June 27, 2009: Apple quesadillas

I pulled this recipe out of our Moosewood cookbook last Saturday. As I understand it, queso means cheese but there's no cheese involved here at all! Rather, these 'quesadillas' seem to be named after the process of filling, folding and frying tortillas. They're stuffed with a sweet apple-cinnamon mixture, making them an easy alternative to apple pie when you're in need of comfort food on a wintery night in.

I forgot to add the directed maple syrup to the apple mixture but didn't miss it at all. The apples are supposed to be cooked in butter, but I bet margarine would make a fine vegan alternative. And now that I've mentioned cheese, I'd love to try swapping out the cinnamon for some sharp cheddar for a more savoury snack.

Apple quesadillas
(based on a recipe from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics)

3 large apples
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1/1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 teaspoons maple syrup (optional)
3 large tortillas
oil spray

Peel and core the apples, slicing them into flat pieces. Place the apple slices in a large bowl and toss through the lemon juice and cinnamon. Don't worry if the cinnamon is well-mixed, it will be by the time the apples are cooked!

Melt the butter/margarine in a large saucepan or frypan. Arrange the apples across the bottom of the pan and cover them, cooking them for 5-10 minutes. Rearrange them occasionally so that they're evenly cooked, removing them from the pan when they're tender but still firm enough to hold their shape. Stir through the maple syrup, if you're using it.

Heat a frypan and lightly spray it with oil. Place a tortilla in the pan and cook it on one side for a minute or two, before flipping it over. Arrange one third of the apples over half of the tortilla and leave it all to cook for another minute. Fold over the empty tortilla half and transfer the quesadilla to a plate. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and apple mixture.

April 20, 2009: Leftover makeover - Thai coconut soup

The clever guests at our Vegan Indian Potluck knew not to fill up on bland staples while there was such an abundance of vibrant curries (and pastries!) on offer. So, at the end of the night, we found ourselves with leftover curry to feed one, a big saucepan of dried-out rice, and a last unopened packet of roti. (There were also a number of mushrooms, leftover from pizza, slumbering in the fridge.) With a wisp of winter in the air, I planned a big pot of soup filled out with rice; if I could track down a Thai or Indian-inspired number, then the roti would make a perfect side!

Our Moosewood cookbook's been sitting neglected for a while (Chinese-style bbq sauce recipe excepted), yet it almost instantly provided an answer when I opened it - a Thai-style soup with mushrooms, tofu, lemongrass stock and coconut milk. I took the author's advice and doubled the quantity of stock, freezing half of it for later. I took some liberties, though, regarding rice and spice. The recipe didn't include any rice but I happily up-ended 2-3 cups of it into the simmering soup. While Moosewood recipes are often verdant with herbs, they're a little timid with the spices; I increased their pinch of cayenne to several rigorous shakes.

The result was just was we (and our over-burdened fridge) needed - smooth and filling, with that Thai team of heat, sweetness, limey tang and a touch of salt. But it's not quite a match for Lucy's tofu in lemongrass broth.


Thai coconut soup
(based on a recipe in Moosewood Restaurant New Classics)

lemongrass stock
6 cups water
3 fresh lemongrass stalks, coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 leek or onion, coarsely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
6cm piece fresh ginger, sliced
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

soup
1 x 400mL can coconut milk
2 tablespoons lime juice
cayenne pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
200g firm tofu, sliced into cubes
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2-3 cups cooked basmati rice
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the stock, put all the ingredients in a large saucepan, bring them to the boil, then cover and simmer them for 35 to 45 minutes. Drain the vegetables from the stock, squeezing them to get as much liquid as possible.

For the soup, return the stock to the saucepan and add the coconut milk, lime juice, cayenne and turmeric. Bring it to a simmer before adding the tofu, mushrooms, rice, coriander and salt then cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve the soup garnished with extra coriander leaves.

March 31, 2008: Tempeh with a lil' less Buffalo

Tempeh-skeptic Fiber recently went wild for Buffalo tempeh "wings" and we were keen to give them a go. However, getting some wing sauce going here in Australia proved to be a bit of a challenge. It's composed of only three ingredients - Louisana-style hot sauce, ketchup and butter - so it seemed important to get all the components right. However, I've never seen such hot sauce on sale and a bit of internet research indicated that it wouldn't be realistic to try to make it myself. Instead I decided to make our favourite Chinese style barbeque sauce - it looked like having the necessary consistency and zing, if not the right ingredients or origin.

