Kale Salad

This is no ordinary kale salad. This particular breed of salad convinced a burly 50 year old man, my father, to walk into a hipster coffee shop in Soho and walk out with a recipe scribbled on the back of a napkin.

My father is not the type of man you can imagine eating in a coffee shop, especially ones filled with younger people that sport tattoos. The barista in fact, was a gentleman with dreads and a golden pocket watch peeking out of his vest. The barista strangely resembled a sort of well-dressed pirate.

He is the old fashion kind of man, my father. I have eaten countless dinners with him at short order diners and at a little luncheon that’s been in business since he was about 12. At 6 foot something he hardly fit at the scratched up wooden table inside the shop.

Now please don’t misunderstand me, it’s not that he’s not open minded about food, and it’s not that he hasn’t had some interesting dishes in his time. He is a very cultured man, but at heart a carnivore. To his credit, he eats every vegan or vegetarian experiment I put before him with an open mind. As my daddy, it’s his obligation, but he does seem to show some genuine enjoyment with tofu (just don’t tell him I said that). But seriously… kale salad coupled with a dainty fork his large hands seemed to swallow up- is quite the contrast.

I watched him as he took a bite of the salad. I could smell the garlic from across the table and practically hear the crunch of the raw vegetable. He got up and walked to the counter, our pirate friend did not look so sure about the approach. He asked what was in it, wrote it down on a napkin and promptly finished off the bowl.

Sometimes you find wonderful things in unlikely places. Pirates, burly 50 year old men and kale salad included.

4 cups fresh kale, rinsed and finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped hazelnut or pecan
1/2 small white onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/3 cup craisins (dried cranberries) or one apple of the sweet variety ( I suggest honey crisp)
1/3 cup asiago cheese (optional)
3 tbs olive oil

1) Combine all ingredients into a medium size bowl. As you can see, there is an emphasis on finely chopped. This is important because it will give the correct balance of flavor. One exception would be the craisins or the apple. The craisins you can leave whole and the apple can be chopped larger or alternatively, more roughly.

La Salade

The man sitting next to my table is undeniably Parisian. Besides his outfit- a dead give away- he spoke in a low voice with a fervor matched only to old men in other French cafés. If your French was decent, which mine at the time was not, you could catch glimpses of the conversation. Words like Marie Le Pen came punctuated, at which point his cigarette would abruptly jerk to the right. His companion, a women with blood red lipstick and short black hair, nodded enthusiastically in agreement. The waiter walked to the table for their order. They ordered what everyone did here; la salade et une verre du vin rouge.

This bistro tucked around a corner just minutes from Notre Dame is not well known by tourists. If it was, I think the line would be out the door. I’m not sure how they have escaped in relative obscurity for all but the frugal Parisian. We had in fact, learned of the spot from a university student we stumbled upon in a park along the Seine.

Winter or not, hungry people gathered to sit outside at tiny tables with red plastic table cloths and little to no leg room on a patio so thick with cigarette smoke you can hardly see to the other end on a cold night. It’s so grossly quintessential I almost laughed the first time we dined here.

Order the salad and you won’t be disappointed. It’s a special from the southern region of Basque that arrives in a silver bucket the size of an American crockpot. All for a whooping 8 euros! Over a bed of lettuce the lucky eater crunches down on tomatoes, fried potatoes, cheese chunks, caramelized onions and two over-easy eggs. It’s the world’s most ultimate salad. Nothing complicated, but here is the original and a variation for you to give a try when you’re bored of the same‘ole salad. We eat this salad on a weekly basis and we’re bored easy- if that’s any indication.

For future Paris bound travelers:
http://gladines-restaurant-paris.fr/
44 Boulevard Saint-Germain
Paris, France
+33 1 46 33 93 88

Original Salad (serves 2 with room for leftovers):

Spring salad mix (preferably the herb mix, but if you can’t find that, you can always add some  fresh parsley and dill)
2 onions
2 tablespoons of butter (or butter substitute/ olive oil)
A pinch of salt
A pinch of brown sugar
Cherry tomatoes- washed and cut in half
4 eggs
3 russet potatoes- preferably organic if you can find them
Slices of brie (optional for the non-dairy people)

