April 26th, 2009
I’ve got photos of two more testers for Bianca’s book to share with you, both of which are amazing!
I’ll start with the Chocolate Gravy. I know what you’re thinking: Chocolate? Gravy? An excuse to eat chocolate for breakfast? Who thought of such a thing?! I don’t know, but I want to give that person a hug.
So perfect paired with Bianca's fluffy biscuits.
Next up, nothing short of a miracle. The Brit (in)famously hates squash. HATES. I cannot stress this enough. I (being the bitch that I am) insisted on serving him some of Bianca’s Creamy Squash Casserole anyway. He (being the ever-patient husband that he is) agreed to try it. When he took his first bite, I was very much encouraged when he didn’t immediately spit it out. When I asked what he thought, his exact words were: “it’s surprisingly un-revolting”… Then he ate the whole serving. Did you get that, people? HE. ATE. IT. *cue Hallelujah Chorus*
Creamy Squash Casserole, or gift from the gods? You decide.
Moral of this story? Keep the faith, children. Always keep the faith.
Tags: breakfast, testers
Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments »
April 24th, 2009
I would like to share with you an item of deliciousness that I made recently: Jessy’s Maple-Bourbon Glazed Tempeh. Anything from Jessy’s blog is sure to be fantastic, but when you throw in some bourbon (I used Maker’s Mark), it could be nothing less than awesome.
Jessy suggests marinating the tempeh in some veggie broth after steaming, but I was making tempeh bacon anyway so I threw all the tempeh in the marinade together. I’m sure the recipe is fantastic as is, but let me tell you – the salty/smoky flavor of the bacon marinade paired with the sweet bourbon glaze sent this meal over the top! All I can say is: YUM. Plus, it was super-easy.
Sorry for the steamy picture, but look! Bourbony!
Thank you for another amazing recipe, Jessy – this one’s going into the rotation, for sure.
Tags: alcohol, tempeh
Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments »
April 23rd, 2009
Thanks to everyone who has followed me to my new place, and for all the lovely compliments on the design. Yes, The Brit is quite skilled in web design – but you’d all better be careful or you’re going to give him a big head!
A couple of weeks ago, the amazing bazu heard my desperate pleas for help and graciously sent me some of her sourdough starter. It arrived in dry form, and I somehow managed to bring it back to life without killing it (or anything else) in the process. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to bazu (and also my soul, but that’s another story).
Having never worked with sourdough before, I’m having a good time learning about it and trying different recipes. The first bread I made turned out a bit dense and pale, mostly because I forgot about it and let it over-proof (oops!).
I know the slash pattern on the left one looks kinda like a pot leaf, but it was totally unintentional.
It was still amazingly delicious though, and most of it was consumed by dipping it in olive oil and black pepper, straight up. I’m planning a second batch soon, which I hope will be even more glorious than the first.
Tags: bread, sourdough
Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments »
April 22nd, 2009
Welcome to my new digs! Come on in, kick your shoes off, make yourself at home. Don’t mind the dust, I’m still working out a few kinks…
Alright, now that you’re settled, let’s get down to breakin’ this sucker in with a recipe, shall we? I took another shot at Tamarind Orange Glazed Tofu last week, and I was so darn happy with the results I thought I’d share the recipe here.
Doesn't that just make your mouth water?
Tamarind Orange Glazed Tofu
Ingredients:
- 1 block of extra firm tofu, pressed and sliced however you want (I like triangles)
- oil for frying
For the glaze:
- ¾ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup agave or maple syrup
- 1½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate
- 2 teaspoons sriracha (use less if you don’t want it spicy)
- 1 teaspoon jarred minced garlic (or 2 cloves)
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and pan-fry sliced tofu in a single layer, until browned and crisp on both sides, 10-15 minutes.
- While tofu is frying, whisk together all ingredients for the glaze, and set aside.
- Once the tofu is sufficiently browned on both sides, give your glaze mixture a stir and pour it over the top of the tofu. Allow the liquid to reduce down and thicken to form a glaze, about 5 minutes. Enjoy!
Makes 4 servings.
Tags: recipes, tofu
Posted in Uncategorized | 26 Comments »
April 14th, 2009
First off, *thank you* to everyone who got excited with me over The Brit’s conversion! I’m still so stoked about it! We’re working on finding a non-dairy milk he likes right now. Soy was a no-go, rice was a definite no-go, as was almond… oat seems to be okay so far. Anyone have any other suggestions?
I hope everyone had a good Zombie Jesus Day! On Good Friday I made Hot Cross Buns. Except… I left off the crosses due to laziness. I tried to make pseudo-crosses by cutting an “X” in the top of each bun, but when they baked they ended up looking more like little horns. I guess I should have called them Blasphemous Buns instead.
I made another tester for Bianca’s cookbook! This time it was Buttermilk Biscuits – a southern staple. She hit the nail on the head again with this awesome recipe! They were light, fluffy, AND 100% whole wheat. I cut them into hearts because it’s cute.
And what would southern-style biscuits be without gravy? Bianca’s creamy Sausage-Sage Gravy made this an awesome breakfast.
This baked lemon-herb tofu didn’t turn out as fabulous as I’d hoped, but it was still tasty enough to eat! Mashed gold potatoes can make up for anything less than stellar, anyway.
There was nothing less than stellar about this pizza, though! I made apple-sage sausages to grill at my parents’ house on Saturday, and this was the perfect way to use the leftovers.
This was the first pizza I’ve ever made 100% from scratch. The ‘ricotta’ and pesto were inspired by the Isa Pizza in VwaV, but I didn’t have the right ingredients so I fudged it. Homemade: pizza dough, roasted red pepper sauce (no tomatoes – The Brit isn’t a tomato fan), tofu ‘ricotta’, spinach pesto (I didn’t have any fresh basil), apple-sage sausages and caramelized onions. This pizza was AMAZING.
And the best part? I still have half the pizza dough leftover, wrapped up in my freezer. I foresee much more homemade pizza in my future!
Tags: bread, breakfast, pizza, testers, The Brit, tofu
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
