Bizarrely delicious fusion brunch

Today's brunch: a kind of ridiculous mix of Indian-Asian-and-Old-School-Vegetarian cuisines. This scrambled tofu includes sesame oil, mustard seeds, asafoetida, homemade samhar powder (from Dakshin), black sesame seeds, and of course potato and kale, along with some nutritional yeast.

I know.

But it was actually really good. Especially with some months-old onion chutney, and red cabbage-apple saurkraut. Yes, and the latter isn't really that crazy when you think of all the tangy-sweet pickles served with Indian food. Here's the recipe--

Sambhar-Sesame Tofu Scramble with Potato & Kale

2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp samhar powder
dash asafoetida
1 small steamed potato (Yukon gold is nice), cubed
2-3 leaves kale, stemmed and torn (save the stems for something else)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp sesame seeds (I used black sesame seeds)
1/2 container (7-8 oz.) extra-firm tofu
dash tumeric
3 tsp nutritional yeast
salt to taste

Heat sesame oil over medium heat. Add mustard seeds to heated oil (they will pop), and then add asafoetida, and sambhar powder. Cook for a few seconds, then add steamed potato and toss to brown a bit. Add kale, minced garlic, and sesame seeds; cook until kale is just wilted. You can be salting here and there as you go, but don't go overboard. At this point you can crumble in your tofu (leave it in biggish bite-sized chunks). Add a dash of tumeric and cook tofu for about 6-7 minutes, stirring tofu now and then so that is gets a light golden color; you can give it a splash of water now and then, if things seem to be drying out. Once tofu is cooked through, you can give it another splash of water and stir in the nutritional yeast; cook for about another 2 minutes.

Serves 1-2

Gobs, of a pumpkin variety

I was planning on not posting this recipe, in favor of saving it for inclusion in a more (interesting) long-term project I've been working on.





Some people know these sorts of sandwich cookie-muffin hybrids as "whoopie pies"; however, where I grew up in western Pennsylvania, they were always referred to as gobs. And you have to admit the latter is the funnier more evocative of the two. Because it allows you to cram gobs down your gob. Although they are also a nice for more leisurely snacking with a cup of coffee. These gobs have tangy maple-cream cheese filling sandwiched between spiced pumpkin cookies that are more like muffin tops with a tender cakey crumb. Having settled pressing issues of diction, I present the recipe.

Pumpkin Gobs
makes 4 gobs

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
3 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (or demerrara)
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tub (4 oz.) vegan cream cheese (i.e. Tofutti)
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp confectioners' sugar*

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment

Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl.

In another mixing bowl, whisk together canola oil and sugar until fluffy. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla. Whisk to combine.

Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until well-combined, but be careful not to over-stir.

Dollop out 8 cookies onto baking sheet. You may need to smooth them out to flatten just a little bit; remember they will puff up like muffin tops rather than spread out during baking.

Bake at 375 F for 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make filling: In a small bowl, whip cream cheese with a fork. Whip in maple syrup. Whip in confectioners' sugar. (*The latter is optional, but it does help the frosting to be less runny; if you don't feel like going out of your way to procure vegan confectioners' sugar for only 1 tbsp, I suggest refrigerating the filling for a while before frosting.)

When cookies are completely cool, frost and sandwich. When you've filled your gobs, it's best to wrap them up individually in cling wrap or foil** and keep in the fridge, until you feel like eating them.

**Normally I try to avoid using the stuff, but they can dry out if not properly wrapped up. Of course you can simply eat them all, crammed in your gob, right at once and then you circumvent this issue altogether.

Addendum: Pumpkin Cornbread

The recipe for the Pumpkin Cornbread I posted about yesterday, but a few descriptive words first: This is not an overly sweet cornbread; that's just not the kind of think I go for, so this recipe doesn't contain as much sugar as a lot of other recipes. The pumpkin flavor is subtle, but I think the pepitas pleasantly reiterate it and also add textural interest. I actually used adobo-seasoned pumpkin seeds, but of course regular roasted pepitas would be just as nice. Also, this recipe is a great alternative for those of us wanting to make a skillet cornbread, but lacking the actual cast-iron skillet. (Like me.) Or, it can be made in an iron skillet if you happen to have one.

