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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Sour Cream Cheesecake

My mom and aunt have had a bet on the University of Texas vs. Texas A&M football game for as long as I can remember. Most likely longer than I could remember since I am pretty sure the bet is older than I am. Well my cousin and I picked up that bet when we both ended up attending these two fine institutions of higher learning. Okay one fine institution and tamu, but that isn't why I'm here today. Today I'm here to talk about the practice cheesecake I made before I see my cousin over Christmas and have to make her one for real.

This year the Aggies ended a losing streak and won, so I have to produce a cheesecake for my cousin. Now, I have very little baking experience so I decided to go with what seemed to be a pretty straight forward Alton Brown recipe. And while it is pretty easy to follow, some of the hardware needed proved difficult to get my hands on.

The biggest difference in this recipe than what I'm used to is that it called for using a solid 9 by 3 inch cake pan rather than a springform pan. We don't have this size pan, and several stores I checked did not either. So I just followed the recipe but baked it in a springform pan and cut out the water bath.

I do want to try using the water bath cooking method. While the final flavor of the cheesecake was excellent, the texture was a bit soft for my taste. It didn't run all over the plates or anything, but it could have been firmer, and I think cooking it to the recipe should achieve that.

But enough words, have some pictures.

butter for the crust
the crust is ridiculously easy and I will never do store bought again
why yes, that is 2.5 bricks of cream cheese. mmmmm fat
nobody tell Laura I used her mixer
pre-bake
no crack! #happydance
the left over crust bits really add a lot to the final product

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Tahini Lemon Rice & Beans

Okay, I admit it.  I've been a total slacker.  Lately, I've been letting my house hubby make the dinners.  But as he is now (semi)gainfully employed, I figure it is time for me to start pulling my weight around the house.  Plus the college foozball season is upon us, so if I want to eat in the next 12 weeks, I had better get cooking.

Tonight I made Tahini Lemon Rice & Beans from Lauren Ulm's Vegan Yum Yum (pg 81).  Zack bought the cookbook as an "us" present in celebration of our one year anniversary.  If the other recipes are as good as this one, I'm looking forward to trying the rest.  This dish was quick, healthy and delicious.

I used a short-grain brown rice and a rice cooker.  I'd like to take a moment to express how much I adore my rice cooker.  It is the only way I have ever, EVER, been able to make decent rice.  Without the cooker, the water inevitably evaporates before the rice is cooked or the rice turns to a sticky mush.  This way is pretty much idiot proof.  Just put in the rice and water and flip a switch and you can concentrate on the rest of dinner.  Awesome.   

Sooo while the rice was cooking I whipped up the dressing which was mostly lemon juice, soy sauce, tahini and olive oil.  With that done I sauteed some kale and warmed black beans and shredded carrots.  Then I added the cooked rice to the sauteed veggies and mixed in the dressing.  Viola!

I really enjoyed this dish!  It would make a great dinner for a week night when you're tired and don't feel like anything labor intensive.  As a bonus, we finally discovered a way that Zack enjoys greens.  Now if I can only figure out sweet potatoes...

the sauce prior to whisking
pre-washed/chopped kale cuts down on prep time

sauteed veggies and rice



the final yummy product

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Cajun-Creole-Spiced Tempeh Pieces with Creamy Grits

Last night at the Temporary Moore Home I cooked up some grits. Now growing up in Texas we didn't see a lot of grits about. We all heard of them, but very few people I knew had actually eaten any. When I moved to SC and fell in love with a Carolina girl, I was introduced to the southern staple. Most of the time that I have had them I don't really care for them, but I have found that when they are cooked right they make an outstanding compliment to a variety of dishes.

The recipe came out of Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry and is a vegan reinterpretation of the southern classic, shrimp and grits. The shrimp is replaced with tempeh and the creamy part of the grits is from almond milk and creamed cashews rather than heavy cream. Both the tempeh and the grits required a good deal of time, start to finish took me about 2 hours, but the payoff in flavor was well worth it.

