Chick Peas!

Yes.
Fresh Chick Peas, or Garbanzo Beans... is it a Pea? Is it a Bean?

Let's just settle for Legume.
They look like tiny little brains.

They're pretty good. Way better than in a can.
We have a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) at Sungold Farms, located in Forest Grove, OR.
We buy 2 shares and every week for about 4.5 months we get fresh, local, organic produce. We pick it up at the Farmer's Market downtown on Saturdays.
Once a year they give us Chick Peas.
You pop them out of their pod, with a little pop sound, like that bubble wrap with a prize inside.
There's only one per pod, so it takes awhile to fill up, oh say, 1 Cup.
But they're so good. I didn't know beans or peas or whatever could taste so fresh, I always had them from a can.

Okay, well enough of that.

I put them in stir fries. That's all I've done with them so far.
Maybe next year I'll grow some, since you can grow them in this climate, and attempt some raw Humus or something.

I think to grow them you just get some dried ones and let them sit in water, or keep them wet, and they start sprouting.

I'll keep you posted.

Stove Top Rice & Veggie Casserole

Stove Top Casserole!?
Yes, Stove Top Casserole. Because the oven is still broken.

Let's get started.
Soak the Rice. Long Grain, Organic, Lundberg's Brown.

Round up the usual suspects:
Serrano Peppers, Garlic, Beans, Shiitake Mushrooms, Asparagus, Nutritional Yeast, Tahini, Coconut Milk.

Start the Rice.
Rice, of course, one part Coconut Milk, one part Water, Toasted Sesame Oil & Olive Oil.

While that's starting, prep the Veggies.

I'm not sure if this is necessary, but it seems that the Rice needs to get going on it's own before adding the Veggies, which could of course be added once the Rice started boiling, but for some reason I'm not doing it like that.
So saute the Garlic & Pepper.

Add Veggies.
And Seasoning.
Lightly saute until the Rice begins to boil.

Add Nutritional Yeast to the Rice.

Add the Veggies.
Simmer.
For a while.

Hope you brought a book.

Don't forget to check after a while.
Yep, a while longer.

Actually, it only simmered for about an hour.
I'm sure if I would have turned it up to, perhaps, oh say, a high simmer, it would have been done sooner.
But still. It's pretty good.
Just as good as if I were to have baked it.

And, I'm learning that Pesto goes pretty well with things other than Pasta & Toast, like this dish.

Pesto!

It's Basil season, which is good, because you need lots of Basil to make Pesto. And right now, we have lots of Basil.

Basil is pretty much the only key ingredient that I use in my Pesto recipe that is in traditional Pesto... I mean, ya know aside from salt & olive oil and lemon or lime or whatever.

Speaking of ingredients:
Clockwise, starting at 6p: Serrano Pepper (which I recommend not using), Garlic, Basil, Cashew pieces, Nutritional Yeast, Arugala, and Lemon in the middle.
Not pictured is Salt & Olive Oil.

The traditional Pesto recipe I know is non-vegan. I know it be as follows:
Basil, Walnuts, Salt, Olive Oil, Parmesan... Lime...?

But whatever, I like Cashews & Nutritional Yeast better than Walnuts & Parmesan, and they're cheaper.

On to the Unorthodox Vegan Pesto.
I have noticed that what you put down first affects the consistency of the recipe, like with the Raw Soup, Tomatoes first.

For some reason, Garlic & Cashews go first.
That's the consistency I like I guess.

Next is the Basil & Arugala, and the Serrano Pepper.

Followed by Nutritional Yeast & Lemon

And finally, Olive Oil.
I forgot to add Salt. But that's what taste tests are for.

Process.
You may have to use a rubber spatula or something to shove down some of the ingredients that were violently thrown up on the side of the reservoir, but it shouldn't be too difficult to get a nice even consistency.

Give it a taste.
You guessed it, needs Salt.
It is also, at this point, that I realized I would not recommend Serrano Pepper.

As it turns out, we have plenty of room so we can do it all over again with the ingredients we want in another layer.
Garlic, Cashews, Basil, Arugala, Salt, Lemon, Olive Oil, Nutritional Yeast

And process...
Taste test results are excellent, much better than before and maintains the same consistency, so this totally blows my theory about order of ingredients out of the processor.

But lo, we have more room for yet more Pesto.
So lets do it again. That last layer combo seemed to work.

Garlic, Cashews, Basil, Arugala, Lemon, Salt, Nutritional Yeast.

