From the monthly archives: August 2010
I’ve spent all week so far setting up my fifth grade classroom and haven’t cooked a darn thing. I entered my classroom mid-year this past January and didn’t have the opportunity to imprint the room with any of my own pizazz. But this year! Vintage fabric is strewn about and my tidy sense of deep-down organization and lively design will be invading the room. Not a fan of the half-butt and an admirer of spatial efficiency, I needed to cover closet doors of worn out wood with some inspiring messages and color, color, color! After some mishaps with some contact paper from the 1970′s, I thought it best to order a few feel-good but politically-charged posters from Northern Sun, a company that used to outfit me in my idealistic rebel teenager days. Then I moved on to Etsy for some wall art that was a bit more unique. Etsy always has deliciously wonderful prints, the kind I can peruse for hours smiling. Given my meager funds, I chose to replicate my own feel-good, life-is-beautiful prints in photoshop. Below is the series 1. Now to find a good printer… 
This one below will not go up in my classroom, but I wanted to make it anyway. It is a fascinating tidbit of science-love from the American physicist Lawrence Krauss.
Some days are meant for doing nothing. That’s right, no-thing. Even this B.L.T. seemed to be too much effort. Toasting bread, frying up tempeh leftovers, slicing veggies and spreading Vegenaise was about all I could take. I don’t even know what I sprinkled on the potatoes before throwing them in the oven. So here, a B.L.T. the only tangible evidence of my existence today. 
On sunny Sunday, August 1, 2010, I found inspiration in the pages of The Electrician‘s omnivorous cook books as he manually labored in his yard. A proper vegan bunch! Complete with the works: traditional brunch staples, both sweet and savory, served on vintage China and vividly colored fabric with tasty adult beverages… a brunch that catered to the food blogger, the food lover in the peaceful setting of my boyfriend’s home by the ocean.
I had some weeks to exhaustively plan and timeline the execution of the ambitious brunch spread: cinnamon and pecan buns, apricot and cheese danishes, citrus scones and upscale breakfast sandwiches of cherry sage sausage and mini omelet patties on top of herbed artichoke biscuits, and a side of tempeh bacon. The day finally came, after several nights of anxious panics about fixins and sauce accompaniments. With the kitchen, time and the Volvo at my disposal, I began.
The cinnamon and pecan buns were the first undertaking. Below is the process, outlined wonderfully by VeganYumYum here. Top-Bottom, Left-Right: 1) The dough has risen to its maximum, the pecans and coated in cinnamon and sugar and a bit of the huge quantity of Earth Balance utilized in the recipe was ready to go. 2) I’m a stickler for precision in baking. 3) Wet with Earth Balance. 4) Coated in cinnamon, sugar and pecan. 5) All rolled up. 6) Cut with dental floss and placed in a pool of sugar and Earth Balance. 7) The cross-section is looking good! 8) All packed in! If I ever make these again, I’ll give them more room. It was very difficult getting them out of the pan after they baked into each other.
The cinnamon and pecan buns are all ready! When serving I put out a squeeze bottle of icing so brunch-goers could choose their sweetness level. 
I am so impressed with this dough, btw. Who the heck needs dairy?! It was perfect. I am thinking of using it for making sweet soft-baked pretzels with my nieces. Kids love dough and, okay, I love dough too.
Next was the vegan danishes. These were a big challenge. I’ve mentioned before I don’t like when veganized versions don’t embrace the defining characteristics of said food item. So I wanted to take care these danishes would not be slabs of dough but embody the layered butteriness of their non-vegan counterparts. That required folding and rolling a very delicate dough a jillion times. I used the recipe here at the Village Vegan, which noted the repetitive fold-roll out process, but I’d likely try this dough recipe here and follow the Village Vegan process.
Trusting the preferences of my esteemed foodie guests, the cream cheese danishes rocked the house. Vegan cheese danishes? Who would of thought it possible?
Though pretty, I’d also opt out of capping danishes with a huge piece of fruit. They made eating it awkward and moistened up the danish too much. Good preserves do the trick. 
