Baja Style Veggie Tacos

When we were in Baja with friends last year, we stopped for tacos in San Felipe one afternoon. Angie and Chris enjoyed the house specialty: fish fried in a delicate, crispy golden batter with the usual accoutrements: fresh radishes, salsa, slices of avocado, and crema on a corn tortilla. Ryan turned to me and said, "can't you use your Spanish skills to get me one of those, but instead of fish let there be avocado inside the batter?" At first I refused, as my Spanish skills are not all that great, but after a Negra Modelo I loosened up and started negotiating. After a couple of minutes, the reluctant chef began to come around. He looked at me like I was insane, but he did what I was asking and we got to eat the most delicious tacos ever. Now you can understand why I am so happy that the Brigantine in Coronado has caught on to this brilliant idea as well!

Now that we are back, we make this from time to time. Here, we use gluten free flours and have experimented with several different types of veggies to fry. While the avocado is delicious, I think my favorite has to be slices of portabella mushroom. Last night I steamed up some baby butternut squash and that was super tasty as well. Basically, once you batter and fry something, it doesn't really matter what you use as it is all good.

I recently stumbled upon a new product (to me), Rice Bran Oil. I found it at my favorite Japanese market, Nijiya. (San Diego veggie voyagers...go here! This place is awesome. They specialize in organic and Japanese health food. I think they actually have locations all over the west coast.) Apparently, rice bran oil is the secret to good tempura. (along with cold, sparkling water.)

Yes! Cold, bubbly water in your fry batter makes for a lighter, crispier, more delicious nugget of goodness. Or, if you like beer, replace the sparkly water in this recipe with some good cold beer. You'll notice the difference for sure.

Serve these up in warm corn tortillas with slices of avocado, salsa, a squeeze of lime and a sprinkling of cilantro. I drizzled a little bit of plain yogurt on mine...

this dog is always hopeful that something will fall to the floor

Baja Style Veggie Tacos

• Rice Bran oil or some other high heat oil for frying
• Slices of portabella mushrooms, avocado, or other vegetables. For this batch, I peeled, sliced, and lightly steamed a baby butternut squash.

Batter

• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup arrowroot starch (or corn starch)
• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 1/4 cup lentil flour
• 1/2 cup cold, carbonated water (or beer)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Pour about 1 inch of oil into a small pot on the stove over a medium high flame. Let it get nice and hot while you mix up the batter. Crack the egg into a small bowl and add the remaining ingredients except for the water (or beer). Whisk until smooth and then add the water (or beer) and stir to combine. When the oil is hot (test by dropping a tiny amount of batter in there. If it bubbles and turns golden it is ready). Dip each piece of vegetable in the batter and then carefully drop them into the oil. It is very easy to burn yourself here so TAKE CARE! When the batter is golden brown, use a slotted spoon or tongs to remove the pieces and drain them on a paper towel. You will be able to fry 2 or 3 pieces at a time.


Warm tortillas over an open flame or on a skillet. Place a couple of pieces of fried veggies on each one, and follow with your favorite accoutrements. Fold and enjoy!

Artichoke Dip

This is one of those dishes that everyone, whatever their tastes may be, loves. It's really good. I make this as comfort food as well as for parties. It is tasty with crudites, steamed broccoli, toasted bits of bread, chips, or whatever you like.

It contains one of my favorite seasonings: nutritional yeast. According to Wikipedia, "Nutritional yeast is produced by culturing the yeast with a mixture of sugarcane and beet molasses for a period of 7 days and then harvesting, washing, drying and packaging it." It's flaky, yellow, and vaguely cheesy tasting. When combined with garlic, blended cashews, artichoke hearts and lemon juice, there is alchemy. It makes vegan food taste cheesy...in a good way. It's great in salad dressing or when making a vegan fondue. The topping for this dish is also good on pasta dishes, like a vegan Parmesan cheese. I recommend!

If you need a crowd pleaser that is vegan friendly and soy free, this is the one.

Artichoke Dip

3 cups artichoke hearts, plus marinating liquid

1 1/2 cups soaked cashews

1 head garlic, peeled

1 bunch swiss chard, spinach, or other dark leafy greens

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/3-1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 cup hemp seeds

Salt & Pepper to taste

Cayenne to taste

Preheat oven to 350F

In a food processor, blend 1/2 of the artichokes with the cashews, garlic, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast. It should be thick, like a dip. Add more cashews if not. When pureed, add the chard and pulse until it is chopped finely. Add the other half of the artichoke hearts and pulse so that some of them remain chunky. Season with salt and pepper and cayenne. Spread this into a baking dish. In a small bowl mix hemp seeds, a little more nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and cayenne into something that tastes delicious and sprinkle on top of dip. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the dip is hot and browning slightly. It is delicious hot or cold.

