aglio olio
May 30, 2011
It’s astounding that I’ve had this blog for over a year now and I’ve never posted aglio olio. This is a mainstay in our household, especially when we’re tired or the cupboard is bare. This past week we had a family emergency to deal with so by last night the cupboard was really bare. And I mean really bare. So Andrew whipped up a batch of this simple, elegant, tasty, elemental dish and we left the table feeling satisfied and nourished both physically and emotionally. You could pick up the recipe almost anywhere but the fact that Andrew was trained in the fine art of aglio olio preparation while living in Tuscany just makes it feel that much more authentic.
1 pound spaghetti or spaghettini
2 full (small) buds* garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup starchy pasta water reserved from cooking
salt and pepper
Cook spaghetti or spaghettini according to instructions. When done, drain and set aside, reserving some of the pasta water (Andrew says from the bottom of the pot, not the top of the pot!).
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in the bottom of a heavy saucepan. Saute garlic until just tender and aromatic, but not too much. Add a little of the pasta water to make a simple sugo (sauce). Add pasta and toss. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
*By buds I mean the full 7 or 8 cloves you find in a bud. It’s not called aglio olio for nothing.
apple curried tofu sandwich
May 15, 2011
I mentioned in my post last week that Andrew and I ate at the Cloisters in NYC and, much to our surprise and pleasure, discovered an apple tofu curry sandwich at their teeny tiny little cafe by the cloistered garden. So taking their sandwich as inspiration I set out this morning to make my own and, presto, it couldn’t have worked out better. Well maybe, but honestly I don’t know how as this one was super delicious, so I’m going with this one for lunches to come in the days and months ahead. Double the recipe below if you live in a house of 5 and need lunch stuff for kids, school, work, and hungry husbands!
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped finely
1/2 granny smith apple, chopped finely
3 tbsps veganaise
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp curry powder
8 oz firm tofu, crumbled
3 green onions, chopped
salt and pepper
Heat olive oil in a small frying pan. Add onion and granny smith apple and saute until soft.
Meanwhile combine veganaise, mustard, turmeric, curry powder, and crumbled tofu in a bowl. Add onion and apple and combine. Toss in green onions and salt and pepper to taste. Serve on toasted bread of your choice with sprouts, tomato, lettuce, onions, or whatever else tickles your fancy. Serve. Eat. Savour. Get on with your day feeling satisfied.
v:eating out in NYC
May 8, 2011
Last year I wrote about my trip to NYC with Andrew and all the places to v:eat out in the big city. You can find all our recommendations in musings #6. We went again this year and were pleasantly surprised to discover a few more haunts that got gold stars for their vegan friendly fare.
Atlas Cafe – 73 2nd Avenue. Total hole in the wall (that it’s above) with an exhaustive menu written on chalkboard paint or plain white paper featuring everything from lasagna to chicken wraps to smoothies. Amazing thing though is that they have a tonne of vegan options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We went every morning for the Mexican Tofu Scramble which was so good I almost licked my plate, but not quite. That would be embarrassing. The guys were great, super nice, and remembered us by name after our first visit. They also pulled off an awesome soy latte.
The Cloisters – Fort Tryon Park in Northern Manhattan. “The Cloisters, the branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe, was assembled from architectural elements that date from the 12th through the 15th century. The building and its cloistered gardens are treasures.” The whole collection is pretty amazing, treasures indeed, but the highlight for me was the medieval medicinal garden that has inspired me to turn my garden at the farm into a place of healing and contemplation. Loved it! But back to v:eating out. The Cloisters had a tiny little cafe where we assumed we wouldn’t find anything but, much to our surprise, they had a fantabulous apple tofu curry sandwich on whole grain. Which tells me two things: first, NYC is so much further ahead than Toronto on the vegan front; and second, that you just never know where you’ll find somewhere to v:eat out.