Tempeh is a funny one. It has a substantial, almost meaty, density to it but it's a bit dry. I had high hopes here but even the sauce didn't provide sufficient moisture for me. We were rather taken by the crumbing though, and Michael suggested that we could try it with tofu - after all, it works great for the 'fish' fingers. I'm foreseeing a sauce squabble too, with Michael voting Chinese-style and me on Team Tartare.

If you'd like a shot at these wings (no buffalo or birds need be harmed!), head over to 28 Cooks.

January 20, 2008: Caribbean beans and greens wrap

For reasons that will soon become apparent (i.e. after the next post), we went looking for a Caribbean themed meal on Sunday night. Preferably something straightforward. Luckily, Moosewood came through with the goods. These wraps are remarkably easy to put together and have at least a hint of the Caribbean about them. The biggest problem involves the need for collard greens - we tried Piedemontes, but were forced to settle for chicory, which was probably a bit of a stretch. Anyway, that aside, the whole process took about twenty minutes and served up a filling, healthy and thematically appropriate meal. Like a lot of Moosewood recipes, it was probably a little on the bland side for my tastes - but a sprinkling of jalapenos was all it took to resolve that problem.

Ingredients
1 cup diced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups of greens (chicory in our case, collard greens in the original recipe)
1.5 cups cooked black beans (we just used 1 400g can)
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon oil

Saute the onions and garlic in the oil until they're nice and soft (8-10 minutes). Add in the thyme, allspice and greens and a splash of water. Cover and let cook for about 5 or 10 minutes, until the greens have wilted away.

Push the greens to one side of the pan and pop in the beans. Give them a quick mash and a stir, add in the orange juice, stir it all together and take it off the heat. Warm the tortillas in a pan, fill with the beany mush and eat.

July 21, 2007: Fennel leek soup

We needed a better excuse for our trip to Preston Markets than just the nearby bakery, so before we set off we dug up this fennel leek soup recipe from our Moosewood cookbook for Sunday night's dinner. It was loaded up heavily with vegetables and seemed like it would be a decent winter's dinner. The recipe took a bit longer than I anticipated - you basically end up making your own stock for the base of the soup - and the final product was a little short on flavour (at least partly due to my forgetting to put pepper in), but still heavy, warming and satisfying. The thin-sliced radishes were a fine accompaniment, as were the croutons that Cindy made up from the fresh bread we'd picked up at the markets, but the whole package was just slightly short of flavour. It's something to work on - maybe up the leek content for next time.

Fennel leek soup (courtesy Moosewood Restaurant's New Classics)
1 fennel bulb, trimmed
3 leeks
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups spinach, rinsed and stemmed
2 tablespoons chopped dill
Juice of 1 lemon
10 cups of water
Thinly sliced radishes
Croutons

Trim off the odds and ends from the leeks and fennel bulb and rinse them (the odds and ends I mean) thoroughly. Keep the good bits aside for later. Place the odds and ends in a large pot along with the carrots, half the potatoes, the thyme, fennel seeds and some salt. Cover with the water and boil for 45 minutes or an hour to make stock.

While the stock is simmering, slice the fennel bulb thinly and chop the white parts of the leeks up. Heat the olive oil in a pan and saute the fennel and leek for about 15 minutes, until they're soft.

Strain the stock and then put the stock, the fennel and leek and the remaining potatoes back into the big pot and simmer it all for about 15 minutes. Stir in the spinach, dill, lemon juice and the rest of the salt (and the pepper!).

Puree the soup in batches in a food processor until smooth. Serve it up with a handful of radish slices and a few croutons floating on top.

April 4, 2007: Wednesday night Mexican

It's been a while since we entertained anyone in our home, but some newcomers to my workplace provided a good reason to pull out the biggest saucepan and buy an extra 6-pack of beer. Tracy and her partner Lee are the latest Brisbane migrants to Melbourne's inner north and from even further afield (the Northern Territory!), Beth has now taken up residence at a desk adjacent to mine. On Wednesday evening they gave me an hour or so head start from the office to cook up a Mexican-themed dinner at home.

