mango with sticky rice

 

mmm, one of my favorite desserts on the planet, and so easy to make! this is the most successful sticky rice i've ever made - and i did it in the microwave. i'm sure it would be even better with a real sticky rice steamer, but i'm working with what i've got. (but hey, it's only a month or so until my birthday, hinthint...) the microwave worked like a dream, and so fast - i could whip this up before elephant thai got here with my order. and cheap!

serves 4.

2 ripe mangoes

1 cup sticky rice (glutenous rice)
2 tbsp. sugar
2 pinches sea salt
1 can coconut milk
toasted sesame seeds to garnish

put the rice in a glass bowl with enough water to cover it by 1cm. should be a little more than a cup. let it soak for at least 10 minutes. skip soaking at your own peril! bring coconut milk to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-low heat. stir frequently, don't let it boil. add sugar and salt, and remove from heat. now to slice up those mangoes.

make sure they're really ripe, like the guy on the right here. i like to refrigerate them for a little while so that the temperature contrasts with the hot rice. use a sharp knife, and slice away from your hand - mango is slippery! first, slice off the 'butt' of the mango (the part with the little stem). then skin it in strips, leaving as much of the fruit intact as possible. slice in towards the seed all the way around the edge, then slice each half off of the seed - it helps to rest the mango on its butt on the cutting board. slice each half into four pieces. anything left on the seed belongs to the chef. nom!

after all that mango-wrasslin', the rice should be all done soaking. cover the bowl with a microwave safe plate (not plastic) and microwave for 3 minutes. using oven mitts, take the bowl out of the microwave and remove the plate. stir rice, recover, and microwave another 3 minutes. take it out and stir it again - be very careful, that steam is hot! depending on your microwave, it might need a little more time. mine needed another 2.5 minutes. have a large, clean dish and bamboo rice paddle or large wooden spoon standing by. use those mitts and carefully transfer the hot sticky rice into the waiting dish. use the paddle to stir it up and get rid of some of that steam.

gradually pour about 3/4 of the coconut milk into the sticky rice while mixing it. don't let it get too saturated. cover and let sit for 5 minutes so the rice will absorb the delicious. place sliced mango on a plate, scoop on some rice, and pour some of the remaining coconut milk over top. top rice with toasted or black sesame seeds or toasted rice, and serve immediately! sticky rice will not save in the refrigerator - it turns into an unusable mass. if you need to make the rice ahead of time, it will be okay on a cool counter top for a few hours.

polenta rancheros

oh, how i missed the california huevos from kuba kuba... until i found this golden recipe in vegan brunch. this creamy polenta tastes even better than eggs over the savory beans. i garnished it with chunky guacamole, and the avocado really makes it. it would also be good with chopped green onions and better than sour cream. best served with pressed cuban bread and strong black coffee!

serves 4 to 6.

for the beans:
2 tsp. cumin seeds
2 tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. smoked paprika
2 tbsp. cooking oil (i use coconut)
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 serrano peppers, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 - 15 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. maple syrup
2 - 15 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed

for the polenta:
5 cups vegetable broth
1/2 tsp. smoked sea salt
1 cup polenta cornmeal
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

for the guacamole:
2 ripe avocados, diced
1 small red onion, diced
2 plum tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
juice from 1 lime
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

preheat a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. dry toast the cumin seeds in the pan for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until they're fragrant and a few shades darker. be careful not to burn them. add the oil, raise the heat to medium high, and sauté the onion, peppers, and garlic for about 10 minutes, until the onions are browned. add fire roasted tomatoes, salt, and syrup and cook for about 5 minutes. blend the sauce to desired consistency - i used my hand blender to process the sauce right in the pan, but you could also transfer it to a blender or food processor. if you do use a blender, make sure to let the steam escape so it doesn't build up and explode.

add the beans to the skillet with the sauce, and cook until beans are heated through, about 5 minutes.

in a saucepan (with a lid), bring the broth and salt to a boil. add polenta in a slow, steady stream, whisking as you pour. add the olive oil and lower heat to simmer for 12 minutes, stirring often. remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

ladle beans into a shallow bowl and top with a big spoonful of polenta and a scoop of guacamole. yum!

vegan black bean chorizo sausages

this is a modified recipe from vegan brunch, by my patron saint isa chandra moskowitz. i'm sure it would look more chorizo-ey with pinto beans, but i wasn't about to risk breaking my limbs on my icy stairs of death just to be martha stewart.

makes 4 big sausages. aww yeah.

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. vegetable broth
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tiny can of tomato paste (3 oz.)
2 tsp. lime zest
2 garlic cloves, very finely minced
1 1/4 c. vital wheat gluten
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
2 tbsp. smoked paprika
1 tbsp. sriracha chili sauce
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. dry rubbed sage (not powdered)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground chipotle pepper

before mixing your ingredients, get your steaming apparatus ready and bring water to a full boil. have four sheets of tinfoil ready. in a large bowl, mash the beans until there are no whole ones left. throw all other ingredients together in the order listed and mix with a fork.

divide dough into four equal parts. place one part onto tinfoil and mold into about a 5 inch log. wrap in tinfoil like a tootsie roll. don't worry too much about shaping it; it'll snap into shape while it's steaming because this recipe is awesome.

place wrapped sausages in steamer and steam for 40 minutes. unwrap and enjoy immediately, or refrigerate until ready to use. you could also wrap these in plastic and freeze them, if you're really not ready to use them yet. these can also be crumbled and used as ground sausage. i sauteed them with a spray of coconut oil, and served them with a drizzle of maple syrup. great with kale and mashed potatoes!

red kale with smoky tempeh bacon and cider vinegar

i had to do something with this beautiful curly kale. these winter greens have a smoky, vinegary, good ol' southern flavor. try it with some black eyed peas, cornbread, mashed potatoes, and vegan sausages - recipes coming soon! if you don't have any fakin bacon, any smoked tempeh or tofu would work. mmm... smoked tofu...

serves 4.