First I sliced the tempeh into bite size pieces and simmered them in a vegetable stock for 30 minutes. While it was simmering, I sautéed leeks with some minced garlic, made the cashew paste and measured out the spice mixture. I also quartered a pint of cherry tomatoes, mixed them with a bit of lemon juice and salt Once the tempeh was done simmering, I drained it and let the pieces dry for half an hour while I got the grits underway. The extra flavor in the grits came from using some vegetable stock in place of some of the cooking water. Once the grits had absorbed the liquids I added almond milk and let that get absorbed. Finally I added a little more water with the cashew paste and let the grits simmer for about 40 minutes until soft but not runny. I asked my beautiful southern bride be the expert on final grit constency.

Finally, while the grits were finishing up, I fried up the drained tempeh in a small amount of extra virgin olive oil for about 6-7 minutes. The frying gave the tempeh a nice crunch on the outside while the simmer gave it a great deal of flavor from the broth. Once fried, the tempeh was combined with the sautéed leeks and the cherry tomatoes.

The dish was one of the better dishes I have made yet, and we will definitely revisit it in the future, but will be saved for days when we have the time to put into it. The leftovers made a great lunch the next day as well, always a bonus.

tempeh before the simmer
the cashews await the blender blade
nine, yes NINE spices awaiting the fried tempeh
I think we're gonna need a bigger pan
creamy grits
fried tempeh given a good shake with the spices then tomatoes and leeks stirred in
serve tempeh over grits with some scallion for garnish and nom away

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Shrimp Étouffée

I assure you that we are still alive and well(ish), life has just kept us from the blog lately. We recently moved cities and are sorta settled in a family house while I look for work and Laura gets settled in her new job. For a bit of comfort recently, I decided to try my hand at a dish that my family has been cooking for years now, Shrimp Étouffée. Wikipedia has a good article on Étouffée if you want to bone up.

This dish is rather simple, but easy to mess up if you aren't paying attention. It starts with a full stick of butter, mmmmmm. Sorry, just the thought of all that buttery goodness made me zone out there for a moment. Once the butter is melted sauté 1 cup chopped onions, 1 cup chopped celery 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper and 2 cloves crushed garlic. Once the onions become limp add 1.5 cups of water and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Next, add 1.5lbs of shrimp and cayenne to taste (we like it hot and went with 1/2 teaspoon). Let this simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the shrimp is cooked. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of water and add to the skillet. Serve over cooked rice.

For some added taste of home for me, we paired it with a simple cucumber salad that my family likes to make. The salad combines sliced cucumber (thin is good for this, but it is up to you), mayonnaise (we went with Vegenaise and I swear you can't tell the difference), green onion and ground black pepper (or cracked pepper is nice as well). The salad is best if you can soak the sliced cucumbers in water with some salt for a few hours before mixing the rest of the ingredients.

Finally we added some Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, because who in their right mind doesn't like them? All in all this was just what this homesick boy needed.

mmmmmmmmm butter
sauté goodness
still needs pepper
really, don't fear it!
a taste of home

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Avocado & Smoked Gouda Sandwiches

This avocado and smoked Gouda sandwich is one of my favorites.  It's a perfect simple meal for a hot day!
Ingredients:
sourdough bread
sliced tomato(es)
sliced avocado
sliced red onion
romaine lettuce
smoked Gouda
spicy mustard
vegenaise or mayo


Lightly toast the sourdough bread under a broiler.  Add the gouda, broil for a few more minutes until the cheese is slightly melted.    


Top one side with tomatoes, vegenaise, salt & pepper.


Top the other half with spicy mustard, onion, avocado slices and lettuce.


Smoosh the sides together and enjoy! 

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Chickpea Fattet Tostadas

After last night's flavor debacle, we decided to try something else from The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker and this time it worked out great. Tonight's dish was very simple and actually didn't need the slow cooker at all. The only part of the recipe that called for the cooker was to cook the dried chickpeas. I didn't want to let them go all day, so I just did the quick cook method that took about an hour. Rather than sitting in the slow cooker all day, I just boiled the dried chickpeas for a couple of minutes and let them sit in the hot water until they were ready.

I had never made hummus before, so we just followed the recipe from the book. In the future I'll cut back on the amount of garlic, but otherwise it was tasty. One downside to making our own hummus is that our little food processor is loud and makes our dog cower under our feet.