Morimoto – 88th 10 Avenue. Next time you are in NYC you have to take a walk along the amazing highline which is an inspired piece of urban planning and design. After a morning of taking in the elevated urban park, you need to head on over to Morimoto for lunch. Run by the renowed Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, this very cool restaurant, has lots to offer the vegan traveler from the veggie bento box to a whole selection of veggie sushi, noodles, and more. And you get to hang out in the uber-chic interior and drink sake to boot.
spice-encrusted tofu
April 25, 2011
I learned something this weekend. Tofu doesn’t sweat. I was making Vij’s spice-encrusted pork for the family for Easter and, given my non-meat-eating-leanings, decided to make double the marinade and use half for tofu. A few of the flexitarians in the family had both and couldn’t believe the difference in heat! I realized then that OF COURSE pork sweats as it cooks and thus dilutes the marinade. Tofu does not. So if you like heat, charge ahead with the super-scrumptious recipe below. If your taste buds are a little more sensitive, just cut down on the cayenne and you should be fine. Way to go Vij. Awesome recipe.
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
4 tbsps crushed garlic
1 cup pureed onions
2 tbsps crushed ginger
1 cup pureed tomatoes
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tbsps garam masala
1 1/2 tbsps sea salt
3 tbsps raw sugar
Heat oil in a medium-large pot on medium heat for 1 minute. Add cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle for 1 minute. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes, then stir in onions and saute until brown, about 15 minutes. Add ginger and saute for another 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, turmeric, cayenne, garam masala and salt, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in sugar. Coat tofu with marinade and let sit for 1 hour or so. Bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour, or place tofu on BBQ and cook until golden brown.
roasted fennel with warm tomato dressing
April 25, 2011
We were at our farm this weekend to check in on our 3000 bulbs of garlic planted in the fall!! (Looking fabulous!) When the weather got crappy and we lost our enthusiasm for weeding, my mom and I started to riffle through old Martha Stewart Magazines over a cup of masala chai with ginger. Some of the old Martha Stewart mags are actually really good I must admit. I found the recipe in the “healthy living” section for this roasted fennel with warm tomato dressing. It rocked. So I bring you Martha Stewart via v:gourmet.
2 tsps olive oil
10 ounces cherry tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2/3 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Heat oil in a medium skillet on medium heat. Add tomatoes and cook, swirling pan often, until skins are blistered, about 5 minutes.
Stir in garlic, red wine, and balsamic vinegar, and cook until liquid reduces by half and tomatoes are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in sugar, salt, and red wine vinegar, and cook until mixture reduces further. Serve over roasted fennel or other vegetables to “turn plain vegetables into satiating sides.” Gotta love Martha.
mushroom crostini
April 25, 2011
There is no end to the variety of crostini one could conjure up. One could get quite fancy but should never forget the humble origins of this elemental food. I’ve read that this was a quintessential Tuscan peasant food. Peasants knew what it meant not to have food but one thing they did have was flour so they made a very simple bread of flour and water. The other thing they had was very heavy, unfiltered olive oil. In the beginning they would simply brush bread with olive oil and salt and toast it (fettunta). Then the peasants started to add garlic and, once in awhile, some tomatoes (bruschetta), or mushrooms (crostini) and the experimentation went on from there.
1 baguette sliced
6 cloves of garlic
1 pound mushrooms, mixed varieties, sliced
olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
5 thyme sprigs
sea salt and pepper
Place sliced baguette on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven until brown and crisp. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan. When hot, add sliced mushrooms and cook until they begin to sweat. Add white wine and sprigs of thyme and cook until wine is reduced to a thick syrup. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. When baguette is toasted, rub each slice back and forth a few times with a garlic clove to coat in garlic (one clove will do for about 5 – 6 slices). Once each slice has been adequately “garlic-ed” top with mushroom mixture, sprinkle with a dash more sea salt, and serve immediately.
bruschetta
April 25, 2011
I fell in love with bruschetta when Andrew and I lived in Tuscany many moons ago. It was always on offer with the antipasti and seemed to just scream Italian authenticity and yumminess. Thank goodness it’s vegan because it would be hard to give up. I served it on Saturday when a whole whack of people showed up for a light Easter lunch – served alongside vegan cesar salad (with chicken on the side for those that wanted a chicken cesar), mushroom crostini, and a hearty olive boule.
