2012 :: the year in random pictures

Mini raw pies from my upcoming pie cookbook

Ah, the nostalgia that comes with December 31. After a string of hellish years – and accompanying difficult-to-swallow life lessons –  my planets finally got their act together in 2012. Looking back, I have much to be thankful for, some of it via kismet and some via my own design; important to distinguish between the two.

My health improved after my surgeries. I remain in a solid, wonderful relationship with the proverbial man of my dreams. After my health-induced hiatus, I am more in love with running than ever – I even set PRs in every race I ran this year. I wrote another cookbook – one that I am especially proud of – and F-stop photographed it – fun! We traveled to St Martin twice. I finally remodeled my kitchen. Truly, I am blessed.

Happiness is finishing another cookbook then cooking recipes from someone else's! BBQ Black-Eyed Peas Collard Rolls from Veganomicon

Of course, 2012 had it's bad points, too. Buttons has been getting up in years and her health has been declining [but I never underestimate my little tuxedo waif kitty: she is powerful]. I learned that friendship can be as fickle as the weather – and in other cases, stronger than time. My love of running led to an overuse injury (IT band syndrome). But life is in balance.

I'm a bit stuffed after all the holiday feasts, so instead of sharing a recipe, I thought I'd recap 2012 by sharing a few, random "behind-the-scenes" pictures that didn't make it to blog posts. Happy 2013, amigos!

Pablo grooming little Buttons. 

Pablo and Bossa Nova cuddling. Pablo loves everyone. Bossa, not so much!

F-stop and I were greeted by flowers and a complementary bottle of wine in our hotel room in St. Martin. Flowers everywhere: on bed, on paper towel roll, on TP roll!

Me, PRing in the Rothman 8K, chip time, 39:10, 7:52 pace. 7th in my age group! It was very cold that day. I ran for Team Vegan Philly. We raised money for the Humane League.

Me and my Cioci Regina at her 90th birthday party. She does not look [or act!] 90. I hope I inherited her genes. Her young spirit is inspiring!

My favorite 2012 Philly vegan breakfast dish out: vegan French toast at Green Eggs Cafe.

F-stop and I spent a weekend in Cape May but the weather was so bad, we left early. This was the storm before Sandy, extra drama courtesy of Instagram. What a year of weather. 

[This is MY photo, by the way, Instagram. I took it. I own it. So there.] 

Happy, healthy 2013!

mediterranean hot pot

Mediterranean Hot Pot: Warms you up without weighing you down

After spending a week in the Caribbean soaking up sun, living in bikinis and flip-flops, and sipping on frozen cocktails, catapulting back to the chilly Northeast was a particularly rude awakening for me. No matter how many sweaters I pile on, I feel like I just can't get warm.

Hot Pot to the rescue. Hot pot came about over 1000 years ago when Mongolian soldiers cooked this mish-mash stew in their helmets over an open fire. My vegan version contains Mediterranean influences – basil, oregano, cremini mushrooms and a licorice-scented fennel bulb. It's filling, nutritious, and best of all – warming. It's one of those soups that tastes even better after it sits for a few days.

Protein courtesy of mushrooms and dried-fried tofu

Mediterranean Hot Pot

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 5 large garlic cloves minced
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced
• 8 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced [I used Cremini]
• 1 bunch chard, trimmed and chopped
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 T dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 pound tofu, pressed for at least an hour and dry-fried
• 1 bunch of cellophane mung bean noodles [You can substitute vermicelli or soba noodles]

Serves 4

Heat oil over medium in a large saute pan. Saute onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add fennel and mushrooms. Saute then when it gets dry, continue to cook by water-sauteing: add about 1-2T of broth of water and cook until veggies are soft, about 10 more minutes. Besides being lower in fat, this slow-cooking method will help concentrate the flavors.

Add chard and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add broth, herbs, and tofu. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low and simmer on low for about  25 minutes. Add noodles and cook until soft, according to package directions. Top with a bit of sriracha sauce if you like heat.

general tso's soy curls [or tofu]

General Tso's Soy Curls 

The Internet is brimming with vegan Christmas recipes. But what are my Jewish herbivore friends going to eat on December 25? Sure, you can always fall back on the seemingly ancient Jewish tradition of going out for Chinese food and a movie on Christmas day. But why not make your own Chinese chow and watch a movie at home instead?