GF Carrot Cupcakes

I know you've all been making almond milk...and you just don't know what to do with all that pulp! Here is another recipe for you. (If you don't have surplus pulp, I suppose you could still make these all the same.)

These carrot cupcakes are moist, fluffy and soft. I used this recipe as a starting point, but made modifications to make them gluten and dairy free. They are not too sweet, so I say they qualify as everyday muffin fare if you don't have a special occasion to make them.

For you experimental gluten free bakers out there, the most important thing you need to know is that flax meal, chia seeds and eggs are your best friends for binding all the other ingredients together. Also, if you use both baking powder and soda in a recipe you will get a lot more rise than if you use just baking powder alone.

These are delicious without frosting, but even better with. Ryan made the frosting for this, adapted from frostings we used to make in our raw food days, a blend of cashews, dates, coconut milk and other goodies. It's a little more like a sauce than a stiff frosting.

          Gluten Free Carrot Cupcakes
          (2 dozen large or 4 dozen small cupcakes)

1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups sugar (I used one cup evaporated cane juice and one cup sucanat)
1 cup almond milk with 1 teaspoon lemon juice in it (let sit for 10 min)
1 pound carrots
3 eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
Zest of one orange
1 1/2 cups oat flour
1 cup flax meal
1 cup almond pulp (or more oat flour if you don't have any pulp)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Set oven to 350F. Toast walnuts in oven for 5 minutes. Grate carrots, and add the almond milk, eggs, olive oil, vanilla, orange zest, and sugar, almond pulp (if using) and mix well. Combine the other ingredients together in a separate bowl and fold into the wet mix. Fold the walnuts in, being careful not to over-mix. Fill silicone muffin molds or greased tins 3/4 full (these rise) and bake for 15-25 minutes until firm and golden. Allow to cool before frosting.

While you are baking the cupcakes, make the frosting. Have on hand 1 cup soaked cashews (soak for about 1-2 hours).

Coconut-Cashew Frosting

1 cup soaked cashews
1 1/2 cups coconut cream or milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
contents of 1/4 vanilla bean
6 pitted medjool dates
3 tablespoons chia seeds
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Blend until smooth, Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate to help set. Once cupcakes and frosting have cooled, you may frost!

Creamy Hemp Seed Salad Dressing

I'd like to tell those of you who don't already know, about the wonders of hemp seeds. This super-food has amazing qualities both culinary and health-wise. When consumed raw, hemp seeds are a healthy dose of essential fatty acids, omega-3s, and antioxidants. We like to sprinkle them on salads, omelets, and dips. They can be used to make a quick nut milk in a pinch. But my favorite use, by far, is as a creamy base for salad dressings.

I have been experimenting with various different dairy substitutes for several years. I really like almond milk, as you know. I also find the neutral, fatty properties of soaked and blended cashews to be immensely helpful. Tahini makes a wonderful creamy base but it has its own distinctive flavor. Coconut milk is great, if you want a coconut flavor. For salad dressings, though, nothing holds a candle to the wonderful hemp seed. All you need is a couple of tablespoons (which is a good thing as these  babies are not cheap) blended into your dressing for a creamy concoction that is super, duper good for you. By blending them raw and eating them on a salad, you are making them completely nutritionally available. And they blend up easily into a slightly nutty, super creamy, neutral base to which you can add oil, vinegar or citrus juice, and other ingredients depending on which direction you want to go in.

Today's recipe is for the base of  my go-to 'house' dressing. I don't like bottled dressings, and since its so easy to make at home, I never bother to buy. Sometimes a simple vinaigrette is all we need, other times I require creamy. I have noticed that too much vinegar makes my tongue hurt, so I avoid that too. I like a combination of lemon and orange juice in my dressings.

I never seem to make the same recipe twice, but I will try to get the amounts right here. There is no wrong way to do this and I encourage you to experiment. Sometimes I add honey and mustard. Or I up the orange juice and add a bunch of cilantro or other fresh herbs. Other times I make it with sesame oil, miso, ginger and hot peppers. The sky's the limit here.

