Vegan Grapefruit Scones and time

Well hey there! I took a brief hiatus but have returned to ask for your forgiveness. For awhile I had some thoughts about this blog that were essentially geared toward me "not having enough time." And that if I didn't have "enough time," then why bother writing only when I did feel like I had "enough time, " which may only be once a week?



I started thinking too hard about this endeavor. Running this blog is supposed to be enjoyable; not another responsibility that I need to add to the daily list. I don't want to make an excuse not doing something for something that is my own idea, something that I like to put my energy towards and incorporate into any day that I feel like it can work in.

This concept of not "enough time" is interesting because I seem to make time for everything else. I eat (a lot). I run. I read. There's always time, I guess it 's just what you choose to do with it. How you prioritize.

From here on out, if I don't blog, it's not because there's not "enough time." It's because:

a. I feel it's small fries compared to everything else I need to fit into my day. Sometimes I get home from work at 8, and all I want to do is eat some cocoa pebbles leftovers, watch Seinfeld, and get my feet rubbed by my husband (yeah you're right, that won't happen. Stinky office work feet? Naaah).

b. There might be a day that I get home early, or it's Saturday, and I need to RUN. and tidy up the house. and go to the post office. and then Amanda calls and wants to get together. and so I go there. and then before I know it - it's Sunday. That's just life. It's what's lived. Blogging can wait another day.

So that is my long, drawn-out answer to the question I've asked myself: to blog, or not to blog? and then: BLOG ON!

I can't believe you're still here. You deserve a recipe.



Grapefruit Scones - Vegan
Adapted from Isa Moskowitz

5 oz non-dairy milk (I used rice)
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1.5 cups GF flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons EVOO
2 tablespoons grated grapefruit zest (make sure you don't eat the grapefruit yet - you want some juice for the glaze!)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease your baking sheet.

2. In a glass measuring cup, combine the milk and vinegar. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together your GF flour, sugar, baking powder & salt.

3. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in your milk mixture, the EVOO and the grapefruit zest; thoroughly combine.

4. Using a "big spoon" (you know, the spoon you use to eat frosted "mini" wheats = not so mini), scoop out the dough (it will be light and airy) and place on the baking sheet. I made my scones various sizes, since sometime I just want a bite vs. a whole thing.

5. Bake for about 12 minutes, until slightly browned on the top and have a firm top.

6. Take off the cookie sheet and transfer to a wire cooling rack. Once they're cool, drizzle the grapefruit glaze on top and garnish with a little more grapefruit zest.


Grapefruit Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons melted margarine
2 tablespoons grapefruit juice (from the grapefruit you zested from)
1 tablespoon grated grapefruit zest

Do it: With a fork, mix together all the ingredients. Drizzle on the scones and take a big ol' bite.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

I can't lie about the fact I am slightly excited about Fall being around.

I think it's the season that has life the hardest - it immediately follows everyone's beloved summer, it gives shorter days, and it means you can't walk around in your bathing suit top at 9pm because you're SO HOT. It's easy to hate on Fall.

However, somewhere between your first pumpkin spiced latte and smelling fresh chimney spoke, you succumb to the idea that Fall can't be too bad. Longer, dark nights to hunker down and not feel bad about watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on repeat? Jumbo pumpkin cookies? 80's style Halloween parties?

Poor Fall - it spends half it's days trying it's damdest to awaken your senses to its glory, and then when we do, it's just about winter.

It's cold season around here - it seems like everywhere I go, there's someone fighting or getting over one. Including our household. We crossed our fingers, hoping it was just allergies, it will work out in the morning. But no, this girls has got a full-on stuffed nose with a sore throat that nothing but soup can soothe.

Hence, Fall's Vegetarian Tortilla Soup made it's way onto our stove this evening, and thank goodness for that. True, Fall may bring a few more germs, but if you get a gastronomical treat like this in exchange, it's allll goooood.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
adapted from Epicurious

1 small white onion, diced
1 heaping tablespoon garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
 2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 quart vegetarian broth
1 cup black beans
1 head broccoli, cute into bite-sized pieces
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen corn
3 tablespoons diced jalapenos
6 six-inch corn tortillas, sliced into 1/2 strips
cilantro, for garnish
S&P, to taste
Hot sauce

1. In a dutch oven or large soup pot, soften the onion and garlic in Pam over medium heat for about 3 minutes; stir in 1/2 cup broth, the tomato paste, the cumin, and the taco seasoning.

2. Add broth, black beans, broccoli, tomatoes with juice, corn and jalapenos. At this point, I also added 2 tomato can-fulls of hot tap water so I can get more broth. More broth = happy (un)sore throat. Crank the heat up to a boil; once it boils, turn back down to medium until the broccoli are soft; about 5 minutes.

**A note here about the fire-roasted tomatoes - you can use any kind of tomato you wish, but I strongly recommend these bad boys. They contribute so much more flavor, but not in a selfish, all-eyes-on-me way. Subtle, roasted flava. Get 'em. Try 'em. Stick with 'em or not.

3. Once the broccoli are tender, add in the tortilla strips. Give the pot a quick stir to ensure all the strips get dunked in, and let cook a few minute more until the tortillas are soft.

