Lazy Persian Kotlet

So, last year I attempted to make a vegetarian kotlet recipe from My Persian Kitchen and I left too much liquid in the mixture, so I had no kotlets but some very tasty mashed potatoes. I had some advieh left (which is a very delicious spice blend for Persian cooking) and I wanted to try a version where I didn't blend the ingredients together but kept them whole. I often do this with soup recipes so that I can keep some texture in my food. It turned out very well. (And so much easier too!) 

Go to My Persian Kitchen's recipe for Vegetarian Kotlet and just don't blend the ingredients. If you actually want to make them kotlet-style and keep it plant-based, use a flax egg instead of a regular egg.  

Fancy taters.

Advieh, turmeric, and salt on the mash from my previous attempt. It's so pretty!

Vegan Pastry-Press Cookies

There were several different cookies that my mom made every Christmas (she still does, just not all of them now). We made Russian teacakes, candy cane cookies (where you twist two colors of dough), chocolate crinkles, and cookie-press cookies! Technically, it's a pastry press because (as I recently discovered) it makes more than just cookies. But, to me, it's a cookie press. This year I was determined to make cookies with my son around the holidays, so I transformed the cookie-press dough recipe into a vegan Christmas miracle. I usually don't use sugar in my recipes, but it's the holidays...and it's not like I ate the whole batch...by myself...the day I made them...and then made a second batch to replace them before my husband and son came home. Yeah, I definitely did not do that.

Note: If you don't have a cookie press, which, I'm not sure why you wouldn't. If someone in your family either did not pass one down to you or merely gift one to you because they still use theirs, you might find one at a thrift store, yard sale, or ebay. But even without it, you can just roll the dough into 1-inch balls and flatten a little bit (but not with a fork, because that will make them peanut butter cookies).  

Cookie press with my favorite holiday plates.

Ingredients:

1 cup vegan butter

3/4 cup sugar 

1 flax egg*

1 t pure almond extract (ingredients should contain bitter almond oil)

1/4 t salt

2 1/4 cups flour (I used hard red whole wheat flour that I pre-ordered and picked up at the farmers market from Nash's Organic Produce, but any flour will work)

1/4 t baking powder

any color natural food coloring (I used a beet-powder based color)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream vegan butter and sugar together with a hand mixer (the original recipe didn't say "until fluffy", but I like to mix it until it has a little fluff). Add flax egg and almond extract and mix well. Combine dry ingredients (including the food coloring if you're using a powdered form), then gradually blend into butter mixture. If you're using a liquid food coloring, add it at this stage. Fill your cookie press with dough and crank those buggers out on an ungreased cookie sheet. Remember that the dough will expand a bit, so err on the side of smaller cookies to keep their proper shape. Bake for 10-12 minutes. 

*To make a flax egg, combine 1 T ground flaxseed with 2 1/2 T water and let sit for at least 5 minutes. 

Dough colored with a natural beet-powder based food coloring. 

Before the oven. 

Tastes just like Christmas.

Thanksgiving

A salad my niece made, with vegan dressing. 

Thanksgiving? But, you say (I can hear you), it's almost Christmas! The excuse of my life, but I have been busy. In any case, if I post my dishes from Thanksgiving I can hopefully help you bring some ideas for Christmas dinner to the table (quite literally).

This was my first major food holiday being vegan, and it went quite well. My sister-in-law and niece (who's becoming quite the chef/baker) intentionally made some vegan dishes which was amazing! I didn't anticipate getting stuffed to the gills, like I usually do, but I did so I count that as a success!

Dish #1: Whole roasted parsnips (from Kirsop Farm). I rinsed, cut off the ends, tossed in sunflower oil, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and ground rosemary (grown by my friend Maggie, dried and ground by myself; super fresh). I actually roasted these in our toaster oven (out of necessity, because holiday baking), so it was good to know that it works. 

Roasted Parsnips

Dish #2: Butternut squash wedges (squash from Alvarez Farms). I peeled the squash (tip: using a carrot peeler works a lot better than using a knife, like I'd been doing for years!), cut it in half and deseeded it, and chopped it into wedges (think potato wedges, but you just have to work with the contours of the squash). Then I tossed the wedges in sunflower oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and freshly chopped sage. I baked them for about 45 minutes and accidentally broiled them for half the time, which worked out well as it gave them some crispness. 

Pre-baked. 

Mmmm.

Dish #3: Lime Cheesecake, from The Splendid Table website. I'm still trying to perfect my vegan cheesecakes. My goal is to get them as smooth and creamy as Liberation Bakery, so I'll just keep buying theirs at the Ballard Farmers Market for motivation and, of course, for deliciousness.   

This crust has so many good flavors going on. 

Freshly poured, before freezing. 

Yum. 

Chai Banana Latte

Most of the time hot tea hits the spot for me (yes, even in the summer) but sometimes in colder weather I really miss a creamy chai latte, a London Fog, or even a regular latte or mocha.