Here is the spread. Center are the citrus-glazed scones (from VwaV), next to the danishes and buns. To the left the my vintage plate collection and doilies for pretty blog pictures and coffee. All sit atop a sturdy serving table The Electrician made in like 5 seconds. 
The drink station: Maine Root’s root and ginger beers and a sparkling blood orange rum punch.
The savory spread: vegan egg patties with cherry sage sausage (both from Vegan Brunch) on herbed artichoke drop biscuits I created from the base recipe of my Red Lobster cheese and garlic biscuits. Next time, I would go for a rolled out dough, cut with a biscuit cutter, as these didn’t hold up as a sandwich base. 
Everyone loves tempeh bacon, especially when it’s marinated overnight! On the right, Genna’s tasty potatoes. 
The spreads: strawberry jam, pineapple butter and roasted garlic and lemon cream cheese
Manga! What a great day of eating. 
The morning after to-go container for curious electricians.
Stop. Remember this moment. Summer has peaked. We’re about to descend down its slope, quickly. Halloween is already in the stores. We’ll pass through September, transitioning into the swift sweep of Thanksgiving and into Christmas and 2011. And repeat.
But now, stop. Commit the clam behind your knees to memory, the sticky layer on your skin, the bright pink watermelon, the lone sheet grazing you in bed, flapping with the fan. Soon, after a quick Fall, you’ll be in winter, convinced of the impossibilty of it ever being anything but cold. Convinced the day light will never carry on past 6 p.m. again. Convinced Summer’ll never return.
And when you’re there, hibernating in the deep winter, think of the bright fresh foods. Rooftops. The city in front of a hazy sky. What your friends look like underneath their outer winter layers. Think the colors of summer–on your plate and in your cheeks. And begin preparations to find even more to remember next time.
Photos from CandyPenny‘s Boerum Hill penthouse taco night
I have made vegan versions of dessert classics before, but there was always something that daunted me about attempting the well-known Italian cake Tiramisu. There is the multiple layers and components, all of which needed accurate veganization. And given all that alteration it’d still need to be, in fact, Tiramisu. Too often recipes and desserts at restaurants had the name but strayed too far from the classic flavor combination that define it as a classic. That is, until Mihl from Seitan is my Motor posted this recipe. Soaked sponge cake: √ Mascarpone-like cream: √ Layers: √
Mihl’s amazing recipe is on the link above. And I highly recommend giving it a try for a gorgeous and authentic vegan Tiramisu. Below is a picture guide of the recipe.
From L to R, T to B: 1) Amaretto and a strong coffee are a must. If you buy a mini, those are your 4 tablespoons right there. 2) I subbed coconut yogurt for the soy yogurt but may opt not to next time. The coconut yogurt paired with the coconut oil made it a prominent flavor and perhaps weakens the authenticity? 3&4) The porous and spongey cake was easy to cut cleanly with a serrated knife… and if your luck isn’t as good, no sweat! You’re layering it and globbing it with cream anyway. 5) When laying the cake “bricks”, put the porous cake underbelly face up to take in the coffee/Amaretto. 6&7&8) Lovely layers!
All done! My only regret here is not having a quality cocoa powder for dusting the top. I had run out of my $10 and had nothing but the light brown Tollhouse cocoa left. The dark contrast of a dutch cocoa would have livened up the presentation a bit more.
Ain’t she gorgeous? 
Advice: let her set overnight. Overzealous, I served her a few hours later and it was difficult to get a clean cut. I know, I know–you’re going to chew it up anyway, yes… but there is something about a neat piece of cake on a pretty dish: the calm before the storm.
Going… going… gone.
Figs are a lovely and fascinating fruit. They are internally-flowering. In fact, they’re not really a fruit at all but flowers. Their innards, so chock full of life and movement, are rows and rows of inner-flowers, like eating a sweet, sweet bouquet. Besides playing a role in many faiths and worships, figs are high in my book of praises for their unique texture, sugary ooze and their many medicinal qualities. They have laxative effects, are loaded with calcium (the highest source in the plant world) and increase sperm mobility and production. What many-splendored little dollops they are! Besides this all, they’re beautiful, a testimony the the magnificent visual patterns and design within the natural world.