Hemp seeds can be bought online, or found in the refrigerator section of your local health food store. You'll need a stand up or immersion blender to get that creamy effect. The base recipe is quite thick, like mayonnaise and you can certainly use it as such. It tastes like garlic aioli. (Omit the OJ if this is what you want.) Add a couple tablespoons of Sriracha hot sauce and you've got spicy mayo.

honey mustard variation, all ready to blend

Creamy Hemp Seed Salad Dressing (base recipe)

2 TBS hemp seeds
1/4 cup lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1/8 cup fresh orange juice (optional)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
Salt & black pepper to taste

Using a blender, combine ingredients together. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.

          Variations (add to base recipe before blending)

Cilantro-Lime: 1 bunch cilantro, sub lime juice for the lemon juice (toss a jalapeno in too if that's your bag)

Honey-Mustard: 1 tablespoon each of dijon mustard and honey

Herb-Ranch: one bunch of parsley, 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Asian: sub sesame oil for olive oil, 1 teaspoon miso or soy sauce for salt, and a nob of ginger

Roasted Garlic: if you've got roasted garlic laying around, toss a bunch of that in there. (omit the fresh garlic) It's off the hook.

Basil-Tomato: 1/2 cup fresh basil, and 1/2 fresh tomato

If you make a variation I haven't mentioned, let me know! I love ideas...

Last night we had the honey mustard variety (my favorite) on a delicious salad of shaved fennel, grapefruit segments, avocado slices, and romaine lettuce. It was divine.

I Heart Broccoli

Did you know that one of the best things about broccoli is the heart? This is what we call the tender, crisp, juicy center of the stalk. When prepared with the crowns, it's like adding an entire new vegetable to the mix. Every time someone discards the stalk in our presence you can be sure that they will get an earful.

Ryan prepared dinner last night and it was so delicious and simple, that I thought I'd share his recipe with all you veggie voyagers. We ate our Garlic Broccoli over a wild rice mix from our local co-op. The broccoli probably took no more than 15 minutes to prepare and was super flavorful.

To get to the heart of the broccoli, simply cut off the stalk, and then carefully cut away the sides until the tough bark on the outside is gone. You can eat the hearts raw like you would a carrot or in a salad, or you can  toss it into whatever you are cooking. Delicious, and the opposite of wasteful!

getting to the heart of the matter

Here is Ryan's Garlic Broccoli recipe...

Garlic Broccoli

2 large stalks (with crowns and stems) of broccoli
1 1/2 heads of garlic, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/8 cup tamari or soy sauce
1 TBS cornstarch
1/4 cup olive oil

Chop the broccoli (including the hearts!) into bite sized pieces. Place in a wok or other saute pan along with the garlic and water and cover. Steam for about 5 minutes or until broccoli is tender-crisp. Stir remaining ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over the broccoli and garlic. Allow the sauce to come to a boil, and to thicken, about 2 minutes. Serve over rice.

tasty with a fried egg

My Other World

I haven't posted much in the past day or so because I have been inspired to blog about another big part of me, the part that can't get enough of mosaic making. Enjoy. I'll be posting sketches, pics of progress and finished mosaics, stories about life in the dungeon...you know, the usual!

http://shinypieces.blogspot.com/

More food to come, soon.

Taco Tuesdays in Coronado

Attention veggie voyagers in the San Diego area! The Brigantine in Coronado has deeelicious fried avocado tacos ($2.50 each) and cheap glasses of champagne. Open til 10pm. A good veggie voyager discovery for sure.

this classy feast for less than $10

Oh My Gulay!

The Philippines

eating bibimbap in Incheon Airport

As I organize my notes and pictures from a trip taken to the Philippines over a year ago, I am reminded of why I wanted to make this blog. It was on this trip, where food could have been a challenge for these two veggie voyagers (but wasn't, thanks to the attentive nature of our amazing hosts, and little tricks we picked up along the way), that I was first inspired to document recipes, techniques and foods for other travelers and curious eaters out there. In fact, it was during our 14 hour layaway in Incheon International Airport in South Korea that I sat down at one of the computer stations and checked to see if "theveggievoyager.com" was available. (First tip: If you ever have to be stuck in an airport for extended amounts of time, this is the one. It was quite posh, with free private bathrooms including hot showers, internet stations and Korean craft centers.) While on the subject of Korea, I suggest bibimbap as a good veggie voyager choice. I love all the pickled accoutrements, and the rice continues to cook at the bottom of the bowl while you eat, resulting in crunchy, tasty rice covered with veggies and other fun stuff. Just ask for it without the meat and you've got a veggie voyager feast!