1) Slice onions into ringlets and place in a pan with butter, salt and brown sugar. Cook on low heat stirring frequently for about 40 minutes while you prepare everything else or until brown.
2) Wash and slice potatoes into round chip-looking pieces. It is important that they are relatively thin in order to get a great crunch/crispiness in the final product. Cover the bottom of a large pan with a thin coating of olive oil and fry potato slices until both sides are brown. Immediately place them on a plate lined with paper towels.
3) Rinse and dry salad mix and put on plates along with the cherry tomatoes while you wait for everything to cook.
4) If you are adding brie, when the caramelized onions are finished, turn the stove off and place the slices onto of the onions for a few minutes. this will melt the cheese perfectly.
5) Place remaining items- potato crisps, onions, cheese- in that order on the salad.
6) Fry two over easy eggs per plate and place grandly on the top of the salad.
7) Serve with your favorite olive-oil based dressing. An easy fix is a bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar or lemon, salt, pepper, garlic and oregano.

A Salad Variation:

Essentially this variation is the same in preparation with the exception that you hard boil the eggs and use sweet potatoes. The textures and flavors provide a different enough take.

Spring salad mix
2 onions
2 tablespoons of butter (or butter substitute/ olive oil)
A pinch of salt
A pinch of brown sugar
Cherry tomatoes- washed and cut in half
4 eggs
3 sweet potatoes- preferably organic if you can find them
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
Slices of brie (optional for the non-dairy people)

1) Slice onions into ringlets and place in a pan with butter, salt and brown sugar. Cook on low heat stirring frequently for about 40 minutes while you prepare everything else or until brown.
2) Wash and slice sweet potatoes into round chip-looking pieces. It is important that they are relatively thin in order to get a great crunch/crispiness in the final product. Cover the bottom of a large pan with a thin coating of olive oil and fry potato slices with rosemary until both sides are brown. Immediately place them on a plate lined with paper towels.
3) Place eggs in a small sauce pan with water that just covers the top. Boil for about 10-15 minutes. Rinse in cold water and set aside to peel once they’ve cooled.
4) Rinse and dry salad mix and put on plates along with the cherry tomatoes while you wait for everything to cook.
5) If you are adding brie, when the caramelized onions are finished, turn the stove off and place the slices onto of the onions for a few minutes. this will melt the cheese perfectly.
6) Place remaining items- potato crisps, onions, cheese- in that order on the salad.
7) Peel the hard-boiled eggs and crumble on top.
8) Serve with your favorite olive-oil based dressing.

(Perfect) Vegan Chocolate Cake

The discovery: 

“You’ve never heard of Moosewood?!” she exclaimed. Had I so obviously missed something? I was embarrassed, but excited at the prospect of learning from a pro-veggie. All food lovers get that tingling feeling in their toes (or stomach?) when they hear of a new book or twist on a classic dish. I sheepishly admitted that I had not in fact heard of Moosewood.

“Here” she said, reaching up to the highest shelf in the kitchen and pulling down a tomb of a cookbook marked with multicolored napkins and scraps of paper. As we cooked dinner together, I began to flip through the pages, surprised I could have missed the supposed bible of vegetarian cookbooks. Between checking the caramelized onions and crispy potatoes for our French salad, we flipped through the book, folding over the corners of promising pages.

My boyfriend’s mom was vegetarian before he and his brothers were born, each raised without ever having a morsel of carnivorous food. When the early Moosewood cookbooks came out, being a vegetarian wasn’t exactly in style; there were very few standards to turn to when you needed an inspirational idea for the kitchen let alone Tofurky in every grocery store. Vegetarians were by and large, hippies, though I hope that isn’t an unkind thing to say- I very much look up to the pioneers of this genre of cooking. She relied on this book to muster up her standards and do battle with cooking for a family of six vegetarians ( 5 of which were men!).

The new generation of vegetarians is all shiny and bright; it’s stylish to be a vegetarian. As a part of this newer veg world, I often struggle to meet an acceptable budget with half the ingredients, not to mention portions. Seems to me we need a good ole fashion butt whooping and bring it all back to the basics. Because after all, basic ingredients often create the most pure and delightful dishes.

Meet Moosewood: (the abbreviated version)

The Ithaca based, restaurant legend that has produced over 13 cookbooks was named one of the top thirteen most influential restaurant of the century by Bonne Appétìt magazine! Moosewood is a collective, a business owned by multiple people who are all committed to eating and creating happy, healthy food. One day I will have to visit!