1 tbsp. cooking oil (i used organic coconut to sneak in some healthy medium chain fats)
2 slices tempeh fakin bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4" strips
1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 bunch red kale, tough stems discarded
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. add fakin bacon and onion, and cook until onion is tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. rinse kale well, removing any grit, but don't dry. coarsely chop or shred (i used my hands).

 
gradually add to onion mixture, stirring until wilted.  reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until tender, another 10 minutes or so. increase heat, uncover, and cook until most of the liquid evaporates. stir in vinegar, salt, and pepper. serve immediately!

rattlesnake bean salad with cilantro vinaigrette

i found this tasty lil salad on my last internet recipe frenzy on the daily green. i made this with great northern beans, since that's what i had on hand, so it's not as pretty as it would be with rattlesnake beans. you could use almost any kind, or black eyed peas. i used canned beans instead of dried, so it took less than five minutes to throw together. cilantrolicious!

if you are using dried beans, you might find this helpful:

15-oz can beans = 1 1/2 cooked beans, drained
1 pound dry beans = 6 cups cooked beans, drained
1 pound dry beans = 2 cups dry beans
1 cup dry beans = 3 cups cooked beans, drained

serves 4.

2 cans (3 c.) rattlesnake beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
freshly ground black pepper to taste

put everything in a bowl. stir. cover, refrigerate and let the flavors blend. chomp.

magical chocolate peanut butter magic cups

oh mah gawd these are good.

apparently oprah saw food, inc., (haven't seen it? watch it now! or NOW!) which inspired a show on food with michael pollan, author of the omnivore's dilemma, and alicia silverstone, who is evidently a vegan genius. i don't have her cookbook, the kind diet, yet, but this recipe is making me want to run out and grab a copy despite the fact that i've gotten ten new cookbooks in the last two months.

these are SO easy and SO good. the hardest part is waiting for them to set in the fridge. the recipe says to use a mini muffin pan with paper liners, but i just used my brand new silicone hearts muffin pan. (thanks jeremy!) the silicone mold was perfect for this recipe - after they cooled in the fridge, they popped right out. i also used turbinado sugar instead of maple sugar, cause i'm broke! but i bet these would be ridiculous with maple.

makes 12.

1/2 c. earth balance vegan butter
3/4 c. crunchy peanut butter (preferably unsweetened and unsalted)
3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c. maple sugar or other granulated sweetener
1 c. nondairy chocolate or carob chips
      (lots of semisweet chips are nondairy)
1/4 c. almond milk (or soy/rice/hemp milk)
1/4 c. chopped peanuts

if you're using a mini muffin tin, get your liners ready. if you're using silicone, give it a few sprays of baking pam.

melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and sugar and mix well. remove from heat, and divide the mixture among the muffin cups, about 2 tablespoons each.

in a clean saucepan, combine chocolate chips and milk. stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted. spoon evenly over the peanut butter mixture, and top with chopped peanuts. let them set in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving. if you can.

oh, hi!

so i've finally torn myself away from battlestar galactica with my iron will. either that, or jeremy and i finished the entire series. plus razor and the plan. probably best that i wasn't blogging, because there would have been a lot of this:

and this:

 and definitely some of this:

i'm still working out the recipes for those three. nom!

i have been cooking a whole lotta delicious food, thanks to my family and friends loading me up with cookbooks for christmas. the vegan table, vegan brunch, vegan bites, supermarket vegan, the best of vegan cooking, vegan cupcakes take over the world... notice a theme? i've been trying out recipes from all of them, and i have a few favorites i'll post in the next couple of weeks.

along with my vegan cookbooks, i also got the complete book of home preserving. (thanks, bean!) there are a ton of recipes i need to try. i can't wait to get canning this spring and summer, so i can eat delicious fruit and tomatoes this time next year. and pickled everything, all the time. speaking of which, i really need someone at cafe gutenberg to slip me their recipe for those spicy gingery pickled carrots!

i just passed my 3 month veganniversary, and it has been a lot easier than i expected. sometimes i miss sashimi, but then i just read something like this and devour my tofu max. i've discovered that there are a ton of places around richmond that take mighty good care of us vegans. thank the lords of kobol for ellwood thompson's. (despite a really, really, really disappointing meetup with their in-store registered dietician. "spirulina is a fungus which will make you fat"/"you should eat quorn for vegan protein" and so much more misinformation. umm, spirulina is a blue green algae that is up to 77% protein by weight, and quorn is mold and egg. mold. and. egg. maybe more on this later, if i feel like a good rantblog.)

anyway. i want to write up some of the places that have blown me away with their cruelty-free deliciousness - 8 1/2's off-menu vegan pizza, strange matter's tasty tofu scrambles, cafe gutenberg's killer nooch fondue and pecan belgian waffle... mmm, i'm getting hungry just thinking about them.