Taste test.

Yep, that works.

This goes good with Pasta, Toast & Crackers, but I'm making this for a stove-top version of Veggie & Rice Casserole, because the oven is still broken, which will be my next post.

Cashew Sauce (pssst, for your stir fry)

The oven broke. And it's summer, so I'm out and about and not really exploring new dishes in the kitchen.
Until.
I had to come up with something new... or different, rather, because we all know that everything I make is pretty much the same thing in a different format (veggies in soup, veggies in rice, veggies in eggs, veggies in pasta casserole, sometimes with chicken) and I was losing motivation to actually cook for myself.
That's a red flag.
My housemate Holly recommended I try doing the stir fry (because we bought a 25 pound bag of long grain brown rice (for $27, Lundberg Organic, sweet)) with a peanut sauce.
So I went online to check out sauces, which is what I do for all my recipes and dishes by the by. I sort of see how things are put together, and use the ingredients I like, as in red sauce from scratch rather than from a can, or dehydrated beans rather than from a can, or Cashew Butter & Almonds rather than chunky Peanut Butter.

See, recipes are really like laws. They create order, get everybody on the same page, but more often than people realize, they're pretty unnecessary in a lot of situations once you get how things work.
I mean, really, who waits at a stop light at 3am on a Tuesday?
I'm not saying recipes are meant to be broken like an unjust or unnecessary law, just that they should be guides, you need to use your own common sense and use your judgment to suit it to your taste and competency level.
You should do this with recipes too.
Laws and recipes are no excuse for not thinking.

You need to ask yourself, what would I do?
You will often find yourself doing what has been written out, like crossing at the cross walk. You will often find an adequate substitution, like a vegan alfredo sauce. You will often find that it is still legal to kill someone under certain circumstances, like, in North Dakota, it is legal to shoot an American Indian on horseback, provided you are in a covered wagon. You will often find that ratios are off, like flour vs oil for cookies, or like the priority to criminalize some controlled substances with known health benefits vs. the much more widely distributed and very legal (once you are of age) controlled substances with known health risks. You will often find that you need more garlic, like in congress.
Good cooks do not need recipes to tell them how to cook well, while bad people will find a way around the laws.
Remember everything Hitler did was "legal," and how many books did Martin Luther King Jr. write while in prison?
And of course we can't forget Thoreau.
I think you get the picture.
Use your better judgment. Always.


Okay then, this is in addition to the Stir Fry to schnazz it up a bit for when it gets boooring, or really you can make it for whatever.
I am using it for my stir fry.

The ingredients:
Left to right, back row first: Cashew Butter, Balsamic Vinegar, Tahini, Tamari, Olive Oil, Toasted Sesame Oil... Garlic, Serrano Pepper, Salt (which I actually didn't use, because Salt & Tamari in the same dish is rather redundant), Turmeric, Paprika.

Add to food processor.
Yes, I know I mentioned in a previous post that I wish I had a food processor, and in actuality the house does have a food processor, however it is only good for small batches, not good for vegan alfredo sauce for lasagna... and it's, well, it's seen better days.
But it's ideal for this sauce, so onward
I put four big dollops of Cashew Butter with a nice medium sized spoon and a couple smaller spoonfuls of Tahini for the body of the sauce. Balsamic Vinegar, Tamari, Toasted Sesame Oil, Garlic, Serrano Pepper, Paprika & Turmeric for taste. Olive Oil & Water for consistency.

Process.
Make adjustments for taste and texture. Olive Oil makes it creamier, Water thins it out, but makes it fluffier.
Fluffy water? I know, it's weird, but that's how it works.

I added a bit more Toasted Sesame Oil, and probably some Tamari.
I also put in whole Tamari Roasted Almonds, a little chunky in the creamy.
Process again.

This next step isn't necessary, you could just pour the sauce over the cooking veggies and you'd be fine.
But I'm going to marinade the Shiitake Mushrooms in it.
So prep those.

And pour it on.

Do all the other stir fry stuff... chop veggies, cook, etc.
Then add the Mushrooms & Sauce when you're ready.
As you can see, the mushrooms began their sauce bath before the sun went down.

Just remember the Mushrooms need to cook a bit still, so you'll have to time it right if you don't want to over cook your veggies.

Disco.

Serve with Rice & Chilled Sake... unless you're bringing it to work for lunch, then you probably shouldn't drink, unless you're in Spain or work in some creative firm or someplace that's and doesn't have so many liability issues.