1 baguette, sliced
6 garlic cloves peeled
4 tomatoes, chopped finely
1 bunch basil, chopped finely
sea salt and pepper
olive oil
Place sliced baguette on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven until brown and crisp. Meanwhile, toss chopped tomatoes, chopped basil, olive oil, and sea salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. When baguette is toasted, rub each slice back and forth a few times with a garlic clove to coat in garlic (one clove will do for about 5 – 6 slices). Once each slice has been adequately “garlic-ed” top with tomato mixture, sprinkle with a dash more sea salt, and serve immediately.
greek tofu scramble
April 17, 2011
I had a dream last night that I made scrambled tofu for breakfast. I know, not very exciting but it was very realistic – one of those dreams that you’re not sure if it was a dream or it actually happened. Only problem is I was really confused about whether to use a blender, what to to put in the blender with the tofu, whether it should be sweet or savoury, and who would want to eat it. I woke up, realized it was a dream (phew – bye bye confusion), and decided to take the bull by the horns and whip some up no fuss no muss. Delish. Easy. No blender. So good in fact it might just become a new ritual on Sunday mornings.
1 block of firm tofu
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, chopped
8 olives, pitted and chopped
handful of arugula
2 tsps oregano
small chunk of feta (optional)
sea salt and pepper
Drain the tofu and crumble into a small bowl and set aside. Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Add onion and saute until soft. Add the crumbled tofu, garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper and saute another couple of minutes.
Add tomatoes, olives, arugula, and oregano and stir until warmed through. Adjust seasoning. Serve on a plate with crumbled feta on top (if using) with a side order of toast.
roasted veggies with chickpeas
April 17, 2011
This is a great dish when you don’t want to expend a lot of effort, have no plan, and just want something simple and nourishing. Like a Friday night at the end of a long week. Just pull random vegetables out of the fridge. Chop. Roast. Serve with spiced quinoa. It’s also really good with tahini sauce. Maybe make a green salad. Maybe. Whatever you serve along with these roasted veggies, they punch above their weight. You can’t go wrong.
12 small mushrooms
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped or a handful of cherry tomatoes
2 bell peppers, red, yellow, or orange, chopped
1 red onion, sliced into thin wedges
1 small fennel bulb, sliced into thin wedges
5 or 6 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
2 tsps sea salt
2 tbsps olive oil
handful pitted olives
14-oz can chickpeas, washed and drained
2 fresh thyme or rosemary sprigs
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, onion, fennel, and garlic in a large roasting pan. Sprinkle the salt evenly over the vegetables and drizzle with the oil. Roast in the preheated oven for 1 hour.
Remove the pan from the oven and turn the vegetables. Add the chickpeas, olives, and thyme sprigs. Return the pan to the oven and roast for another 30 minutes, until the edges of the vegetables are just starting to blacken.
Serve with spiced quinoa, tahini sauce, and salad.
spiced quinoa
April 17, 2011
The flavours in this dish are subtle and earthy. You get the nuttiness of the quinoa and the aromatic richness of the spices – especially after a little “toasting” before adding stock to the dish. I would recommend this with a number of dishes on v:gourmet, particularly the moroccan tagine, roasted veggies with chickpeas, and cassoulet. You could also do a spiced couscous which would be equally tasty.
3 cups veggie stock
2 cups of quinoa
1 tsp each of ground cumin, ground coriander, and smoky Spanish paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt
Put quinoa and spices in a medium, heavy-based saucepan and cook over medium/high heat until the spices are aromatic and just start to turn a dusky brown. Add the stock and a dash of salt. Stir, cover, and bring to a boil. Once a roiling boil is reached, turn down heat to low and simmer until quinoa has absorb all the liquid. Fluff with a fork. Transfer to a serving bowl and fluff again to separate as many grains as possible.
Adapted from Market Vegetarian by Ross Dobson
v:gourmet 