Pumpkin Cornbread

4 tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I want to try substituting spelt or buckwheat, though)
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 cups soymilk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I actually used canned butternut squash)
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 - 1/3 cup dry roasted pumpkin seeds + more for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Use a fork to mix vinegar into soy milk. Doing this in a large glass measuring cup is easy. Set aside to curdle.

Pour oil in an 8x8-inch square baking pan (mine happens to be Pyrex). Place in oven while you mix up the cornbread.

Add pumpkin puree and maple syrup to milk mixture and whisk until fulling combined.

Whisk together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour in wet ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Stir in pumpkin seeds.

Take baking pan out of the oven--make sure your oil has been in long enough to get hot--and then pour batter into pan. It will look really greasy, and some of the oil will lay on top--don't worry it will be absorbed magically during the baking process to create a crunchy crust. Sprinkle top with extra pumpkin seeds.

Bake for about 30 minutes (toothpick test). Cool in pan.

Winter Squash: Chili & Cornbread

So I've gotten kind of sick of thinking up (and reading/cringing at) the cute titles I feel obligated to make for posts. But I do have recipes to share, so hopefully that makes up for any lack of cleverness or charm.

Anyway, last week I cooked up a bunch of dried black beans, and then forgot what I had originally planned to do with them. NYC has actually been experiencing genuine autumnal weather lately, so soup seemed like a good idea. I also wanted to make use of pantry items and some of the vegetables I had lying around, and I got the idea for a mole-style black bean chili with winter squash. This is kind of a different take on the Pumpkin Chili I posted last October, and while I actually like the latter the best of the two, this version is good in its own right. Some people may even prefer it.

Here's the recipe...


Mole Black Bean & Winter Squash Chili
makes a lot, 6-8 servings?

3 dried pasilla chilis, de-stemmed
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
1 tsp sea salt (plus more to taste)
2 tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp tahini
4 cups cooked blackbeans (or canned)
2 cups peeled and cubed winter squash (I used 1 regular-sized Delicata)
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot chopped
2 tsp canola oil
1/3 cup tomato sauce
2 tbsp brewed coffee (optional)
1 cup water

Pour boiling water over chilis (a pie tin works well for this). Set aside to soften for at least 15 minutes. You can use this time to chop up all your vegetables.

In a medium saucepot (which you will use later to make your soup) toast your spices over medium heat for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.

In the jar of a blender, place soaked chilis and soaking water, cocoa powder, almond butter, tahini, spices, tomato sauce, coffee, and salt. Blend until almost completely smooth. Set aside.

Heat 2 tsp of canola oil in the medium saucepot you used to toast the spices. Add onions and carrots and saute over medium heat for about until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for a minute or 2 more. Add a splash of water to the pan now and then if it looks like you could use more oil. Add squash and saute for a minute before pouring in the mole. Stir to combine and lower the heat a bit. Add 1 cup water, and simmer covered for 10 to 20 minutes or until squash is almost tender.

When squash is almost tender add the black beans. If the chili looks too thick you can also add a bit more water. Cook until black beans are heated through, about another 5 minutes.

Consume.

--

One thing I noticed about this chili is it is actually a lot better reheated after sitting for a day in the refrigerator. The flavors really develop nicely. Also, after making this mole-concoction, I discovered via Wikipedia that my free-form mole very nearly resembles in its ingredients the authentic Mole Coloradito. Now I want to make this again, but adding at least the oregano and pumpkin seeds (and possibly some banana too if I feel brave enough). And I encourage anyone who feels like making this recipe to try out such additions. It is also pretty good as it stands, though.

To address the issue of the cornbread mentioned in the title and seen lurking in the left of the photo: Yes, I made some, of a pumpkiny sort; however, I'm going to save that recipe for a second post. You know, so I actually have things to post about.

Vegan MoFo & Perogi

Hi there. I'm starting to post again. A little. At least for VEGAN MOnth of FOod. Posting every weekday is unlikely to happen. But I am definitely going to update much more regularly for October. Expect lots of recipe posts, but for now I'm going to ease into things with a meal that barely required any actual homemade cooking.