A while back at the end of a summer season, I was talking to someone who was trying to stop drinking coffee. They were talking about how it would be fairly easy until that switch into autumn when they would be craving those creamy lattes, which got me thinking about how strong seasonal marketing is for us consumers. Half the time (if not more) we don't even realize that we're being preyed upon and made to want to buy things. Companies plant and culture seasonal cravings in us, usually for their products specifically (like pumpkin spice lattes and peppermint bark) but also for broader categories (like turkeys and rosé and egg nog). If someone was marketing water to us in the summer time, we would all be drinking more of it. But instead, we're being encouraged to drink more addictive substances like sugar and dairy products. I think the first step in combatting this mindset is to realize that the marketing is happening and to be aware of it. Once you take a step back, you can recognize it for what it is and you can work against it. So, this recipe is my way of pushing against it: creating a healthy alternative that's not padding some corporation's pockets.

I came up with this recipe when I was visiting Michigan in April. I had some Maté Chai with me from Shen Zen Tea and my aunt and I were craving chai lattes and were trying to figure out how we would make something similar with no dairy and no sugar. So, my mind immediately went to the one item that I used to sweeten everything: bananas. Brilliant! So we steeped some tea, got some almond milk, and the rest is history. 

Ingredients:

2 banananas

1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (flax, almond, hemp, soy, coconut, hazelnut, etc.)

tea of your choosing brewed strong but not long (I can't get enough of Shen Zen Tea; their Masala Chai, Maté Chai, London Fog, and Lemon Turmeric are all great for this recipe)

1 t ground cardamom, ground cinnamon, or pure vanilla extract (whichever spice or flavor complements your tea)

Brew your tea so that it's strong, but remember that black tea shouldn't be steeped any longer than six minutes. Combine bananas, non-dairy milk, and ground spices in the blender and blend until smooth. Pour equal parts of the banana mixture and tea into a cup and mix with a spoon. If your tea is not piping hot, you may need to heat your drink in a small saucepan before consuming. 

Variations on tea and spices: Earl grey tea with pure vanilla extract. Masala chai tea with ground cinnamon and cardamom. Lemon turmeric tea with ground cardamom (which is pictured; I also added a little bit of Old Growth Heirloom Pu-erh for caffeination). 

Chai Banana Latte. 

Lemon Turmeric and Old Growth Heirloom Pu-erh teas.

Mango Daal

Mango daal over rice. 

This is such a warming dish that's great for fending off those late fall/early winter chills. You know, that time of year where your body isn't quite used to the cold weather yet, but you've finally gotten used to wearing sweaters and winter jackets. Caution: this recipe is for internal use only.

I became interested in cooking Indian food when I took a Food and Culture class as an elective in college and my group picked India as our country of interest. There are so many different cuisines within this largely-populated country, as many curries and seasoning blends as there are families in India, and so many spices and ingredients utilized that it was (and still is) endlessly fascinating to me. Since that time, I generally have most spices needed to prepare an Indian dish in my spice drawer at all times. And the great thing is that many Indian dishes are plant-based and pack a lot of flavor.  

Display of color: garlic, red lentils, red pepper, mango, turmeric, and ginger.

Ingredients:

2 cups red lentils (rinsed thoroughly and drained)

1-2 T coconut oil

1 large onion (diced)

4 cloves garlic

1 T fresh ginger (approximately) 

1 T fresh turmeric (approximately; or powdered if you absolutely have no way of getting a hold of fresh)

1 t ground cumin

1 T ground coriander

salt (to taste)

mild to spicy red pepper (depending on your heat preference)

1 large or 2 small mangos (peeled and diced)

sprigs fresh cilantro

2 cups rice (any type; I used basmati this time), rinsed thoroughly and cooked

Rinse and drain lentils and add to a pot with about 4 cups water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes, adding more water if needed for desired consistency. Salt to taste. Note: red lentils don't keep their shape, at least for me, so I've stopped trying to come up with a way to keep them whole during the cooking process. In this recipe, they will cook down to a sort of thick sauce, perfect for spooning over rice.

Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil in a large pan then add onion and cook until softened. Add ground cumin and coriander at any time. Prep garlic, ginger, and turmeric then finely mince them altogether on a cutting board. Add to onion mixture and cook for 4-5 minutes. Finely chop red pepper (or if you have no access to fresh peppers, use dried chiles or cayenne powder) and add to mixture, cooking for about a minute. Stir in the lentils and combine thoroughly, then add diced mango. Taste for salt content; the right amount of salt will make the spices pop and give the dish amazing flavor. 

Prepare rice at any time. I have been cooking my rice like pasta lately. Boil about 3 times as much water as your desired (uncooked) rice amount, add salt, then add rinsed rice and cook uncovered for 10-30 minutes (depending on which type of rice you're using). Brown rice takes 30 minutes, and white basmati rice takes 10-15 minutes. Drain using a strainer then put it back in the pan, covering to lightly steam until ready to use. 

Spoon lentil/onion/spice mixture over rice and top with fresh cilantro. 

Basmati rice and mango daal.

Cornbread with Cranberries

I made this amazing cornbread using the Magic Skillet Cornbread recipe from The Vegan 8. I used almond flour because I didn’t have pecans, used kuzu root starch instead of tapioca starch, and added fresh cranberries from Bloom Creek Cranberries. So tasty and only sweetened with a tiny bit of maple syrup! 

Yum.

Fresh out of the oven. Cast iron with parchment paper is the best way to bake.