With Uncle Ed at a pit-stop

Gulay is the Tagalog word for vegetables, and one we learned well. Oh My Gulay is also the name of one of the only vegetarian restaurants in the country, at least on Luzon. People who have never visited the PI will be surprised to learn that, like California, there are many different climate zones and eco-systems there, from tropical monsoon beaches to pine forest mountains. While there, we stayed on the island of Luzon the entire three weeks, as the guests of Ryan's uncle and aunt. Aunt Nida is from Luzon, and Uncle Ed is a Midwestern boy who fell in love many years ago... They now divide their time between Fort Wayne Indiana, and the Philippines. These two people are not only the best hosts ever, but they are funny and kooky. Aunt Nida is not to be trifled with. Standing tall at about 5 feet, it seems that she is the Queen of her world, usually getting her way. Uncle Ed is her King. He himself is unclassifiable, making him interesting and mystifying. Needless to say, we were well cared for. The first half of our trip involved visiting the village that Aunt Nida grew up in (and where they now own a house and have many friends.) Called Caloco, the village is situated in a cove on a beach on southern Luzon. It was remote and stunning. The second half of our stay consisted of Uncle Ed, Ryan and myself zipping around the northern parts of Luzon on dirtbikes, riding for much of each day, stopping in towns and villages, checking out rice terraces, bat caves, village dogs, food, and local art. It was a wonderful trip, barring all the sore riding muscles...

lunch in the home of our tour guide in the rice terraces

When we first arrived, we were told that the main topic of conversation around the house for the past month had been "what are we going to feed these people?". Apparently Aunt Nida and her friends were completely mystified as to what to feed us. When we arrived, we told her, "anything you eat, just without meat or fish in it!" I think she thought we wouldn't be eating noodles or rice, or bread, or... We thought it was hilarious and were glad to see the look of relief on all faces when they realized we were going to be easier to feed than originally thought. And Uncle Ed was happy to find a beer drinking partner in me. We ended up eating so well that I gained weight while we were there. Culinary highlights include: Sitawu (green beans stewed in fresh coconut milk), Heart of Banana flower croquettes and salads, fresh heart of palm dishes, a delicious corn soup, sauteed pumpkin leaves, sticky rice dumplings, local coffee from the mountains, black mountain rice, stewed jackfruit, and vegetarian lumpia. I have recipes!

Aunt Nida (center) & co making sitawu (green beans)

While we did eat very well, it wasn't always so easy. When looking for restaurants or other eateries that were vegetarian friendly, we had the most luck in the mid sized cities in the mountains of north Luzon. This is the vegetable-bowl region of the Philippines and it is easy to get stir-fried vegetables with rice at small hotels and eateries. This is usually on the menu as "chop suey". There are funky little cafes that cater to travelers in places like Banaue and Baguio City. You can also find black mountain rice and local coffee up here.

The farther south, however, the more difficult is the time for the veggie voyager. Other than the myriad of fresh fruit and street snacks (our #1 veggie voyager source of food), none of the places that we dropped in on had options for us beyond steamed rice and soy sauce, and so we learned to rely on a few essentials. (Although we did discover a local 2 location chain: Mushroomburger. This place offers burgers with mushrooms on them, as well as mushroom sandwiches, mushroom dessert soup, and a myriad of other mushroom products and really great T-shirts. Although not super-delicious, it was funny, edible and novel.)

 TWO ESSENTIAL CONDIMENTS FOR THE
VEGGIE VOYAGER IN THE PHILIPPINES

Atsara...a lifesaver

Get yourself a jar of Atsara, and keep it in your pack. This sweet, tart relish is made from green papaya, ginger, garlic, onion and vinegar. It is delicious on everything, and when you find yourself at an eating establishment where there seem to be no options, you can ask for plain rice and a little chopped garlic and be reasonably satisfied with your meal of rice, atsara, soy sauce, and garlic. Sometimes vegetarian food can be a real challenge here...but this trick saved us multiple times.

Also good is Sukang Sawsawan, or hot vinegar. Just a marinade of coconut vinegar, hot peppers and garlic, this adds depth and heat to any dish. It is found everywhere, so no need to carry it with you...

I'm going to post a couple of recipes right now, and more in posts to come. These recipes, although I learned them from the ladies of the PI, have been adapted to work for most Western kitchens...as I imagine that most of you will not be physically voyaging there any time soon, but would still love a taste. 

          Atsara

2 hot peppers (jabanero, thai, or serrano)
1 green papaya (shredded)
2 carrots (shredded)
1 red bell pepper (diced)
1" ginger (peeled & grated)
1 small onion (diced)
3 cloves garlic (diced)
1/2 cup coconut vinegar
3 TBS sugar
1 tsp salt

Boil vinegar together with salt & sugar and hot peppers. Mix all other ingredients together and add vinegar mixture. Allow to marinate for at least one day. 