Soy curls look and taste disturbingly meat like. But unlike most mock meats, they are not a frankenfood.

One of my favorite Chinese-American dishes is General Tso's Tofu/Vegan Chicken/Seitan – hot, sweet, filling, what's not to love? But I 'm not a fan of eating deep-fried food [too unhealthful] or cooking it [too messy]. So I came up with this version using soy curls. To make using tofu, simply press the tofu, cut into cubes and dry fry, then cook it with the sauce as described below. If you prefer a sweeter sauce, add more agave nectar, or even a tablespoon of apricot or peach jam. The pinch of cinnamon is my twist – I like how it complements both the heat and sweetness.

Happy holidays, everyone!

General Tso's Soy Curls

Recipe created for my dear BFF and uber-reporter, Karen Pearlman

Soy Curls and saute fodder:

• 3 cups vegetable broth [Reserve extra after draining soy curls]
• 2 cups dry soy curls

• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 large garlic cloves, sliced
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 2 tsp oil


• Sesame seeds for sprinkling

Sauce:

• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 T rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 T soy sauce
• 1 tsp hot sauce, like Sriracha 
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2-3 T agave nectar

• Serves 3, easily doubled

Soak soy curls in broth for at least 15 minutes or up to an hour. Meanwhile, make sauce by whisking all sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl. Drain soy curls, reserving broth in another bowl. Squeeze out excess liquid with your hands.

Soy curls are done when lightly browned but still moist.

Heat oil in a large non-stick pan over medium. Add the soy curls, onion, garlic and carrots and saute about 15 minutes or until onions are soft and curls are golden brown. When the mixture starts to dry out as you saute, add about 1-2 T of broth. This will help prevent sticking while infusing the soy curls with even more flavor.

Add the sauce and cook for about 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of the reserved broth and cook another 5 minutes, then add another 1/4 cup of broth and cook for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over brown rice or another whole grain.

saint martin recap :: photo essay

I'm back from another week in paradise, aka, French Saint Martin. Putting on a sweater this morning instead of a bikini was über challenging, but I am thankful that I was fortunate to spend some time away with F-stop, in a tropical eden.

I'm a snorkeling freak and one particular trip was a definite highlight. Currents were very rough the day we went out [not the day in the picture, obviously!], but skies were clear and sunny so visibility was fantastic. I felt awed and privileged to see two green sea turtles, a spotted eagle ray, a barracuda, squid, a porcupine fish and countless kaleidoscopic reef fish. [If you like to snorkel, please snorkel responsibly; coral reefs are fragile ecosystems.]

F-stop noticed a young starfish wash up on the beach, so he quickly rescued it. We took a photo [How could we resist?], but then at F-stop's suggestion, I swam far from the beach, safe from that day's choppy waves, and dropped him back in. Everyone needs a guardian angel sometimes, right? This particular kind of starfish can grow up to 1.5 feet! I saw some this size last time as I paddle boarded in the shallows.

In addition to hosting guests from all over the world, our hotel also accommodates a slew of iguanas. They love to sun themselves on the rocks near the sea and munch on vegetation, but a few of them are quite monkey-like. This guy reached the roof of one of the buildings via the climbing bougainvillea.

As I mentioned last time, St. Martin is not the easiest place in the world to eat vegan. Pasta is always a safe bet. I plan to recreate a version of this delicious Linguine Primavera, which was loaded with fresh veggies and dressed with a light, cheese-less pesto.

What it lacks in vegan cuisine, St. Martin makes up for in cocktails. I especially enjoyed Frozen Mojitos – basically a regular mojito zapped in the blender. Brilliant! I cheekily referred to them as "green smoothies."

We were apparently smack in the middle of a butterfly migration highway, so everywhere you turned, no exaggeration, you spied a trail of colorful butterflies. It was like being in a Disney movie.

On the street-vibe flipside, I saw some incredible angst-ridden graffiti like this Santa...

...And these apolcalyptic creatures. So much more honest than the banal, pseudo-propoganda-like murals for which Philadelphia is [sadly] famous.

Pretty little restaurant shack

Sunsets were crazy-magnificent every night.