Alcohol Infusion

I'm infusing alcohol.

I used a 1.75 of PDX '88 Vodka (distilled in my very own SE PDX according to the label) & Metaxa Brandy (Greek).
I cut up some flavors and split the alcohol fairly evenly between four 16oz. jars.
I'm letting them steep for about a week.
I need some help coming up with some -names though. I'm open to suggestion.

Left to right:
*Ginger infused Vodka.
There's this drink at this bistro, Savoy, in the 26th & Clinton neighborhood, that makes a drink they call the Milwaukee Mule. Vodka, Ginger Beer & Lime are involved.
This would be good for that.
-There's a Ginger Vodka already on the market called Yazi or something.
That's a pretty good name. I think a 'z' definitely needs to be involved in the name somehow. 'X' would probably be good too. Something to give it a zing sound. Hygingxe...?

*Basil & Serrano Pepper infused Vodka.
I think this will make the best Bloody Mary's.
This friend of mine was seeing this lady a while back. At one of his parties she brought him a similar infusion, and I was raving about how awesome that was; a home alcohol infusion. So she gave it to me instead of to him, saying she would get him more later. I felt pretty bad.
I think it was his birthday party.
-Hot Redemption...?

*Valencia Orange, Cinnamon Stick & Damiana infused Brandy
The Sapphire Hotel infuses their alcohol and comes up with their own drinks. I would go there and see all their jars sitting on top of cabinets & shelves with fruit in it.
They kind of inspired me for this project.
On Sundays they have live music and a drink special. One time the drink special involved Orange & Clove infused Brandy (or was it Vodka? Or was it Bourbon?).
I can't remember what the name of the drink was either.
I'm thinking this would be fine straight or on the rocks, or maybe in an Olde Fashioned or a
Manhattan.
It should be noted that Cinnamon & Damiana are aphrodisiacs.
-Madame Brandiana...?

*Cherry infused Brandy
A friend of mine turned me on to Brandy Manhattans. But they range anywhere from $5-12.
That gets pretty expensive.
Plus no place makes them the same. Some establishments use Bitters, others use Sweet Vermouth only. And they almost always come in a Martini glass, which I am notorious for spilling.
So, ordering a Brandy Manhattan usually went like this:
Brandy Manhattan - Christian Brother's is fine, Grenadine instead of Bitters, chilled, no ice, in a tumbler/low.
Or something like that.
After a while I kinda got tired of ordering like Sally...


...and being the thrifty, yet discreet, lush that I am, I decided to just get the ingredients myself.
Well, Grenadine (and even Sweet Vermouth), as it turns out, have quite a bit of High Fructose Corn Syrup in them, and I try to avoid the devil's Nectar.
That's when I had the epiphany for the Pallbearer (or the pawlbear)...
Brandy w/ Dark Fruit Juice (Pomegranate, Cherry, Blueberry even Cranberry, or any combination) chilled, no ice, served low.
Delicious & nutritious.

Short story long.
-Low Maintenance...?

Vegan Lasagna

Okay everybody's been doing pretty well so far with the recipes I've thrown at you, so now we're going to step it up a bit and do something a little more intense.
Vegan Lasagna.
And it's the real vegan, not like the vegan-except-for-the-chicken-and-the-egg kinda vegan.

So the Tempeh is optional, but if you're going to put it in you should start with it.
It's basically ground Beef in the form of crumbled Tempeh.
This is the recipe I use for Tempeh Tacos for our Spanish Immersion nights... or whenever, but especially then.
Start with these:
Tempeh, garlic, hot pepper, coconut oil (or whatever oil).

Heat oil, saute chopped Garlic & Pepper.
Crumble Tempeh as best you can, but don't worry it'll break down nicely as you cook it.

Tempeh is kinda dry, or spongy or whatever, so you need to be adding oil as you go as it's needed.
That's what the white chunks of love are in the pan, un-melted coconut oil.
Season it.
I use: Black & White Pepper, Paprika, Turmeric, Tamari & Balsamic Vinegar.
That vinegar bottle has a spray top. That business only works with rabbit food. That's why my finger is over the top, because spraying is ridiculous and I don't want to flood the Tempeh.

So once it's seasoned you basically cook it like ground beef.
This is what ground beef looks like.
For the record, I do not vouch for, nor endorse 'pinch my salt dot com.'
First of all, they don't use iron skillets, and it looks like most of their ingredients come from the can.
meh.
They do have better lighting though.