The other recipe I'll leave you with today is the basic go-to method that our hosts used to prepare most gulay for us. Basically, any vegetable du jour was chopped and added to sauteed garlic, onion, hot peppers, and fresh coconut milk. This would be stewed until the gulay was soft and the coconut milk cooked down to a thick sauce. Served over rice with Atsara on the side...

Ate Lija scraping coconut

A word about village cooking: when you don't have toys (blenders, gas stoves, etc) things take more time. I was impressed with the traditional method of extracting coconut milk from the nuts. After harvesting mature coconuts (no lack of those there), they would be cracked open and then scraped on a special blade that was fixed to a small stool. The blade would shred and pulverize the flesh of the coconut so that water could be added, and then all the fatty goodness squeezed out. I tried this method and succeeded in scraping the skin on my hand. The food would then be prepared over a small coal pot. (I think I like cooking toys so much because I have spent so much time in kitchens like this.) Tradition can be very time consuming!

Anyhow, the food we had in the village of Coloco was delicious, and I wish I could say that the food I make stateside from my recipes tastes exactly the same, but it doesn't. However, it's good enough... Considering that I use boxed or canned coconut milk, I guess I can't ask for too much more. A word to the wise veggie voyager: In the Philippines they LOVE to cook with MSG. Even in the smallest village, "magic sarap" is a flavor used in every dish. I think it is very unfortunate as not only is MSG bad for one's health, it makes all dishes taste the same. After we discovered that our food was inundated with it (headaches for me), and asked not to have it, the subtle, natural flavors of everything we ate began to shine through immediately. Such an improvement. I suggest that if you are in the Philippines, that you request no "magic sarap" if you can do so without offending.

making sitawu in a village kitchen

 At home in California, when I decide to make this dish I usually do a combo of sitawu (long green beans) and eggplant. We are lucky in San Diego to have no less than 4 huge Philippino supermarkets nearby, so I have no trouble finding most of the ingredients I need, but if you can't get long beans then regular beans will do just fine. I also always try to find the coconut cream with the highest fat content...cause I like it that way.

This dish is about as straightforward as it gets, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Serve it with steamed or fried rice.

also pictured: heart of banana flower salad

Sitawu Stewed with Coconut Milk

6 cups green beans or other vegetable (chopped into bite size pieces)
3-4 hot peppers (chopped small)
1 onion (chopped small)
5 cloves garlic (diced)
2 cups coconut cream (or milk)
salt or soy sauce to taste

Saute onions and garlic with a small amount of oil. Add coconut milk and boil until it begins to thicken. Add the beans and peppers and cook until vegetables are cooked and the sauce is thick and oily.

GF Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

 

delicious with lemon curd

I made almond milk this morning, which meant that I was left with a cup of pulp. One of my go-to recipes for almond pulp is lemon poppyseed muffins, a delicious, soft, sweet yet tart offering that everyone in my household is happy to gobble up right out of the oven.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, we visited Ryan's sister and her man near Santa Barbara. They have a very prolific lemon tree in their backyard which I greedily pillaged four large grocery bags worth of lemons from. Needless to say, everyone we know got lemon curd, limoncello, and preserved lemons in their Christmas stockings this year. The lemon curd was a big hit, and the recipe I used is right here. (I substitute coconut oil for the butter to make this delicious spread Ryan-safe.) Even after all that lemon-ing, however, I still had two large grocery bags of lemons left, threatening to go off. I sat down with a movie, a big bowl and a zester and zested the remaining lemons, and then juiced them all. I packed all that juice and zest into ziploc bags and tossed them in the freezer (Thanks to my friend Alejandra for that brilliant suggestion!) The lemon juice, when thawed, tastes fresh...and the zest really goes a long way.

These days, whenever I want to make muffins, my go-to is usually lemon flavored. Each time, before I begin I ask everyone, "Are you sick of these yet?" No one has said that they are...

Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins 

• 1 cup almond pulp
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1 cup flax meal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 TBS poppy seeds
• 3 TBS chia seeds
• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 TBS lemon zest
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

Mix dry. Mix wet. Mix wet & dry together. Scoop into muffin tins (I like to use mini silicone muffin forms, which make it really easy to dip each muffin into a small bowl of sucanat. Sucanat is a raw form of sugar that is chunky, dry, and brown. It has a warm, natural flavor and makes a great crumbly topping for muffins all by itself. If you don't have silicone muffin forms or sucanat, no problem. These muffins are great plain, even when baked in a good old fashioned muffin tin!

dipping each mini-muffin into sucanat

 Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until firm to the touch and slightly golden.

