharing each food's health benefits (actions), uses, how to buy/store, culinary uses, and then points to several recipes in the book that use that particular food. It appears to also have some great recipes along with some killer food photos, but that is really an added bonus - I bought it for the first 130 pages.

3. The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau - Honestly, this one won my heart because I'm a sucker for entertaining and for entertaining page layouts. The subtitle, if you will, is "200 Unforgettable Recipes for Entertaining Every Guest at Every Occasion." I figure it might help catapult me to my destiny as a less pastel, more animal/human-friendly Martha Stewart. The structure of the book is slightly confusing for my categorizing mind - there is no Soup chapter or Dessert section - it is arranged by menu, and therefore goes from the appetizer to the dessert of a specifically-themed menu meant for, well, entertaining. As I've mentioned before, I really do appreciate it when cookbook authors take the guesswork out of meal construction and just tell me what to serve with the main course. Each page is a pleasure to behold; in addition to the recipe, the author provides nutritional information, serving suggestions and variations, informational tidbits, and Compassionate Cooks' tips (how to get ham flavor without the pig) and Food Lore (like fennel and pomegranate seeds as ancient viagra). That was just randomly flipped to, by the way, and not the reason I bought the book.

I always make the same mistake, though: I buy new cookbooks the day after planning and shopping for the week's menu. Oh well, it will give me at least a week to carefully dwell on each one before making selections for next week's menu. I'm really excited about those first 130 pages of book #2, though, because of my fascination with nutrition and holistic health, so I plan to use it in bringing a bit more depth of thought to future posts.

In case you were wondering, we had Pasta Jambalaya tonight. It was very good and came together faster than my other two Jambalaya recipes, probably owing to the use of pasta in place of rice. I probably should have let the celery saute a little longer - it was a little too crunchy - it seemed out of place. It was tasty and fun but definitely higher in fat than my other recipes (due to the delightful Tofurky Kielbasa) and not quite as stick-to-your-ribs hearty. In the end, it was nothing to spend a lot of time babbling about (especially after how long this post is already), but I'll probably make it again. It's pretty, too!

jambalaya jamboree

I was so right about how long it takes to make jambalaya. Fortunately, I thought of this ahead of time, so we got to eat dinner around 10:30, rather than around now. I made the delightfully named Seitanic Red and White Bean Jambalaya - it took about as long as the other recipe I have, and longer than Isa says in Veganomicon, but it is so worth it. We were starving by the time it finished cooking, so despite the burning of our tongues, we dug right in and went back for more.
It was so flavorful and the chunks of seitan hiding throughout really added something texturally that was missing from the frozen-thawed-squeezed-and-cooked tofu in my other recipe.

I remember when I got Vegan With a Vengeance - I read it all the way through, like it was a book book, not a cookbook. I just love the way Isa writes and it was sprinkled throughout with little vignettes. I remembered one of her comments while preparing the Jambalaya tonight. She mentioned that because of her involvement with the punk scene when she was younger, she got used to cooking for an army. I thought of this while adding the 4 cups of broth to the 2 cups of brown rice, 1 pepper, 3 celeries, 8 oz of sauteed seitan (I dare you to say that five times fast), and 28 oz of tomatoes. I checked the recipe again and tried to figure out what size a serving would be if I was following the recipe to a "t" and it was supposed to make 6 servings.

^ This is what was left of the Jambalaya after I had two good-sized servings and Mister went back for thirds. Yes, that is a wooden spoon embedded up to the handle. Here's the "leftovers" shot:

Those two containers (each one full) equal eight and a half cups of leftover Jambalaya. Sorry, Isa, but I think you forgot the "1" in front of the "6" in your number of servings...

Oh well, at least I know lunch will be great...all week.