On my previous night's planning, I made the decision to keep this weeknight meal quite casual and low-stress. This meant no-fuss appetisers and desserts, and a serve-yourself main course. Michael had picked out some perfectly ripe avocadoes and it didn't take too long to mash them with a very juicy lime and stir in some finely chopped red onion and a bit of sour cream. Voila! Tangy guacamole. I brought out the Chilli Factory salsa as a spicy side, and there were Coronas all round.

Michael can take most of the credit for dinner - an enormous pot of TVP/red bean chilli. This is the kind of hearty vegetarian dish that ensures we'll never hanker for spag bol: thick tomato sauce with chopped veges, red kidney beans and our favourite pseudo-mince ladled into bowls and garnished with a dab of sour cream. My contribution was to whip up a cheesy cornbread batter and bake it in a muffin tray. We kept the chilli and cornbread minimally spicy, offering pickled jalapenos and finely diced chipotles to cater for the varying tastes and tolerances among us.

For once, I showed a bit of restraint on the dessert front. Rather than poring over cookbooks for days and baking something rich and labour-intensive, I turned to Allergy Block for some theme-appropriate chocolate. I found the Green and Black's Maya Gold I was after and also picked up another doozy - dark chocolate with cayenne! Good news that it's organic, vegan and made with ethically-purchased cocoa. It was a pleasant 70% cocoa block and a slow burner - I was chewing for a good five seconds before I detected the cayenne, but it's an unmistakable heat at the back of the throat once it does arrive. The G&B's was everything I remembered it to be: smooth but not waxy and with an intensely orange and subtly spiced edge.

Admittedly this was a bit more involved than our usual weeknight meal, but we lost nothing in stripping the menu back from my more elaborate efforts of the past. When the guests have left and I'm stacking the dishwasher, I feel more satisfied from having spent time in good company than I ever will from huddling in the kitchen for hours on end, trying to impress with risky and complicated food.



Chilli with TVP
(from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics)

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1-2 teaspoons chilli powder
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 large red capsicum, diced
2 cups of TVP, re-hydrated in 2 cups of hot water
2 x 800g cans crushed tomatoes
2 x 800g cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2/3 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
Tabasco or other hot sauce to taste
salt, to taste
optional garnish of grated cheese or sour cream

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, frying the onions and garlic until soft. Add the cumin, coriander and chilli powder and stir well. Next add the diced zucchini and capsicum, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the TVP and cook for a few more minutes until it's heated through. The canned tomatoes and beans go in next, then finally the parsley and seasonings. The chilli can remain covered on a low to medium heat, with occasional stirs, if you are preparing other food (such as delicious cornbread!). If the chilli is thicker than you prefer, thin it out with a little water or stock just a minute or two before serving. To serve, ladle the chilli into bowls or mugs and garnish if you wish.


Cajun Cornbread
(from Kurma Dasa's World Vegetarian Food)

1 cup polenta
1/2 cup plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika (substitute some or all of this with cayenne if you like)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced green chillies (optional)
1 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons oil
3/4 cup grated tasty cheese

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Combine the dry ingredients, polenta through to the optional chillies, in a bowl and mix well. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and oil. Combine the dry and wet ingredients (don't over-mix) and fold in the grated cheese. Spoon the mixture into a greased loaf pan, pie dish or muffin tray (I made 8 small muffin portions). Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden on top. Serve warm.

March 7, 2007: Chinese-style barbeque sauce

I'm getting psyched up for autumn and winter eating ahead of schedule and a symptom of that was the batch of non-sausage rolls that I made for dinner on Wednesday night. Usually Michael slathers his with chilli sauce, while I go for the more conventional Heinz tomato. But this time we put together some Chinese-style barbeque sauce from our Moosewood cookbook. With both tomato and chilli pastes involved it's something of a compromise sauce, but it's a compromise where we both gain more than we sacrifice: it's sweet, salty, hot and tangy in almost equal parts. As well as pouring it on the usual pies, sausages and burgers, I reckon this might make a good tofu marinade.

Chinese-style barbeque sauce
makes about a cup

In a bowl, combine:

• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1-2 teaspoons chilli paste
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder.

Taste, and adjust the flavour balance to your liking. Store leftovers in the fridge.

February 10, 2007: Super Sandwich

You know in Blondie comics, how Bumstead is always trying to construct huge triple sandwiches to feast on at midnight? Or do you remember that Simpsons episode where Homer takes home a 10 foot hoagie from a company picnic, hiding it from Marge like a secret lover when the mayonnaise starts to turn? I've never understood that devotion to sandwiches. Maybe for a burger with just the right herb and sauce combination, but only if there were some top-notch chips on the side, right? An unheated, unaccessorised sandwich couldn't really engender that kind of feeling on its own, could it?

