Persimmons & Haiku

I was going to post about fennel today, but I decided to do persimmons instead. One hour to spare to get my Vegan MoFo post in for the day at that! Never let it be said that I'm not dedicated! I just got home from the killer Juliette and the Licks show and even though I still can't hear exactly right just yet, I'm still blogging. Because really, all I need to hear is inside my own head for this.

The other day I was going to talk about persimmons, but I got stuck trying to think of something witty for the title. I was out of funny that day, I guess. So I randomly started petitioning my friends to say something funny about persimmons. One of them told me that I should do a persimmon haiku. Well, I didn't write them, but two of my friends did.

Scott's Haiku:
persimmion unripe
grows wild in japan
tastes bitter

Roman's Haiku x2: (He thought I said permission at first... lol Like the evil friend that I am, I made him do another one with the correct word)
roman likes red cats
permission was not given
to wear them as hats

roman did not use the rules
persimmon he did not use
roman is a dope

So now that we've gotten that out of the way...

I was going to make the persimmon bread over at the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen, but they were almost two dollars each and I couldn't remember how many I would need for the bread. Probably more than I wanted to buy, I'm sure. They were organic and already ripe, though, so that's a bonus.

A lot of people were saying to just eat the fruit like it is or to put it in a salad. I chose to put it in a salad with raspberries, cherry tomatoes and baby romaine lettuce. I drizzled some hazelnut oil, balsamic vinegar and lime juice on top. It was so yummy. I definitely want to eat persimmons again. The flavor was light, but full. Not too sweet, but definitely not an absence of sweetness. Sort of the fruit version of a cupcake without the icing, I guess.

The salad was great, and something I'm going to have again very soon. I just started this cleanse - one of those ones with a ton of pills and liquid herbs to take, but it also restricts my diet a little bit for the two weeks that I'm on it. I can pretty much eat all of the fruits and vegetables that I want (with some restrictions - like no tropical fruits - too much sugar, no mushrooms - they can harbor yeast, and other stuff like that). I'm only allowed to have 20% of my diet be from legumes or other protein sources, even some grains are included in that group. I can eat all of the brown rice, buckwheat and almonds that I want, regardless.

To be extra healthy and cleansy, I also wanted to try and eat raw for at least two of my meals while I'm doing this. I've never really tried to make raw food before (salads don't count), so this is a bit of an experiment. I bought a raw cookbook, which I will review in another post and I'm searching the internet for some easy raw things I can make without a dehydrator or blender. All of my kitchen appliances are in storage at the moment except for my immersion blender and a cheap electric mixer that I picked up. That limits me a bit, unfortunately. Not to mention that some things I can't make because they call for foods that are on my do not cook list.

This weekend is going to be a little difficult. I always bake at least one thing, though usually 2 or 3 on the weekends, especially when it's cold outside like this. I bought a bunch of winter veggies to do something interesting with, so I'm hoping that will help me quell the urge to make cupcakes or bread since I can't eat anything with flour or sugar either. It's not so bad. It's only 5 days in and already I'm starting to feel better.

Thanksgiving Survey (Since you guys are all eating instead of reading anyway)

Because it's Thanksgiving in the US and all you guys have your fat pants on so you can keep shoveling in that vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake, I'm going to do that Vegan MoFo survey that's been going around. That and I've just started a cleanse a few days ago and I have a killer headache. Bleh.

1. Favorite non-dairy milk? Silk soy milk. I usually get the kind with extra Omega oils if I can find it.

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook? Ethiopian food from Papa Tofu, Pumpkin Saag from Veganomicon and Urban Vegan's Orange-Scented Cranberry Almond Biscotti.

3. Topping of choice for popcorn? Sometimes I make a brown sugar glaze for it, but usually I just eat it plain. I'm gonna try making it with nooch, though, I keep hearing how great that is, but it never occurred to me.

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure? I've had a lot. Recently I got the great idea to add some leftover stuffing from making stuffed mushrooms to angel hair pasta. It tasted like cardboard pasta. Nasty. Never do that.

5. Favorite pickled item? Crisp kosher dills! Though I do have a weakness for pickled beets.

6. How do you organize your recipes? I bookmark things on the internet into a "Recipes" folder. I also have a little notebook where I write down in SJ recipe speak recipes.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal? I would love to start composting, but living in an apartment in the city, it's not really feasible. Plus, I haven't a clue what I'd do with it since I don't have any plants. I do put as much down the disposal or into veggie broth as I can.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)? Mangos, hashbrowns (with Cholula!), lima beans

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood? My Grandma on my mother's side used to make the best food. I remember it fondly, especially her holiday cookies.