For more enlightening info check:

http://www.moosewoodcooks.com/

Meet their vegan chocolate cake:

And along came the vegan chocolate cake. I’ve never met a vegan chocolate cake I’ve actually liked. They tend to be too caky, borderline on sickly sweet and not fulfilling for my chocolate craze. That’s only slightly a lie because I once did buy a vegan brownie mix in Paris that was to die for. But brownies aren’t chocolate cake folks.

For the cake:

1 & 1/2 cup white flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup of chilled coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice (a small modification I made myself)

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2) Grease a muffin pan and sift some cocoa powder in each of the little spaces
3) Sift your dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, soda, salt and sugar) and combine in a separate bowl all BUT the lemon juice. Pour the liquid into the dry and mix until there are no bumps.
4) Add lemon juice, quickly stir and immediately pour into the muffin pan
5) Bake about 10 minutes. It may vary, so keep a close eye. You can always stick a fork in one (if it comes out clean, you’re good to eat!).

Cranberry and Pear Sauce

There’s been some discussion on the valor of canned verses homemade cranberry sauce. Personally, I don’t think there should be a discussion; the plopping sound of canned cranberries is enough to make me cringe, not to mention how fake they probably are. Are cranberries even that color?!!! Clearly, you all know what camp I sit in. But to be fair, I should give credit to the canned team only because it’s a time saver on big feast days. While you’re running around preparing goodness knows what, who has time to make homemade cranberry sauce? But I bet you would make it if it only had three ingredients AND is vegan AND requires almost no attention. Well, you may have to stir it once or twice. Added bonus? No plopping sound. So on your next busy day, or even if you want something new to put on your toast, give this recipe a try.

You shall require:

• 2 cups of fresh cranberries
• 1 pear, chopped, peeling is optional
• 1/2 cup of maple syrup

1) Add cranberries, pear and maple syrup into a small pot. Boil and then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 15-20 minutes uncovered.

That’s it. Really, that’s it.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Light, fluffy clouds of pumpkin. Or pillows would perhaps be a more apt description. Pillow clouds with chocolate chip surprises sprinkled intermittently.

I’ve had a few fantastic experiences with these cookies. The first was learning that pumpkin is an egg substitute when I accidentally messed up the original recipe and they ended up even better than ever. I’ve had “uncanny” luck with baking mess-ups. For some odd reason, I can always find a way to turn a baking disaster into a baking holiday. Not so lucky with cooking though. I won’t tell you the story of the mashed potatoes made with vanilla soy and mint leaves (whoops).

The second was the overwhelming response from friends. I was touched that everyone liked them so much and I promised that before Thanksgiving, this recipe would go up.

Also, put them in the freezer and keep them for weeks at a time, it’s like pumpkin ice cream in a cookie. So. delicious.

An additional note: be careful, they disappear faster than anyone likes to admit (that’s why there’s only one cookie in the picture).

• 1 can of canned pumpkin
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon soy milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups vegan chocolate chips (or just your regular ole chocolate chips)

1)   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

2)   Mix the pumpkin sugar, oil and egg.

3)   Separately, mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

4)   In a cup, stir together the baking soda with soy milk and add to the pumpkin mixture.

5)   Combine flour and pumpkin mixture & then add the chocolate chips

6)   Cook for ten minutes on lightly greased baking sheets

A Thanksgiving Table Draft

For those vegetarians out there, we already know that Thanksgiving at a meat eaters place can feel a bit daunting, if not stressful. You obviously don’t want to offend your host, but you don’t want to starve either. What can you make to bring along that will keep your belly full but ensure that you don’t seem like the high-maintenance guest? This is my first year admitting to my parents that no, I will not even consider eating turkey and no, stuffing cooked in a turkey is not vegetarian. Even this hurdle might have been over taken if not for the fact that we will be traveling to a friend’s house for the big day (a lovely home in Vermont no less, so be prepared for rants on maple syrup candy). In my mind, I have been planning a list of things that will be edible for me (no meat, no dairy). They include: salad and roasted potatoes. Not your optimal consumption point in my opinion. Now to be fair, no one wants to see me go hungry as the sole veggie at the feast table, but I am planning to come armed with some “blow every one out of the water, I wish I was vegetarian platters”. Oh yes, and our host is gluten free, so I have to make sure to put that restriction at the top of my ingredient search too.

Here is a list of dishes that will make any veggie happy at Thanksgiving (as well as the rest of the party who can’t help but try it). In due time, I will provide the recipes so that you too, can have a very happy gobble-gobble day. As you can tell, this is just a road map with some side dishes, but it will do if your the only veggie in town.