Coming home was hard, but it's nice to know I was missed.

boozy apple-pecan crumble and "gone paddle boarding!"

A simple Apple Crumble infused with booze

As a rule, simplest foods taste best. Toss together a few complementary ingredients, and you can't go wrong – unless, of course, you burn your creation or accidentally use salt instead of sugar. This is why crumbles and crisps make no-brainer desserts, especially during the colder months. Minimal fussing. And no real recipe is required – although I'm giving you mine as a jumping-off point. Just mix and match like flavors, top with crust material and voila! I like to first gently cook winter fruits, like apples and pears, in a bit of caramelly alcohol like rum, Marsala, Tuaca, brandy or Calvados – complex flavors, minimal effort. Of course, you can skip the booze. No one will notice or care.

Crumbles taste terrific as-is, slightly warmed. But there's something quietly rebellious about eating them from a drinking glass with a demitasse spoon, topped with non-dairy ice cream or sour cream. I also love crumbles for breakfast with my cappuccino. But if you happen to make a crumble the night before, there is rarely any leftover the next day.

I'm going on vacation with F-stop, so I won't be blogging until after Dec. 21. Have a good week – and let me know how the crumble turns out.

Boozy Apple-Pecan Crumble [Vegan]

• 3 T raisins
• 3 T caramelly liquor [eg, Marsala, rum, brandy, bourbon, cognac, Tuaca, Calvados]
• 4 medium tart apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks [You can also use pears or a mixture of apples and pears]
• 3/4 cup flour [I use part whole-wheat pastry flour]
• 4 T Earth Balance
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch salt

Serves 6

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x 9-inch square or cake pan.

In a medium saucepan, heat the raisins and booze. Add the apples and cook for about 5 minutes over medium, with the lid on, to infuse the fruit.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, rub the Earth Balance into the flour with your fingers [Fun, right?]. Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Pour the apples into the pan. Top with crumble and bake uncovered for about 25-30 minutes, or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm.

use it up tuesday :: baked sweet potato chips – tutorial

Low-fat Baked Sweet Potato Chips: easy, tasty and frugal.

Ever think about the "negative space" of the blogosphere – the words not spoken and photos not published? By what we bloggers choose not to publish and not to write, we perpetuate an unattainable fantasy kitchen where cakes don't burn, ovens and counters remain spotless in spite of continual use and abuse, and fruits and vegetables stay forever fresh and vibrant.  Oh – I almost forgot the unicorns and glitter.

Exhibit A: Moldy sweet potato

But it is Use It Up Tuesday, so today I give you Exhibit A, firmly rooted [yuk-yuk] in reality: a sweet potato and his new bestie, mold. Yes, Virginia. Mold happens – especially, no – inevitably a few days before you leave for vacation.

I'm not scared of mold. I simply slice away the nasty bits and proceed as planned. But I didn't want to use this fuzzy critter to make a huge pot of curry or soup. I have too much to do to deal with all that chopping, dish-washing and leftover management. I just wanted to make something easy that would be quickly consumed. Baked Sweet Potato Chips fit the bill. Minimal dishes and fat. Maximal flavor and satisfaction.

Sweet potato slices, ready for baking

I like making root veggie chips because you can control the salt and fat. You can also dress them up with whatever spices you like – or leave them as is. I used fresh ground black pepper, smoked Spanish paprika , rosemary and Old Bay Seasoning to flavor my chips. [My favorite: freshly ground pepper.] Other spices/flavors that would work nicely include cinnamon, cumin, truffle salt, cardamon or practically any dried green herb. You can also make them with any root veggies you have on hand: carrots, turnips, white potatoes, beets [Wear gloves when slicing!], radishes, etc.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To slice taters thinly, you really need a mandoline unless you have expert knife skills.

I'd aim for 1/16-inch slices.

See how thin?

Line a baking tray with foil or parchment paper, and spray with cooking oil. Arrange your slices with no overlap, lightly spray slices with cooking oil...

...Then dust with your herb/spice of choice [Spanish Smoked Paprika is pictured]. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 8 minutes, then flip and bake another 3-4 minutes. Check often so they don't burn....

...Like my first batch did. [Consider this photo a cautionary tale.] Despite their charred appearance, they actually tasted great. 

Wasn't that easy? Enjoy.