Better-than-average store-bought perogi (the kind that proliferate in certain parts of Brooklyn, if you know what I mean--not those frozen Mrs. T's kind) with fried onions and margarine, bratwurst sausage (improvised from the Julie Hasson steamed sausage recipe using the greater quantity of a flat, refrigerated-several-days-after-opening bottle of Zywiec beer), and fancy red cabbage and apple saurkraut of an unpronounable brand-name--really good, and I don't even like saurkraut all that much, typically.

A nice autumn meal that also reminded me of western Pennsylvania, where perogi are a fixture at fall festivals and the like. Consume with a bottle of Yeungling for full effect.

Mexicana

I am visiting my family in Pennsylvania right now. However, yesterday, I put together a rather Mexican-inspired dinner, and, being pretty pleased with the effort, I thought I'd share. I don't make a lot (read: nearly enough) Mexican or Latin food. And I'd actually never made tamales before. However, there was a bag of masa harina tucked back in my parents' pantry that I knew they would never use, so I decided to rescue it. I will admit that I had been intrigued by the idea of making tamales ever since watching Isa and Terry make them. So I decided to use their recipe. They turned out delicious. I enlisted my mother to help me in tamale-husk-packaging, and it was actually kind of enjoyable and relaxing. I also made a simple fresh grape tomato salsa, chili-lime jicama salad (literally: jicama matchsticks + lime juice + chili powder), and Mole-Roasted Cauliflower from Swell vegan cookzine, a copy of which I received recently in the mail. All in all, a satisfying meal. And I'm snacking on leftover jicama slaw even as I type.

Tofu Peaks

Why hello there, Dear Readers. I thought I would take a break from procrastinating doing school work by watching episodes of Twin Peaks and finally post a recipe I promised to share about a year ago. And actually, I have my mom to thank for motivating me to revisit the tender-golden-crunchy loveliness that is Parsley-Walnut Crusted Tofu. About two months ago, she called saying she had found some tofu in the back of the fridge, leftover from when I had stayed with them during winter break. And she specifically remembered enjoying this tofu, and had me e-mail her the recipe. (Allow me to indulge in a moment of excitement at one of my omni parents requesting a tofu recipe: hurrah.) Ever since then, I had been planning on making it and posting the recipe. Last weekend I finally got around to it.

I was not disappointed. Definitely as good as we both remembered it: the bright slightly-bitter freshness of parsley balanced perfectly with the rich nuttiness of ground walnuts. Panko breadcrumbs thrown in for a satisfying crunch. This is a dish worth springing for some of the nicer tofu. The first time I made it, I owed part of its success to my favorite tofu ever, the West Virginia-made Spring Creek brand that I used to buy at the East End Co-op in Pittsburgh. This time, I picked up a package of tofu made by local Connecticut company The Bridge. It's nice stuff. As you can see, I ate it with some braised red cabbage. Okay, time for the recipe--

Parsley-Walnut Crusted Tofu
makes 2-4 servings (you know how it is)


1 lb. (or 14 oz.) extra-firm (or firm) tofu, pressed
1/2 cup ground walnuts*
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
dash cayenne pepper
1/2 cup soymilk + 1/2 tsp vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil (to coat baking sheet) + cooking spray


Preheat oven to 425 F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with 1 tbsp olive oil


In a small bowl, whisk the soymilk and vinegar together with a fork. Let side to thicken.

In a shallow dish (a pie pan or sandwich-sized Tupperware container works well for this), mix together the panko, ground walnuts, parsley, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Slice up your tofu according. You can do it up all pretty-like with triangles, or just do simple widthwise-sliced rectangles; you get about 6 slices that way (cut across these diagonally and you've got your triangles).


Dip a piece of tofu in soymilk mixture, coat in breadcrumb mixture. Place on baking sheet. Repeat.


When you've got all your tofu breaded (you'll probably have a little leftover breading--lots of creative uses for this), mist the tops with some of the cooking spray (the olive oil variety, if you've got it). Bake for 15 minutes, and then flip. Bake another 15 minutes. And they are done! Best to let rest on the sheet about 5 minutes before eating.

*In case you need a refresher course: walnut halves + a bit of blitzing in the food processor = ground walnuts.


Alright, I'm off to make a second cup of tea and succumb once more to the bizarre addiction that is David Lynch's conception of plotting tycoons, conspiring high school kids, sexual fetish, and murder in a small mill town.