• Vegan Stuffing with Apples, Cranberries & Walnuts (Since it’s made with bread, it’s not gluten free, but I want it. And that’s that)
• Roasted Root Vegetable Melange
• Gluten-Free, Raw Vegan Pumpkin Pie
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (these are not gluten free, however, they are dairy free and positively irresistible. We made them last week and I have had multiple inquiries for the recipe. You won’t be disappointed with this dessert show-stopper!)
• Pumpkin Butter (as a gift, and if I have any time)

Carrot Ginger Soup & Mulled Cider

A fall favorite…

This week has seen a lot of madness. Cooking has mainly consisted of pre-frozen goods and on the go crackers with hummus. Sleep has been less of a buddy than the trusty double shot espresso. We all know what that’s like, we’ve all had those weeks. But with the storm, there are often some fantastic improvements or little silver linings. I am pleased to say that this week the boyfriend and I have finally lived our dream of biking every where. Biking to school, biking to the store, biking to grab a snack with friends. It makes me feel liberated! Now there’s no waiting for the bus to pull up late or sitting at traffic lights while people who are walking zoom by at a faster pace than the silver minivan. Not to mention, my legs feel awesome! Biking is exercise, green living and transportation all piled into one simple contraption. And with exercise also comes the need to eat fresh, delicious food that fills the body up with all the nutrients required to get that biking done! Here is one of my favorite recipes filled with creamy flavor. It’s also really great with hot cider; the perfect way to warm up when you forgot to pack your gloves.

Carrot Ginger Soup:

• 1 white onion
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic
• 3 tablespoons of fresh ginger
• 1lb bag of carrots, peeled
• 1 cup olive oil
• 3 cups of vegetable stock
• 1 cup of soy milk (which works better than any other dairy alternative because it creates a creamy texture)

1)   Dice onions, garlic, and ginger. In a large pot on medium heat, simmer onions, garlic and ginger in ½ cup of olive oil. While that is cooking, cut your carrots in small slices from the side. Add and cook with additional ½ of olive oil until carrots are soft.

2)   Add 3 cups of vegetable stock and cook until the soup boils. Turn to low heat and add soymilk, cooking for an additional 5 minutes.

3) Use a food processor or blender to puree the soup in small batches. This will create the creamy consistency that is so adored in carrot soup.

4)   Add salt and pepper to taste, but I don’t think it’s necessary. I garnished with raisin and rosemary crackers but feel free to get creative too!

Mulled Cider:

• 5 cups of your preferred apple cider
• ½ an orange (with rind still on)
• ½ of an apple (with skin and seeds)
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1)   Combine all ingredients in a medium size pot and bring to a soft boil. Turn heat to low and cook for an addition 5-7 minutes.

2)   Serve while it’s still hot in your favorite mug!

Mini Apple Galettes

Here’s a little mid-week treat for you all. This recipe is one that I adapted from the traditional French galette. It’s meant to let the taste of the apples shine.

I hope that wherever you are, you are fulfilled: mind, stomach, and spirit.

Happy Wednesday!

Dough:

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons butter or your vegan substitute, softened
• 3 1/2 tablespoons cold water

Filling:

• 4 of your favorite medium sized apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 5 tablespoons sugar (in reality you will probably use less than this, but it depends on how sweet you like your apples and how sour the apples you are using are)

1)     Mix together flour, sugar, and salt then add 2 tablespoons of your butter. Stir this (by hand) until your dough sort of resembles cornmeal. Sort of. Add the rest of the butter and mix (again by hand) until you’ve got pea sized balls.

2)     Start dribbling in the water bit by bit until it is all gone. The dough should have forced itself into a ball. Flatten this into a disk and put it into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

3)     Remove the dough and let it soften. On a floured surface, roll your dough out and cut it into circular pieces that will fit up the sides of a cupcake pan. Mine were about 6 inches long.

4)     Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

5)     Place the dough circles into a cupcake pan and push them into the sides like you would a piecrust. A great variation to this, and one that requires much less work, is simply rolling all of your dough out into a big circle and placing it on a greased cookie sheet to make a traditional shaped galette.

6)     Stuff either your mini galettes or overlap your apple slices if you are being traditional. The apples will shrink, so if you are making them mini, make sure you pack ‘em in tight!