On Saturday I found one that hit that kind of mark. Michael and I planned a visit to Yarra Bend Park for a walk and some very amateur bird watching. We wanted to be there around dusk and so sorted out a little picnic for dinner. The main feature of this picnic was the French-Style Roasted Vegetable Sandwich from Moosewood's New Classics cookbook. Sweet, tangy and creamy, it was good stuff. Take a look at this recipe and don't be put off if you think it looks like a bit of effort - the result is well worth it!

Super Sandwich

1. You need a 20-inch baguette. We bought a sourdough baguette from Brown's down the street. Cut it long-ways through the middle.

2. The first layer is some greens. The original recipe has a cup of aragula, but I just grabbed whatever looked good at the fruit shop.

3. The second layer is sliced Gruyère cheese. Thanks to the feller working at La Parisienne Pate, who referred us to rival deli the Lygon Food Store, since they were all out.

4. The roasted veges are a granny smith apple, half a red onion and three enormous mushrooms, all sliced finely. Put 'em in a smallish baking dish with a few dabs of butter and bake them at 200 degrees C for 15-20 minutes, just until their juices start to run a bit. Then cool them before spooning them on top of the cheese.

5. The final addition to the super sandwich is dill mayonnaise, spread on the top baguette piece. The original recipe just recommends buying some mayo and mixing in a tablespoon of fresh dill. If you're that way inclined, I suppose you could buy a bottle of trendy Simon Johnson dill mayonnaise from your local deli for $9.90. Pfft! I made my own, using a couple of eggs, the juice of half a lemon and about a cup of cheap olive oil. It tastes fantastic, only takes 5 minutes in a food processor and you can bet it cost less than $9.90. There's plenty of time to get busy while the fruit and veg are in the oven.

6. Put the top on, cut it in half or in thirds and wrap it up for later. It's gonna be sweet, it's gonna be tangy, you are gonna love this when it's time to unwrap it and dig in. And with the hour or two of anticipation, the moment's gonna be even sweeter! Here's the scene where we passed that time at Yarra Bend Park:

August 23, 2006: Mexicana

Given all the spare time I’ve had while waiting to start my new job, I’ve been trying to come up with some vaguely interesting things to cook for dinner. Our discovery of a Spanish/Mexican deli nearby prompted me to scour our recipe books for meals containing black beans and chipotles.

While nothing was quite what I was after, I decided to combine a black bean and sweet potato hash from our Moosewood book with a tortilla stack recipe from one of Kurma’s books. The meal itself was pretty straightforward – sweet potato cubes are cooked up with black beans, onion, garlic and cumin and then served on shallow-fried tortillas with salad and sour cream.

The hash mix was supposed to include jalapenos, but I substituted in some of the sauce that the chipotles (which I’ve just discovered are actually smoked jalapenos – you learn something new every day) came in (called adobo sauce). This gave the whole mix a faint of spicy-smoke flavour – reminiscent of hot salami more than anything else. I foolishly spooned a couple of the chipotles on the top of my meal and was forced slather on the sour cream to counteract the pepper power. The whole meal could probably be made more delicious with the addition of a couple of fatty extras: grated cheese and avocado, but I’d still consider it a success.

Categories

• Cooking
• Savoury

August 14, 2006: Spinach Coconut Soup

This was originally intended to record both our cooking and our dining out adventures, but the lack of kitchen facilities has so far been fairly limiting. After three straight days eating every meal out, Tuesday was my chance to christen our spacious new kitchen with a home-cooked meal. To counter the tail-end of the Melbourne winter, I opted for a hearty soup. The recipe came from our Moosewood recipe book and was billed as a fusion between Asian and Australian cooking. It was a fairly simple unblended soup of leeks, garlic, spinach, rice, lemon juice, coconut milk and vege stock along with a few spices. To make sure it filled us up, I picked up a sourdough baguette from one of the local bakeries.

The lemon juice and coconut milk gave everything a bit of a Thai-style flavour, while the leek, garlic and stock were more reminiscent of a traditional European soup. Even with the rice, the whole thing was a little insubstantial and we managed to polish off a fair chunk of the bread as well.

Categories

• Cooking
• Savoury