(Mid)summer Vegetable (Green) Curry

Being that it is Midsummer, preparing a so-called "summer" curry (an adaptation of Summer Vegetable Curry from Heidi Swanson's website, 101 Cookbooks) seemed appropriate. I honestly was not that enthusiastic about making this dish; I pursued it as an alternative (I like trying new things) to a panang curry I made a week or so ago for which I used too much paste, thereby rendering it too spicy for my mother (for whom I had prepared it) to enjoy and as an excuse to use the tin of green curry paste sitting in the pantry. Besides, my reasoning went, my mom had probably never tried green curry before! More babbling (and my version of Swanson's curry) after the jump.

Alicia Silverstone's Vegan Thin Mushroom Pizzas

So I had been incessantly renewing my borrowed library copy of Cher Horo...I mean, Alicia Silverstone's vegan cookbook "The Kind Diet," and as I am want to do with books in general, and any pursuits that I adore, including tackling recipes, it took months of having the book in my possession before I actually followed through with dog-earing the book and committed myself to making one of the compassionate Clueless star's dishes.

Silverstone's Thin Mushroom Pizzas (with Tofu Cream) was an excellent choice. It has enough prep involved that you are indeed actually making a yummy vegan dish, but is not too time-consuming (for those pressed for time), as the "crusts" are Ezekiel's small-sized tortillas. The pizzas are super savory, unami-packed, with a refreshing lemony zing from the Tofu Cream and the fresh basil topping. The recipe, which I followed faithfully, is linked in the text above. As Silverstone comments in the recipe's blurb, this pizza will be savored by vegans and omnivores alike (provided that they aren't freaks who dislike mushrooms!) One word of advice; be very careful when crisping the pizzas in the broiler. They WILL be done in a few minutes, and if you broil them for too long, they will make a popping sound, indicating that they are burnt or near-burned.

Brownie Bars with Salted Peanut Butter Frosting

Experience has taught me (as well as other Americans, doubtless, whose childhoods included the joyful consumption of the classic Reese's Peanut Butter Cup) that peanut butter and chocolate are a match made in heaven. Imagine my delight when I discovered a recipe for a Cocoa Brownie with Salted Peanut Butter Frosting on the food blog Not Without Salt. Delight and utter fear, to be precise, knowing that while it was my destiny to make this brownie, I would have to summon all of my will power to avoid ravaging the finished product. Such a concern was allayed by my justification that I was making the dessert for a co-worker's barbecue. Unfortunately, I never did make it to that party....

I will probably never bake these brownies again, and that is the highest compliment I can give the author of the recipe. They are just too damn good to have lying around. Especially if, like myself, you are in peanut butter rehab. But enough babbling about my vices; read more about the brownie after the jump!

Funfetti Vanilla-Almond Cake Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

Pretty and tooth-achingly sweet.

Greetings! It has been quite a while since my last post. In fact, I have not posted since September, the first month of the school year in New York City. So it is somewhat apt (or at least telling) that my latest  update since then is in June, the final month of the academic year. I have just finished my first year of teaching, and while the past nine months have been the most difficult and challenging of my life, I have never learned so much in so short a period a time. So consumed was I by this job that it was difficult for me to allocate time for personal, leisurely pursuits, such as maintaing this blog. Hence the excessively long hiatus. But I understand the importance now of designating time for activities that are non-work-related and am better prepared for next year. At least, I am optimistic. My biggest flaw is my inclination towards procrastination; how I waste time browsing the Internet or obsessively cleaning things when my time would be better spent tackling tasks related to work or focusing on my hobbies or honing skills. This is a personal flaw (for lack of a better word) that I am committed towards correcting.

So, speaking of school! The colorful cookies pictured above -- my slightly modified version of Sweet2EatBaking.com's recipe for Funfetti Cake Batter Cookies -- were baked with love for my fifth period ELA students. They behaved so well during my final full-period observation for the year that I decided to reward them with a sweet homemade treat.

Like my students, these cookies are, well, as the name implies, "fun," and vivacious. It's hard to distinguish whether the cookies are so enjoyable because of their sweet components -- crunchy vanilla-rich cookie vehicle, creamy white chocolate chunky chips (MY addition), and brightly-hued sprinkles -- hitting all the right flavor spots or because of the fun, undeniably nostalgic nature of these components -- particularly the sprinkles. Either way, it's a damn good cookie. If I were to make one recommendation, it is to be certain that you don't over-bake them. Remove the cookies from the oven shortly after they begin to turn golden (that is unless you prefer hard cookies). This batch's only flaw, as I perceive it, was that they were too hard. However, this was easily remedied by briefly nuking the cookies, which lent them some softness (in addition to slightly melting the white chocolate chips!)

Here is the recipe, taken from Sweet2EatBaking.com with the only modification being the addition of white chocolate chips:

Funfetti Vanilla-Almond Cake Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1¼ cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 egg
2½ cups plain (all-purpose) flour
¼ cup corn starch
¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup rainbow ‘jimmie’ sprinkles
2 tbsp rainbow ‘nonpareils’ sprinkles
1/4 cup of white chocolate chips (or mini-sized chunks)

Procedure:

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2) Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Then, add the vanilla and almond extracts, and the egg. Beat these ingredients until they are well combined.
3) In a separate bowl, sift the flour, corn starch, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in sections, mixing using an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Lastly, add the sprinkles and white chocolate chips to the mix, and combine without utilizing the electric mixer or over mixing, as this will cause the sprinkles' colors to bleed.
4) Scoop cookie dough onto baking sheets, setting them approximately 1½ inches apart (8 cookies per sheet). Bake for approx 10-15 minutes or until a very light golden brown colour.
5) Cool cookies. Store in an airtight container.

Serving Recommendation:
Serve the cookies warm paired with cold vanilla ice cream.

Tofu Chili

Chili's only drawback is that it's not so photogenic!

Vanilla Tofu Pudding

In this vegan dessert, the lightness of vanilla pairs well with milky silken tofu. Just as with "real" pudding, a delectable skin forms atop the pudding as it cools in the fridge. I enjoyed my treat with chopped dates, slivered almonds, and cinnamon; I found the combination rendered the pudding similar in taste to rice pudding (hmm, perhaps a vegan rice pudding will be up here soon...). However, you can have your way with the pudding: top it with carob chips, sprinkle it with cocoa powder, or eat it with fresh sliced strawberries.

Vegan "Chicken" Salad

Don't mock me!

When my boyfriend proclaimed that he had eaten delicious vegan chicken salad from an unknown prepared foods company that sells its products at a corner store in Sunnyside, Queens, I was inspired to put the block of firm tofu sitting in my fridge to use for such a dish. I made the vegan chicken salad pictured above using a recipe from a food and health blog that I trust: Eating Bird Food. The site's blogger, Brittany Mullins, based her recipe on Whole Foods' version of the salad. Both my boyfriend and I were very pleased with the results: the savory salad may not have the texture of chicken, but the tofu - often described as a blank slate in the food world - soaks up the flavors of the spices, lemon juice, and tamari (which can be substituted with soy sauce or Bragg's liquid aminos) and the sliced almonds add a nice crunch! In fact, this salad tastes even better the next day, as the tofu pieces are more flavorful when given the time to marinate.