Falafel, Joy of Cooking style

The recipe that made me believe in this book. For 4 servings

1.25 c dried chickpeas--rinse and soak the night before or that morning*

Food process/blend the chickpeas, then add:

1/2 c chopped onions
1/4 c packed fresh parsley leaves
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 t ground cumin
1.5 t salt
1/2 t ground coriander
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t ground red pepper

Coarsely puree the mix. Put in bowl and stir in 2 T of all-purpose flour. Form patties (thin if you're frying!). Let stand 15 minutes, then fry (or bake, i s'pose, haven't tried that way)

*Lorna Sass has this tip: you know when a bean has been soaked long enough when you slice it open and it's uniform in color (try doing one after only 2 hours or so and you'll see, you can tell how far the water's gotten). Neat!

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

From The Joy of Cooking

Mix:

3 C whole wheat pastry flour (you can also use AP or a white bread flour)
1.5 T sugar
1.5 t salt
4 t active dry yeast

Then add:

2 T melted butter or margarine
1 1/4 c room-temp water

Mix by hand for 1 minutes, then knead for 10 minutes. Add flour and/or water as needed--the dough should be a bit tacky, but not sticky (whole wheat flour usually needs a bit more water than is listed.) Place in oiled bowl, turn over, and allow to rise until doubled (60-90 minutes). Punch dough down, divide into 8 pieces, roll those into balls, then cover and let rest for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 450. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pitas to 6-7 inches diameter and 1/8" thick. Bake on upside-down cookie sheet until dough puffs into a balloon, about 3 minutes, then wait 30 seconds and remove bread to cool on a rack. If you leave the bread in too long, the pitas won't deflate into flat disks, so beware.

Pear-Ginger Chutney

Unfortunately, the source of this recipe has been lost in the sands of time and the internet. Thank you, anonymous chutney maker!

5 cups chopped pears (peeling's optional, in my book)
1/2 cup chopped ginger
1.5 cup cider or red wine vinegar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t ground allspice
1/2 t ground cloves

the original recipe also included 2 cups sugar (!) and 1/2 c raisins, but i've never put those in...

Boil everything, then simmer uncovered for 45-90 minutes.

Apple Chutney

another recipe from Moosewood (more or less)

1.5 pounds cooking apples
1 medium clove garlic, minced (optional, in my mind)
1 T chopped ginger root
1/2 cup orange juice (or pear juice, whatever you have around)
1 t cinnamon
1 t ground cloves
1 t salt
1 c honey (i used way less--maybe 1/4 cup? honey to taste, i guess)
1 c cider vinegar*
cayenne to taste (i didn't use any)

*i had used red wine vinegar the first time and worried that the cider vinegar would be too strong, but it worked nicely. so, either one.

Coarsely chop the apples (unpeeled works just fine). Combine everything in a pot, bring to a boil then simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes to an hour.

The Fall Collection

I Heard It ThroughThe Grapevine

Grapes, glorious grapes!

The Vine hard at work

After the harvest

Yea, we stacked the jars and did a photoshoot with the Jesus rays coming through the kitchen window. That's what happens when you can for too long...

John's Peanut Sauce

At first I was nervous about giving away this perfect recipe. But after returning home from Oregon I quickly learned that the perfection lies not only in the quantity, but also the quality of the ingredients (and chef). I couldn't recreate the magic! But, maybe you can:

1 quart H2O
2.5 cups (appx) PB
7 T tamari
2 T red wine vinegar
8-10 cloves garlic (in a press or finely minced)
1 inch? a packed 1/8 cup freshly grated ginger

Heat the water, add PB, stir to completely dissolve. The sauce will thicken as it cools, so depending on the desired consistency, you may want to add more or less PB. Add rest of ingredients, stir well, taste. Salty enough? gingery enough? Adjust to taste.

MMMmillet bars

I'm long overdue to post this recipe!

2 c sucanot
2 c earth balance

1/4 c ground flax
1 T vanilla
1/2 c vanilla soymilk
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoon Energ G egg replacer - whisk with water

5 c oats

4 c wheat flour
1 T cinnamon
2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1.5 t salt
1 c millet

1 1/2 c walnuts

Barely mix sucanot and earth balance. Add EnergG + water, flax, vanilla, and soymilk. Add oats.

Combine rest of dry (except walnuts) and add to wet ingredients. Stir/mix to barely incorporate. Mix walnuts in (by hand if you've been blending up to this point).

Bake at 350 just until top is browned! Keep em soft!

The Wheel Turns...