10. Favorite vegan ice cream? Double Rainbow Cherry Chocolate Chunk. Though I haven't been able to find it since I lived in Dallas. :(

11. Most loved kitchen appliance? My KitchenAid stand mixer. I love, love, love that thing. Since it's in storage right now, my current favorite is my new immersion blender. I use the hell out of that thing. Best $40 I ever spent.

12. Spice/herb you would die without? cumin and basil

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time? heh. I have that old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook with the red and white checked binder. I think I got that when I was a teenager. I still refer to it for some things, too.

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly? Plum jam is my current favorite. Yum! I used to die for my Grandmother's pear preserves, though. I miss that.

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend? cupcakes are probably the thing I make most for omnis. But for real food, I like to make vegan chicken and dumplings. It always throws people off to have something that's such a typical southern comfort food and have it be delicious and vegan. Plus, I love it and any excuse to make it is a good one.

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh? tempeh is my favorite, but I probably use tofu and seitan the most.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)? Breakfast! For me, whatever time I eat first is still breakfast, even if it's noon.

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator? My cat Paige, a trivet, 2 pot holders and a coffee pot that I don't use but came with my apartment.

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking. veggie broth, cherries, pierogies

20. What's on your grocery list? Tea, raspberries, apples

21. Favorite grocery store? Drive Organics

22. Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet. Hmmm... that's a tough one. One of my hobbies is veganizing omni recipes, especailly typical southern stuff. I guess one thing I'd like to tackle is southern barbeque.

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa's because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3? I check all of the blog links on your right every day.

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate? Green & Blacks Chocolate. I don't really eat much candy or chocolate, I'm more of a salty/savory kinda gal.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately? Organic Persimmons

26. Veganaise or Nayonaise? Veganaise. Though I don't really like mayonaise sort of things. I will use it only in certain things.

27. What is one recipe or ingredient or cooking technique that you've become familiar with in the last year that you can't imagine you ever lived without?
I had never used seitan until I bought Vegan with a Vengeance. Now I make it all the time.

28. Name a fruit or vegetable that you have yet to try, but want to. Cactus pears

29. Make up your own question to put here (and answer it!)

Let's Talk About Broth, Baby

Yeah, it's not that exciting. But maybe it is to you! I got this idea from someone else's blog on the Vegan MoFo blogroll. I forget who. Whoever you are, thanks for having the idea!

I made some veggie broth last Saturday. Yummy, homemade veggie broth. The coolest part was that I was cooking some other things and just kept adding the veggie scraps to the pot. That was kinda fun and it made me feel like I was being all green and awesome for using my veggie scraps.

In the pot went carrots, celery, parsnips, dill, thyme, sage, parsley, shallots, an onion, garlic, leeks and fennel. Yep. That's right. I made fennel. :D More on that later in the week, though. :D

The coolest part... I always save old containers, wash them out and reuse them so I had a ton of soy yogurt containers. I filled each soy yogurt container with 1/2 cup of broth. Then I filled muffin pans with 1/4 cup each and put the whole shebang in the freezer. After the muffin pan broth was frozen, I put the frozen broth pieces into a larger container in the freezer. Now I have some perfect recipe sized broth for when I need just a little bit!

Margarita. On the rocks, frozen or cupcake?

I never have tequila. Every time I want to make the Margarita cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, I'm annoyed at myself because of that. I know I could have just left it out. Dammit, I wanted to have tequila in my cupcakes, too! Really, let's face it, when someone offers you a cupcake and then tells you there's liquor in it, it does make the cupcake even more interesting and therefore more exciting to eat.

I finally bought some tequila (and brandy, but that's another post) and I finally made these cupcakes. Holy crap on a stick, batman, these are awesome. I love the taste of fresh lemons and limes in baked goods. There is so much awesome lime juice and lime zest in these.

Just look at the batter! You can see how cute the green lime zest looks swimming in there. Don't get the wrong idea. The cupcakes aren't sour at all. The organic limes I used gave such a fresh burst of flavor without any bitterness. Yum!

Because I'm currently obsessed with mini cupcakes and mini muffins, I made these tiny also. Sort of like having a shot of margarita, but in cupcake form. Not that people drink margaritas as shots unless it's upside down... but I digress. The secret to filling your mini muffin cups without making a mess - use a cookie scoop!