Himalayan in San Diego

For you veggie voyagers in (or planning a visit to) San Diego, I recommend this hidden gem, which is definitely off the beaten path.

left to right: malai kofta, palak paneer and alu bhanta

Nestled in the La Mesa Boulevard Station (read: strip mall), this unassuming restaurant has great food, cheap house wine, and a warm, cozy atmosphere. Not to mention, the waiters don the most awesome uniforms (traditional hats, vests, and tops), and as you walk in the door of 'Himalayan Cuisine', each one brings his hands into Angali Mudra and spouts a cheerful "Namaste!" before seating you.

Last night I went there with a couple of girlfriends and we shared three delicious dishes. I can highly reccommend the Malai Kofta, and the Palak Paneer. (The Alu Bhanta was good, but I've had better.) Malai Kofta consists of delicate fried potato and paneer croquettes swimming in a creamy tomato sauce. They were fluffy, creamy and savory. The Palak Paneer was a perfect balance of spinach, paneer, and what are touted on the menu as "Himalayan spices". All served with delicate basmati rice...

Another awesome feature of this place is that they have a cheap ($3.95) and decent house wine, served by the glass. I remember this being the norm in Greece and other parts of Europe, and I'm happy to see it in action at this groovy establishment! (I would not, however, recommend the mango lassi. An unnatural shade of orange, I'm sure it comes from a powdered mix. Not their best offering.)

I'm not the only one who loves this place. They get great reviews on the web as well.

Here is a link to the menu. Hope to see you there!

Gluten-Free Bread Machine Bread

I have to admit, we have a lot of kitchen toys. But we use them all! One fun gadget is a bread machine that we secured on Craigslist for $10. I always poo-pooed bread machines, but when I decided to stop eating wheat, and discovered that storebought GF breads are gross, a bread machine suddenly seemed much more appealing. Don't get me wrong. I love the alchemy of traditional bread making. From activating the yeast, to rising the dough and beating it back down; fresh homemade bread has always been the pinnacle of good home baking. But as a person who works sometimes, it sure is nice to be able to throw a bunch of stuff into a receptacle, close the lid and press "go".

When I first stopped eating wheat, I began reading and experimenting with GF recipes I found on various other food blogs. Like them, I used xantham gum and tapioca powder etc. I used proprietary GF baking mixes and a bunch of rice flour. While getting okay results, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was using ingredients whose origins were dubious, as well as weird and slimy to the touch. The bread was lacking in some fundamental goodness. After some thinking and researching, I decided that I would try baking bread without these things (which, by the way, are all designed to replace the sticky, gummy qualites of gluten) and instead use other more natural sticky gummy ingredients. The top three that came to mind were ground flax seed, chia seeds, and eggs. Other experimental bloggers seemed to concur.

After a bunch of trial and error, I feel that I have a pretty good recipe that is also very flexible. The bread, while not as sturdy as a wheat bread, has a good crumb and moist texture. You can add pretty much anything you want to the recipe as long as you keep the ratio of wet to dry consistent. If it looks too wet or too dry in the first 10 minutes of mixing, you can adjust accordingly.

I haven't tried making this without the machine. When I do I will report the results with due diligence as I realize most of you may not actually have a bread machine...or a wish to use one. 

This is another in my series of recipes dealing with my consistent surplus of fresh almond pulp. Stay tuned for more.

rising in the machine

Basic Gluten Free Bread Machine Bread

1 cup almond pulp
3 cups other flour, or a mix.
   Try oat flour, millet flour, lentil flour, quinoa flour, or corn meal
1 cup ground flax meal
3 teaspoons chia seed
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon active yeast
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (optional)

1 cup warm water
1 cup olive oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs honey
2 eggs

Combine the first group of ingredients in a bowl. Put the second group of ingredients into the bottom of the bread maker's receptacle. Pour the dry ingredients on top of the wet. Secure the receptacle and bake.....Easy

I have tried almost all the settings on my machine, getting good results with both "whole wheat", which takes 3 hours and 40 minutes, to "express bake" which takes a mere 80 minutes. I think the longer the better though, so if you've got the time, go for that one. In the first few minutes, keep an eye on the bread. If it is too wet, like brownie mix, add a little flour of some sort. If it seems too dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water at a time, slowly until it looks like it is holding its own shape but moist enough to settle into the shape of the pan.

If you'd like to add any other flavorings or ingredients, go ahead and do that after you've poured the dry onto the wet. Some of our favorites: olives, chopped pepper, black pepper & herbes de provence, sun dried tomatoes, jalapeno. Or go with a sweet bread and add sugar and cinnamon along with raisins or other dried fruit.

