Currently viewing the tag: "rosemary"
Acorn squash. You know it is autumn when the barrels of acorn squash appear at the market, along with the pimply, phallic gourds. I started fantasizing about roasting acorn squash last weekend, thinking about biting into that taunt, black skin. In my fantasy, the acorn squash was steamed soft. But in the real world, I wanted caramelization, bubbling brown sugar sapping up the soft orange innards.
I have no clue how to ascertain the ripeness of an acorn squash. It turns out that one of my squashes was a bit ripe, the other a bit dry and fibrous. Both were about to take a brown butter bath at 350 degrees, so no big deal really. Oh, I was inspired by this recipe and photo spread. (From the “Pioneer Woman” and her like million dollar kitchen.)
Earth Balance and brown sugar (still using vegan granulated and blackstrap molasses since I have ample regular sugar) and rosemary. Boom! A glorious spread. I can see this being fantastic atop a sliced yam. I used dry rosemary just to not have to make a trip. I’m sure it is much, much more fragrant with fresh rosemary.
After an initial roast, each wedge got a dollop of the sweet stuff, then back in the oven.
And that’s autumn on a plate.
How many times can someone have brunch in a week? With so many delicious brunch options to choose from the great city of Los Angeles, breakfast fare, maximized, made up a good portion of my eats. Today, on my last full day, is no exception. This morning we dined at Real Food Daily, a well-known all-vegan hot spot with three locations in the LA area. We headed to West Hollywood to taste this vegan staple.
Satisfying both of my savory and sweet cravings, I ordered The Weekender: scrambled tofu, onions, tomatoes, cashew jalapeno cheese, tempeh bacon with two slices of french toast and hashbrowns.
While every bite I ate made my taste buds high five each other, it was the French toast that had those buds jumping up and down. Vegan French toast can go wrong in so many ways (too soggy, too thin, too thick that you get plain bread in the center, etc) but this was spot-on. And the eggy-like batter, vanilla soy flaxseed, made the toast’s texture awesome.
For our final dinner in town, we hit up Madeleine Bistro, yet another eatery whose website has sat patiently waiting in my bookmarks for this West coast eating frenzy. The posh, gourmet restaurant was only open on weekends and had limited hours. We made a door-buster reservation and decided quickly on the 4-course sampler.
The first course, a spectacular soup, was a good indication of what was to come. It was a sweet corn bisque, creamy and frothy with seasonal, local corn. Though soup makes for an unexciting picture, believe me that the taste was very unbelievable. My salad course, their beautiful red beet tartare was delectable–a tower of tenderized red beet, a crispy-skinned super-creamy tofu cheese crouton, finely sliced cucumber in a balsamic glace. How gorgeous and delicious.
My beet tartare salad in all its glory. Very large and substancial for a salad course, I might add.
Then came the entree, course 3: Lemon-rosemary seitan, delicate haricot and cream crepes with a side of haricots. The house-made seitan was so tender and flavorful. The crepe was oh-so creamy. I just wished there were a bit more of a variety of veggies inside. It was the perfect portion, helping to leave me enough room for dessert. And dessert, course 4, was the best of all!
This capital-A Amazing ice cream treat gave me everything I needed. It is their Bananas Foster Split, the culmination of housemade components that had me speechless and ready to lap the bananas foster sauce off the plate. The vanilla ice cream was creamy, the hot fudge was the perfect flavor and texture (not simply brown and sweet), and the whipped crème real. No packages. Everything made from scratch. This was an amazing dessert. Thank you, Madeleine, for your high standards. They translate to pure, unadulterated deliciousness.
Goodnight L.A.
This week’s lunch needs to be simple and hearty. It needs all my servings of vegetables; it needs carbohydrates. Most of all it needs taste. With Herbs de Provence, a vegetable bouillon, rosemary, fresh parsley and more basil, the thick soup packs a flavor punch that will get better everyday… as the herbs meet, greet and procreate.
I have a real problem with running out for Thai lunch specials during the work week. In hopes to quell the nagging whim, I thought I ought to make something I’d want to eat come 12:10. With a recently expired tub of tofu to utilize, I opted to whip up a traditional tofu scramble, incorporating some lemon-pepper tempeh strips and a hefty handful of cilantro. After all, I am partially obsessed with product turnover. So much that I was a few seconds away from incorporating the remainder of my blueberries into the scramble! Maybe next time…
Check out the spice blend. And the deep orange turmeric, how I love you and your ginger relatives. 
Here’s my scramble. I crumbled up the tofu a bit too much. I can’t help it. When it’s in my hands I just want to squeeze and squash it. A cast-iron skillet would yield a better skin on my scramble. I’ll just have to deal with a bit more mush. Now, to just get it in the container without eating it all… like I almost did with the tempeh while the garlic cooked.
Some kinksters apply whip cream to their lovers, but why the heck not a pile of carmelized onion? Ok, I’ll just incorporate it into a loaf of rosemary and olive oil bread. I experimented with this loaf in the old breadmaker and came out with a magnificent 2lb block sure to satisfy a carb craving.
Mr. and Mrs. Claus brought me a breadmaker this year and I am determined to never buy a loaf of bread again. I am pretty good with “never” doing things ever again when I am feel it necessary. Whether it be my strong will or my inherited stubbornness, when I’m amped enough to make a declarative statement, it lasts. So I’ve been looking into buying bread flour bulk and using the 50-lb sacks as spare kitchen chairs and contemplating a new shelf system to support me in my quest. I’m also ready to test estimations on the shelf-life vs. quantity of 5 lbs of active dry yeast. I can sometimes go overboard, diving headfirst in new endeavors, yes, but only because I am predisposed to go underboard. It’s a defense.
I made my first loaf last night with great results! A big, buoyant rosemary olive oil loaf that stunk the apartment up with yeast and scared the cat with the hums and gurgles of its production. The end result was delicious. You can’t mess up bread, right? But I’m gonna try!
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