I ♥ kao nio ma muang
Long Tan, Park Slope, Brooklyn
Siam Lotus, Bay Shore, Long Island
Lily Thai, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Nine D, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
Long Island City’s Standard Motor Products building takes up the majority of Northern Blvd. between 36th and Steinway streets. Its huge, sturdy and unassuming slab of industrial grey, located off one of Queens’s busiest streets, has a unique claim to fame: It is the foundation for New York City’s largest rooftop farm, the Brooklyn Grange. Yes, the 40,000 square-foot farm is on the roof, growing hundreds of thousands of fruits and vegetables, including 40 types of tomatoes, within its 1.2 million pounds of soil. I visited the farm, gaining easy access in thanks to The Greek, who volunteers there–managing their compost and tending to his bees, who also have a home on the roof. On this glorious afternoon I nibbled on some delicious Sungold cherry tomatoes off the vine, fantasized about the root candy thriving under my feet high in the sky and soaked in the heaving exhale of oxygen.
The farm, which has been open since the Spring of 2010 in Queens, is a commercial farm that sells its pesticide-free goodies to local restaurants, as well as the public through a CSA and many farmers markets.
With Manhattan in the background and the countless support sticks of tomato plants in the foreground, Brooklyn Grange, named before space in Brooklyn fell through and after founders established their name publicaly, is a very special place, home to a movement that is directly linking the eater with the farmer. 
I saw so many succulent-looking fruits and veggies; I could barely resist the Scarlett O’Hara urge to chomp on them raw. Plump eggplant, bazillions of tomatoes, tomatillos… oh boy.
Lost in the green.
and in the Cubanelle pepper yellow
Lend me your ear…
A mesclun mix
American Gothic, Urban-style
The Greek tends to his bees while being recorded by an independent filmaker… and photographed by a lowly blogger.
The updated T.V. Dinner
Mondays I try to cook for the week. Try being the operative word as social engagements and erratic cravings often leave leftovers to sit lonely in the fridge. After many lessons learned I devised a simple menu for this week–a protein, starch and vegetable that would reheat nicely and keep me satisfied and satiated. This week’s tempeh Salisbury Steak (from VeganDad), roasted garlic mashed potatoes and corn on the cob is a take on an old T.V. dinner I used to enjoy.
Bi-color sweet corn from upstate New York, after shucking and a quick blast of water, sit patiently on the dish rack. 
The tempeh Salisbury Steak all ready for steaming. Sadly, I haven’t used my rice steamer since this Japanese-inspired food event at my apartment in January of ’09! There was still dried sticky rice on the cheese clothe when I open up the lower compartment. 
To sky-rocket a dish’s appeal there needs to some sauce and fixin’s and, in this case, a lot of softened Earth Balance. I whipped up a cilantro sauce with my Summer roll leftovers and roasted a lonely onion begging for new life. And, voila! Dinner is served… all week. 
Listen Staples commericals and every Sunday newspaper circular: “It is still summer!” I cry out, grasping at every hour, every minute of my dwindling summer vacation.
So while it is still appropriate, homemade ice cream! I headed home to Long Island to try out Wheeler‘s Vegan Scoop chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream with my Mom’s bright red Cuisinart soft serve ice cream maker. With the container of frozen cookie dough chunks being snacked on like popcorn, we needed the soy and coconut milk mixture to thicken up quickly! Haste, however, gave way to a delicious but slightly soupy ice cream littered with yummy gobs of cookie dough. A family-pleaser.
While I am on the fresh-made ice cream topic, here’s some from my recent visit to Austin. Vanilla ice cream (coconut milk-based of course) with chewy chunks of diced Sweet & Sara‘s marshmallows, pineapple fruit compote and chocolate chunks. So creamy! I don’t recommend stirring these marshmallows in to the churning machine. They have an awkward, gummy texture when exposed to the low temps. Maybe a sprinkle of them on top. Has anyone tried the Ricemellow in a ice cream maker?
Vegan Reporting By Location