Home Made Almond Milk & Amazing Chocolate Cake

Almond milk, how do I love thee? Heaps of ways!

Let it suffice to say that, once you know how easy it is to make, and how delicious it is to drink, you will never go back. I make almond milk every couple of days to enjoy in coffee, with cereal, or to use in some recipe or another instead of regular milk. I think its better than milk, and far better than boxed soy or almond milk.

Almond Milk's only drawback is that you have to figure out what to do with the almond pulp after straining. Lucky for you,  I have a bunch of recipe solutions for that, too.

All you need to make this delicious drink is a blender and nutmilk bag (or a paint straining bag from the hardware store). I get mine at Home Depot, about $2 for two 1-gallon size bags (be sure not to get the 5 gallon bag). It helps to soak the almonds for a few hours before you blend, but if you don't, no big deal.

all you need (besides a blender & almonds) to make almond milk

Fresh Almond Milk*

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 6-8 cups filtered water

If possible, soak the almonds over night (soaking softens the nuts and switches off the enzyme inhibitors, making the almonds more nutritionally available and easy to digest...and creamier). Blend with the water for at least 30 seconds, until completely pulverized. Place the straining bag in a pitcher or bowl and pour the blended almonds and water through. Squeeze and strain (imagine you are milking an almond cow) until as much moisture is out of the pulp as possible. You now have fresh, delicious almond milk. I like mine plain, pure, and simple. But feel free to add sweetener, vanilla, a pinch of salt, or whatever floats your boat.

*For a slightly more viscous result, try adding a few tablespoons of chia seeds to the blender with the almonds. It makes it a little more difficult to strain, but the result is thicker. Also, if you want something more like a cream, use less water, or more almonds.

You should also know...this fresh almond milk lasts no longer than 2-3 days, so drink up! Or don't make too much.

soaked almonds, fresh almond milk, and my favorite way to enjoy: in a foamy cup of coffee

The question is, what to do with all this pulp? I used to stick it in a ziploc bag, throw it in the freezer and forget about it. Then one day I realized that I had about 7 gallons of almond pulp. These days, I try to create some kind of baked good with the pulp in order to keep up with the volume. This works out well for us here who don't eat wheat products. I make bread, muffins, and cake most often. Ryan makes pancakes and chocolate chip cookies.

what to do with almond pulp???

David Lebovitz, the Paris based food writer, wrote in The Sweet Life in Paris, "Every Frenchwoman I know loves chocolate so much she has a chocolate cake in her repetoire that she's committed to memory, one she can make on a moment's notice".  Although not French, I have taken this predilection to heart. My recipe is based on this flourless chocolate cake recipe, updated by yours truly to incorporate the almond pulp & a couple of other things. (I realize that this post is listed as 'vegan'...that would refer to the almond milk, and not this cake. Sorry, vegans.)

Amazing Chocolate Cake

• 6 oz chocolate chips (good dark chocolate)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (I suppose you could use butter)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar (unrefined if possible)
• 1 tsp peppermint oil (optional but delicious)
• 1 cup almond pulp
• 3 egg yolks & one egg (this makes for a very soft cake, but 3 regular eggs will also work fine)

Preheat oven to 375°.
Oil & Line 8" round pan with parchment.
Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil over a double boiler. Add all other ingredients, eggs last & mix well. Pour into pan and spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes until done.

Voila! This cake is seriously amazing. It is not fluffy, but rather very dense and fudgy. No need for any embellishments. Sometimes I omit the peppermint oil and add cayenne, cinnamon, and dried cherries. Or I just make it plain. Sometimes I sprinkle more chocolate chips on top before baking it. Yum!

Enjoy! More almond pulp recipes to come...

I love Idli

Idli (English pronunciation: /ˈɪdliː/, also romanized "idly" or "iddly", plural "idlis"; Kannada: ಇಡ್ಲಿ; Malayalam: ഇഡ്ഡലി; Tulu: ಇಡ್ಲಿ; Tamil: இட்லி; Telugu: ఇడ్లీ, ఆవిరికుడుము (Aviri-Kudumu)) is a savory cake of south Indian origin popular throughout India. The cakes are usually two to three inches in diameter and are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils (de-husked) and rice. The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that they are more readily metabolized by the body.      