Obviously you can also use the cookie scoop for cookies, but it rocks for filling tiny muffin cups, too. I got this at either Michael's or Target and I know it wasn't more than $3 or so. It's totally worth getting one even if you only make mini muffins/cupcakes every now and then. Besides, it also makes cookies easier and more uniform.

Yo Momma! No Wait... Mac Daddy!

Yay Veganomicon! I made the Mac Daddy last week. Yum, yum, yum! No, it doesn't taste like cheese and it doesn't really taste like Kraft Dinner, but it does taste freaking fantastic. If you're making this for just yourself, you might want to put on some elastic pants because it makes a lot. The recipe says that it freezes well, but for some reason I can't see myself suddenly having the urge to unfreeze pasta. Maybe I'm just weird. Well, yeah, I am weird, but that's other issues...

I ate my Mac Daddy plain first and then the next time I decided to add some steamed broccoli and Emeril's Essence. (I forking love that stuff sooo much.) I like to try things just as they are the first time I eat them and then start getting crazy later. I would have added more than just the broccoli, but I got busy and kept forgetting when I was at the market. No worries, that just means more variations to try next time. It might be a little while before I make this again, though. Not that it wasn't good, but I ate this for almost a week. Next time I'll make a half batch, that'll be a better portion size.

I did love the nooch sauce. The crumbled tofu was one of my favorite parts. It added a nice depth of flavor and texture. The thyme in the sauce was also a nice touch.

I am loving making all of the new recipes in Veganomicon. If you haven't picked up a copy yet, do yourself a favor and get one. You won't be sorry.

Sunday Food Porn

Yeah, that's right. Get ready to wipe the drool. I made Katie's Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls today. Holy hell these are good. I've succumbed to the peer pressure. I've been seeing these on everyone's blogs and finally got around to making them myself. And damn. What a great thing to make on a lazy Sunday. Well, not so lazy... I took a long walk down to the market, did lots of laundry and cooked like a crazy person. But that's how I love to spend my Sundays, so that rocks.

I resisted the urge to tweak. Not that I won't next time, but some things were a little different than the way I normally make cinnamon rolls. I typically make cinnamon rolls every few months or so and I wanted to try it someone else's way for a change. Nothing like breaking out of your mold and expanding your horizons, right? I think I'm also expanding my waistline, but that's another story.

I invited Roman over to have a roll after they came out of the oven this afternoon. We each had two warm cinnamon rolls with a hot mug of Vitasoy's Peppermint Chocolate soymilk. Yum! I had been looking for that stuff all over town and finally found it this morning. Soooo yummy. Just the right amount of peppermint, not too overpowering. A little sweeter than I normally like my hot chocolate, but I don't normally sweeten mine hardly at all. I know, I'm weird like that. It was a nice snack and a great combination of flavors with the pumpkin cinnamon rolls. I felt like it was a very fall thing to be having even though it was actually a bit warmer than it has been outside today. I actually opened my windows for a few hours!

Okay, back to the awesomeness of pumpkin cinnamon rolls... The dough itself was fantastically smooth and elastic. Just perfect. 10 minutes is hella long to knead the dough and it made me yearn for my KitchenAid mixer that's in storage. Oh, dough hook, how I miss you. I set a timer so I wouldn't slack and try and pretend that the 10 minutes was already up.

The filling slid out of the dough a bit when I was rolling it up. One thing I'll do next time, something I typically do, is melt the Earth Balance and brush it over the dough, then rub the sugar mixture into it. It helps the filling stick to the dough a bit better.

Okay, let's see those pumpkin cinnamon rolls again... Then, run, do not walk to Don't Eat off the Sidewalk and bookmark the page so you can make these, too.

Fesenjun Tofu

I haven't posted this one yet because I had so many other things that I was excited about. This is the Fesenjun Tofu recipe from the recipe section over at the The PPK. This is one of those recipes that was just sorta okay. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really care for it, either. I think it just wasn't what I expected. I found it to be a bit too sweet. I think I'd also rather have the tofu cubed or sliced and marinated in a sauce rather than crumbled.

I think the best thing about this was that it got my brain going on ways to make a pomegranate marinade/glaze for tofu. Personally, I would prefer something that is more savory than sweet. I have some ideas and some leftover pomegranate extract, so I might try out some things before too long.

Feenjun tofu over basmati rice with a side of kale.