7)     Fold over the excess dough to create a crust. You will want to leave space around the edges in order to do this for a regular galette. I took the remainder of the dough and created a pie-like cross-over top (credit goes to Skylar, who came up with the idea in the first place). I recommend this if these are going on display before they are eaten. They look so pretty!

8)     Brush the melted butter over the apples and onto the dough. Then sprinkle the sugar evenly over everything. You may also want to use some brown sugar and some cinnamon. I did, and the effect was fantastic! Also remember that you don’t have to use all 5 tablespoons!

9)     Bake until the apples are soft which may take between 30-45 minutes. The color should be a picturesque golden brown. Rotate it about every 15 minutes to make sure all sides are evenly cooked.

Cocoa Sugar Cookies

My boyfriend’s photographic interpretation. Note the pyramid structure 🙂 It was just too cute not to put in my post!

These cookies fought me tooth and nail. I mean literally, they did not want to be made. At first, I thought it would be a grand idea to make a cocoa cake with peanut butter icing. Yum! But there was only ONE egg in the refrigerator. What sort of self-professed foodie/baker/loverofallthingssweet keeps a singular egg in the fridge? This girl right here. I had an obligation though. Not only did we have guests over for a musical jam, but I promised I would make dessert. Then I thought…what if I make sugar cookies…they are easy and don’t require many ingredients. This would save me from going to the store at a late hour (my primary concern) and also make me the hero of the dessert effort. Well apparently sugar cookies need lots of eggs too, not that this surprised me in the least bit.

So I made up my own recipe. Take that multi-egg cookies! The product is something that my boyfriend’s buddy called, “Christmas in a cookie”. A compliment that I was obliged to take of course. They have the delicately crispy edges and nice soft centers that sugar cookies should always have, but with a hint of chocolate somewhere along the way. They also remind me vaguely of tea time at my Oma’s house in Holland. A wonderful place where at 3pm sharp you engage happily in the eating of delicious cookies and tea. Gosh I love the Dutch.

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of butter or your regular vegan butter substitute
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 egg (haha)
• 2 and 1/3 cup of all purpose baking flour
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/8 a cup of cocoa powder (just fill the ¼ cup up half-way)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

1.)  Beat together butter and sugar on low speed until they are light and fluffy.

2.)  Mix in vanilla and egg.

3.)  Stir in flour and baking soda until all the flour is gone from sight

4.)  Using a tablespoon to make the cookies nice and round, drop them onto a non-greased cookie sheet

5.)  Bake for 9 minutes!!! Note: if you make your cookies small, be sure to get them out of the oven around 5 minutes, they cook very quickly!

Perfect Pumpkin Pie

Let’s talk about pumpkins. Because you know that’s what every one started talking about the second Starbucks busted out their pumpkin spice lattes. Though, to be fair, they sorta went down hill this year. You’re better off brewing your own mix by adding pumpkin spice, cinnamon, orange peel and vanilla ( and if you’ve got pumpkin syrup) to your favorite medium brew coffee. (You can just add the ingredients into the strainer the coffee grinds go into and let the hot water soak up the flavor!) Pumpkins are the marketing ploy around every corner. At Trader Joe’s they offer cheesecakes, crackers, soups, breads, and muffins just to name of few. But who doesn’t love pumpkins and the wonderful feeling that fall is finally here associated with their presence.

The only trick is sorting out the real pumpkin food, from the over-hyped, sugar injected stuff. The easiest way I’ve found to satisfy the itch is by making the perfect pumpkin pie. Which, mind you, took a few years to figure out. My requirements are a balance between spice and the true flavor of pumpkin. Enjoy with a pat of whipped cream.

Note: For dairy free diets, this pie can be made without the evaporated milk and still be awesome. A good dairy free, pie crust companion is Marie Claire brand. This brand also doesn’t have lard, so it’s perfect for those who want to stay completely vegetarian.

For vegan diets, simply follow the dairy free prescription by not including evaporated milk and use your favorite vegan egg substitute.

Total yield: 1 pie

You will need:

• 1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree, canned or fresh
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten (can be substituted with your favorite vegan egg replacement)
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 unbaked pastry shell (9-inch)

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium size bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, salt, spices, and flour.

2) Add eggs & mix well. Then add evaporated milk (as mentioned before, this can be omitted and turn out just the same), water, and vanilla.

3) Pour all ingredients into a pastry lined pie pan. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350° and then bake about 35 minutes longer, or until a fork can go into the center and come out nice and clean.

Now go satisfy your pumpkin craving!