The dish was very good and much more filling than we had expected. We will definitely do this one again.

just before the poor dog was under foot

pita is hard to slice

hummus all done

pita toasted under the broiler, hummus, romaine lettuce, roasted pine nuts, a touch of fresh mint and Greek-style yogurt: easy peasy

Monday, May 24, 2010

Greek Lemon, Artichoke and Egg Soup

The downside to trying new things is that occasionally those new things aren't as good as one would hope. This evening we made another dish from The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker. We checked the book out from the library a while back and enjoyed it so much that I put it on my wish list and my parents gave it to me for my birthday.

This dish was pretty simple in that I sautéed the artichokes, celery and onion in olive oil. I added the vegetables to the slow cooker with rice and water and let them cook for the afternoon. When it was about time to eat we whisked eggs together with lemon juice to go into the soup.

This all smelled delightful, but the final dish was far too tart with the 1/2 cup of lemon juice that it called for. Also, rather than being a soup, it became more of a slush. We think that our slow cooker may go a lot hotter than what the recipes expect it to. Every time we use it it seems to over cook even at the low end of cooking times.

artichoke, celery and onion ready for the pan

 ready for the soup

at least the bread was good

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Arepas with Avocado-Tempeh Filling

 Tonight we made stuffed Venezuelan sammies from Terry Hope Romero's Viva Vegan!  Terry co-authored several of my favorite cookbooks, including Veganomicon, so I expected good things.  And this recipe did not disappoint!  Arepas are akin to corn bread or just really, really thick tortillas.  They have a crunchy crust and a moist and dense center.

The recipe called for the tempeh filling to be made in advance so that the flavors have time to meld.  We planned on having the arepas for dinner, so I made the filling in the morning and let it marinate in the fridge.  After briefly boiling the tempeh, I sprinkled it with soy sauce and cut it in cubes.


Next I whisked Vegenaise, lime juice and fresh ground pepper together and then stirred in the shredded jicama and tempeh cubes..This was the first time I've ever made anything with jicama and the first grocery store we went to didn't carry it.  Once you peel it, it looks a lot like a potato but smelled like a green bean.  I wish I would have thought to try a bit of it on it's own, but I didn't.


Making the Arepas was pretty simple.  The dough was made out of masa harina flour, salt and water.  It was supposed to be strictly Venezuelan or Colombian style masa harina, but the kind we bought was of non-specific origin.  The dough was kneaded and then patted out into 6 disks about 4 inches in diameter.


They were then fried in a bit of canola oil before being baked for an additional 15 minutes in a 350 oven. 


After baking we sliced the arepas were sliced in half, spooned on the prepared filling and topped it with sliced avocados.  The traditional way to assemble these includes splitting them three quarters of the way and stuffing the filling inside like a pita, but we found the sammich construction a bit easier.
 

The results were yummy!  The only way I can think to describe the filling is as a tangy slaw.  I love the jimaca and lime combo with the mild tempeh and warm arepas.  The arepas themselves were nice, but on their own seemed a bit bland.  Maybe adding a bit more salt would help this?  Zack thinks they would be good withbutter and honey as a breakfast.  We give it four stars!


Road Trip for Hash (no, not what you are thinking)

Occasionally we at Moore Food, Please like to let other people feed us. Yesterday, Laura and I went to visit our friend Mandie in Pacolet, South Carolina and attend her family's Hash. In case you are unfamiliar with Pacolet, it is the town near Spartanburg with a big horse in the middle of a river (pictured to the left).

Now those of you, like me, who are not native to South Carolina may be wondering just what a "hash" is. Well the best I could tell when I got here was that it was a bunch of stuff mashed up into some kind of delicious meat paste. Wikipedia has an article on it here. Mandie's family makes a big production out of the meal and pretty much the entire town of Pacolet, SC comes by to partake.

A hash is not normally very vegetarian friendly, but Mandie did a wonderful job of preparing vegetarian dishes for those who don't drool at the idea of meat paste.

Yup, we ate at the "Eatin' Shed"
Hash is typically cooked in a large single pot, this family doesn't screw around when it comes to their pot.

A family member stirring the pot (insert dumb joke here).

The desserts were delicious!