On to the sauce!
Gather the Veggies & Fungi.
As you can see there is a jar of what looks like Trader Joe's Sauce. I have been assured that it is not TJ's, but rather the leftovers of another batch from scratch who happened to re-use the TJ's jar.
This is what actually inspired this week's dish.
Thanks Lee, you are such an inspiration.
Also thanks for the kick-@$$ vacuum & the paint.

Anyway, clockwise spiral into madness starting at noon; Shiitake Mushrooms, Zucchini, Asparagus, Jalapeno Pepper, Heirloom Tomatoes, Garlic.

Chop all but the Tomatoes & saute on low in another pan.
You don't want to over cook the stuff. It still needs to simmer with the Tomatoes and then bake for 40 minutes.

So, in theory, any tomato will do, it just depends on what you're going for.
I am going for no less than awesome, and that is why I am using Heirloom Tomatoes.
If you are unfamiliar with Heirloom Tomatoes, treat yourself & familiarize yourself with them.

They are beautiful...

...and tasty
Other than that I don't know much else about them. I'm sure there's a history and stuff behind them.
Yep, there is. Thanks Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heirloom_tomato

Well, enough with the past, we're here, and the time is now.
Chop them Tomatoes, we're gonna make their ancestors proud.
I actually only needed the 2 big ones because we're also using Lee's homemade sauce.
I'm not sure what he put in it, but I spied a few Artichoke Hearts.
Mix it up real good and simmer.
You don't need to cook it much, because it will, like I mentioned above, be baking for 40 minutes.

Now add the herbs.
That's Basil at the top, left to right we have Tarragon, Sage and of course Arugala.

You may have noticed that there is no Oregano. That's because Oregano is cliche and only posers use it.
But of course everything is optional. It's your stomach, put whatever you want in it. No judgment.

So chop up & add the herbs and let simmer for a minute or two more.

Then give it a taste.

Holy bawls.
That is awesome.

Turn off the heat and move on to your final asset.
Vegan Cheese sauce.
Counter-clockwise starting with the Lime: Lime, Honey, Tofu (firm), Nutritional Yeast, Egg, Coconut Milk.

I'm just kidding about the egg.
I was just checking to see if anyone would notice.

Throw everything in the Food Processor.
If you don't have a food processor, a blender will do, but good luck.

Yeah. Where's my wish list?
I wish I had a food processor.

Now, we assemble the masterpiece

Grease the pan.
Again, I have no idea if this works or not.

I still don't know the dimensions, but it serves 4-6.

Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to pre-cook the Noodles.
The sauce is usually saucy enough to soften them.
However, you may have difficulty getting the Noodles to fit in the bottom of the pan.
Fracture as necessary.

Add Sauce.

Add Tempeh.

Another layer of Noodles.

More Sauce.

Another layer of Noodles
Generally, 2 layers of Noodles is enough, but there were exactly enough Noodles for one more layer.

Add faux Cheese Sauce.
Spread it around.
Cover.
Stick it in the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes at 375-400.

Check it after 30.
I usually poke it with a fork.
The top layer of Noodles are not quite as tender as I like.
Re-cover and put it in for 10 more minutes.

So, I think there wasn't enough Sauciness for the amount of Noodles that were put in.
So, let's say it's cooked to your desiring.
Bake for a bit with the top off.
In theory, you bake it with the top off to brown the cheese, since we're not using real cheese, it almost seem like a moot point.
But, meh.
May as well brown the faux Cheese.

Whoah, look at that shadow.
Trippy.

Serve.
Whoah.
Trippy.

Okay here it is in normal lighting.
Serve with Beer & Garlic Bread.
Or Wine.
Ya know whatever.

And viola.

It was pretty good actually. The Tempeh really added to the mix.
The texture/consistency wasn't quite what I usually get, and I think it was because of the extra layer of Noodles.
The idea, as it makes sense to me, is that there is a layer of Sauce on top of each layer of Noodles, so the moisture from the sauce cooks the Noodles as it's baking.
More Sauce next time.

So the layers should basically be like this:
Noodle - Sauce - Cheese.

You do that twice.
That's basic lasagna as I understand it.

Most people put the (faux) Meat in the Sauce rather than having it's own layer like I did, but ya know, it really doesn't matter.

You do whatever you can get away with.
Noodle - Sauce - Meat - Noodle - Sauce - Noodle - Faux Cheese

Whatever works.