The garden in early July


Corn just getting started--lettuce going to seed

The obligatory close up of a sunflower

Beans just getting started and later flowering

Frost finds the squash plants

General carnage

The corn loses some height

The lone broccoli stands it's ground

With two rows of fall greens to keep it company

Tomato Chutney

Ammini's Thakkali (Tomato) Chutney from Indian Food Rocks (here's the link)

6-8 ripe tomatoes (i used 8 romas)
1/2 t turmeric
2 T veggie oil
1/2 t mustard seed
3 t cumin powder
2 t fenugreek powder (i just used the seeds)
4 t chili power (i wimped out and went with 2-3)
1/2 t asafoetida/hing powder
12-15 curry leaves (i didn't have these)
salt

(and there's a scribbled note-"maybe coriander")

Boil some water. Make a shallow "X" at the stem end of the tomatoes with a knife. Put them in the boiling water for 30 seconds, then into cold water (i had a bowl waiting in the sink and just forked them out of the water). Peel skin and deseed, then chop coarsely and cook in 2 T of water with turmeric and salt. Heat oil in a pan, add spices and cook for a minutes, stirring, then pour over tomatoes, mix in. Simmer uncovered. The tomatoes will probably just fall apart, but if you don't like the consistency you're getting, use a masher. For how long? Well, til you get a consistency you like. I probably had them on heat for 45 minutes? an hour? stirring occasionally. Can probably be done in less if you mash the tomatoes up. If you're worried about the tomatoes sticking to the pot, cook covered until they've released some juice.

Corn-Cilantro Pancakes (a sketch)

I thought this was a Madhur Jaffrey recipe, but i haven't had luck in re-locating it. Here's what i have scribbled down:

1/2 c cornmeal
1 and 1/3 c chickpea or all-purpose flour
1 T coriander seeds (or ground, i mean, really)
1 t garam masala
1 t salt
3 c corn kernels
1 c water, or as needed
1 T baking powder (we tried without it once, wasn't as good)
3 T chopped cilantro
2 t oil and some for frying
(opt: 2 or 3 jalepeno chilies, coarsely chopped)

and i know we used some fresh corn as well, maybe i skipped that line? my guess is somewhere around 2 cups, but i guess you'll have to eyeball it.

Combine cornmeal, chickpea flour, the spices, and 1.5 c of corn kernels in food processor*. Add 1 c water and process into a batter (10-15 seconds). Transfer and set aside for at least 15 minutes. Preheat a pan until drops of water dance. Stir in remaining ingredients, fry (4-5 minutes for both sides).

In my mind it makes more sense to let it sit if you've added the baking powder, so i'm beginning to doubt my notes (they also said "preheat oven to 300" before preheating the pan). eeeps. Well, I'll make these soon and correct the recipe. *If you lack a food processor (as i currently do), i'd suggest buying cornflour (something ground more finely than cornmeal) to substitute, and using ground coriander, and then just mixing by hand or with a beater.

Sassy Zucchini Bread

from Lorna Sass's Complete Vegetarian Kitchen (which is actually a vegan cookbook)

1.5 c tightly packed, coarsely grated zucchini
3 T flax seeds
1/2 c water
1.5 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 c barley flour (i think we used all ww pastry)
1 T baking soda
1.5-2 t cinnamon
3/4-1 t ground ginger
1/4 t ground cloves
scant 1/2 t sea salt
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c apple juice
1/3 c maple syrup
1/3 c canola or safflower oil (we used raw sesame oil, cuz that's what we had)
1 t vanilla (always double the vanilla, i say, but it's good with only 1 t, too)

Grate zucchini, put in colander to drain. In a blender, grind flax seeds. Add the water. Process until a gummy mixture is achieved (30 seconds abouts). Set aside. [Note, if this step is done in a food processor, grind the flax seeds in a spice or coffee grinder first, for 60-90 seconds] Mix flax liquid and zucchini--grab small amounts of zucchini in a fist to squeeze out extra moisture as you go. Mix the wet into the dry ingredients, just until flour is absorved--overmixing is sin #1.

Bake 18-22 minutes at 375 degrees. The original recipe is for muffins, so depending on pan size it may take longer--after 15 minutes i'd keep doing the poke-with-a-toothpick test regularly, since you want to take it out as soon as the toothpick comes out clean so it won't be dry.

Zucchini Pizza Crust

from Moosewood.

3.5 c coarsely-grated zucchini
3 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup grated parm
1/2 cup grated mozzerella (we used vegan cheese)
1 T fresh basil, minced or 1/2 t dried
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. Grate zukes, salt lightly, let sit, then strain out excess moisture. Combine all the crust ingredients, spread onto oiled 9 x 13 pan. Bake 20-25 minutes (until the surface is dry and firm). Then brush the top with oil and broil it, under moderate heat (what does that mean?) for 5 minutes.
Top with tomato sauce and all the fixings, then heat in the 350 oven for 25 minutes. I think if you bake the crust a bit longer, you can get away with just adding heated tomato sauce and cooked fixings without further baking. If you want it to resemble a pizza omelette, spread thinly on a baking tray and reduce the first bake time, don't broil it, and skip the final bake time. Serve pieces folded in two.