-Wikipedia

Idli with purple potato curry, coriander chutney and pepper chutney

We live in San Diego: a city with its pros and cons, like any other. One major pro are all the specialty markets that cater to the wide variety of nationalities that live here. There are multiple Chinese, Philippine, Vietnamese, Indian, Ethiopian, Mexican, Korean, Middle Eastern and Japanese supermarkets within a 20 mile radius. I have been told that San Diego is a hub for refugee processing entities, and that many of the world's refugees start out right here. Maybe that's true, maybe not. I would venture that its the weather, which is pretty much perfect all the time (average 70F, blue skies, etc) keeping people here. Whatever the case, I love this perk and make frequent pilgrimages to all of these awesome markets. (I will explore different markets in future posts.)

I shall now extol on the virtues of what many call "Little India". Located on Black Mountain Road in Miramar, this mini strip mall is host to two medium sized supermarkets, multiple restaurants, an ayurvedic beauty salon, a music store, a yoga studio, an Indian bank, an Indian clothing store, and my favorite fast food joint in town, Surati Farsan, where you can eat delicious Indian street food for under $10, and that includes a Mango Lassi. Not to mention, they ALWAYS have Bollywood dance videos playing on their large screen TVs. The place is hip. My only complaint is that all their food comes in styrofoam dishes: a real shame. In addition to all the sweets in the display case, they sell dosa and idli there, which I'm told are typical Southern Indian fare. Both are wheat free, delicious foods.

our idli pan in action

I love idli so much that I bought Ryan an idli pan for his birthday last year so that I could have it whenever I wanted to. They sell pre-made idli batter in the refrigerator section at Bombay Bazaar, (one of the grocery stores in Little India), so making this dish is a complete no-brainer. If you want to be able to eat this at home, you've got to get one of these proprietary pans. I got Ryan's at Bombay Bazaar for about $20, and it fits into a soup pot that we already have. All you have to do is spoon the idli batter into the indentations, stack the trays up in the pot (with about 1 inch of water at the bottom), cover and steam for about 10 or 15 minutes. A future post will explore how to make the fermented idli batter from scratch, but I haven't bothered to go there yet as the ready made stuff is so easy. (Another secret to no-brainer Indian home cooking: pre-mixed spice boxes for any dish you can think of. More on that later.)

Ryan says that idli is usually eaten simply with a chutney, but since I had leftover potato curry, I served it up as well as the chutneys, which turned out to be delicious.

(I made dosa, from a similar ready made batter, yesterday with a potato curry. I hadn't started this blog yet, so I didn't take pics but next time I do, expect a post. Dosa might be my all time favorite thing on the face of this earth. Think tangy, savory Indian crepes.)

All right. I am already breaking my first promise, (no long-winded blog posts). I'll stop yakking already! I hope that you have an Indian market near you...

Full disclosure: I have never been to India. I practice yoga regularly, and as a vegetarian I just know that India is the place for me. Ryan lived there for about 2 years, and he is my main source of information on most things India. I like to think that I know what I am talking about, but if my recipes are off...well, now you know why!

Pilot Post

I have been sitting on this blog idea for a long time, not sure of how to begin. Instead of continuing with this non-action, I commence!

I introduce to you "the veggie voyager: traveling and eating off the beaten path", my way of archiving and sharing vegetarian recipes, travel tips, and other gems. I will do my best keep it as short, succinct, and informative as possible. (Long winded blogs, while entertaining, can be a bit, well, long).

For years now, my love and I have been traveling to countries where "vegetarian" can be a foreign concept. However, I find that not only can a person eat well wherever they go, but that dietary limitations such as "no meat, please" open up doors to foods that are often times overlooked, especially in cultures where locals believe that visitors want to eat rich, expensive and indulgent foods from the top of the food chain. So in part, this blog will be about things we learn in our travels: tips and advice for those of you who are heading out to uncharted territories, unwilling to compromise on your dietary morals but eager to visit other places in this big, colorful, fun world we live in. From a village kitchen in the Philippines, where I learned how to make heart of banana flower fritters, to cycling through West Africa (a place where meat is king, for six weeks, and eating like a queen), I have watched and learned and want to share this information with you, my fellow veggie voyagers.

I am not always on the road, however, so I don't want to limit this blog only to travel. I figure, since they say "life is a journey", that this voyage can also be a metaphorical one as we learn and grow as world citizens, chefs, and eaters. (For the record, currently I am a ovo-lacto vegetarian. I don't eat wheat or soy because they don't make me feel good. I do my best to eat organic, but don't freak when that doesn't work out. I don't judge.)

I'm looking forward to sharing all this stuff with you, and am quite excited to have a way to do that! I humbly ask to be allowed into the legions of food bloggers out there today, and hope that there is room for one more. Stay posted. I'll be back soon!