4. Once soft, sprinkle in some S&P and ladle into mixing bowls. Garnish with cilantro and add some of your favorite hot sauce. Relax, and enjoy your over-sized bowl of Fall.

Blackberries: All Up Everywhere

My name is Brittani, and I'm an addict. To blackberries. My hands are scratched, my tennis shoes are black, and my teeth have seeds in them. Which makes me not only a person with an unhealthy obsession, but a frightening one that you would rather not see running from points A-F around your city.

The blackberry obsession started innocently enough. I began to take note of their fruitful locations on points here and there on my runs. I casually stopped, snacked, and carried on. I don't know when this apathetic attitude crossed over to the darkness of insanity, but it sure didn't take long. Soon I was running this way and that, just so I could scout out more blackberry bushes. Yea, the road runner is a perfect example.


So I showed THEM the Friday afternoon before the glorious 3-day weekend. I took a large bowl, got in my car, and drove around to all my per-determined blackberry stops. I stopped on the side of the road, waved to the unsmiling watchful neighbors, picked as many ripe ones as possible, and hopped back in my car. (**Please note, if your emotions run this wild, bring a towel to wipe your hands on. Your steering wheel will thank you.)

What's rather ironic about the whole ordeal, is that while I knew I had to have these gems, I really had no idea what I was going to do with them.

Plan to acquire blackberries? Spot on. Plan to use them? Fail.


So that's how I came up with three blackberry recipes in three days, with the end results being gone by the end of third day.

2/3 of the fruits of my labor. On Labor Day. Fruits of Labor Day.

Blackberry Lemon Corn Muffins
adapted from Isa Moskowitz
Makes 1 dozen muffins

These were darn tasty - soft, juicy, and with a nice gritty, corn texture.

1 cup of your favorite GF flour blend
1 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup soy milk
2 tablespoons yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
grated lemon zest
1 1/4 cup blackberries

1. Turn oven on to 400F and grease your muffin tin.

2. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar in a medium bowl.

3. In another bowl, whisk the oil, applesauce, milk, yogurt, vanilla, and lemon zest.

4. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, lightly mix, and add the blackberries. Give a quick, gentle mix to incorporate the blackberries.

5. Fill each muffin tin 3/4 full and bake for about 20 minutes. Enjoy warrrrrrm.

Corn muffs

Vegan Blackberry Scones
Makes about 8 medium scones

*These were my favorite recipe of the bunch. The scones turned out light, but still had that signature biscuit-like bite. They are mildly sweetened, which is balanced out by those bomb blackberries.

1 1/2 cups GF flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/8 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vegan margarine (I love Earth Balance)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1 cup blackberries
2 tablespoons raw sugar (optional)

1. Heat oven to 375F; grease a baking sheet or prepare with a Silpat.

2. Mix flour, baking powder, and sugar together in a medium bowl.

3. Cut in the margarine in with the dry business using a pastry cutter or 2 knives until the whole mess is crumbly and the margarine is pretty much incorporated.

4. Add the vanilla and milk to the mix and stir together with a wooden spoon.

5. Take a bit of dough (you decide how big - they're your scones!) and flatten to about 1/4 inch thick and place it on the baking sheet. Add some blackberries on top to cover the surface, and add another flattened piece of dough the same size to make it's top. I sort of melded the top and bottom doughs together, just to the blackberries know they're not going anywhere.

6. Repeat step 5 until the dough's gone, sprinkle with some raw sugar, and pop them in the oven for about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating; proceed to eat all but one.

Yeah, whatever Blackberry Festival.

Blackberry Pear Cobbler
Fills one pie dish

This one snuck it's way up to me on the fly. We had pears that were practically disintegrating on our counter top, which the fruit flies loved and I did not. This cobbler is a little more on the juicy side, and would go fantastically with ice cream...like everything else in the world.

For the filling:
1 cup blackberries
3 peeled, sliced pears
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn starch

For the top:
1 cup GF oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons vegan margarine, divided


1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In the pie dish, mix together the oats, brown sugar and cinnamon; cut in 4 tablespoons of the margarine so the entire mixture is slightly sticking together.

3. Shake the topping over the blackberry filling; cut and dot the remaining 2 tablespoons of margarine on top of the entire cobbler.

4. Cover with tinfoil and place in the oven for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, take off the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

Summertime foods

So there you have it - my labor day lovefest. Let me know how they turn out for you!

Saucy Style 'Ladas

Oh, geez. Another enchilada recipe.

I'm not cheatin' you, pinky swear. This one is different, mainly because it's saucy, like those pink heels you wore that one day running errands. But this recipe is cheezy saucy, which is totally not an adjective I would use to describe any pair of high heels. Unless they're making out with a movie star, then yes. Totally cheesy.

I picked up a new blog that is brilliantly constructed by Mama Pea. I have bookmarked her recipe page and don't ever plan on not looking at less than twice a day. What I should do is back down on the double negatives.

These enchiladas are great - I like my food juicy, and since juicy sure as heck ain't coming from a burger, then I'm going to stuff all in a casserole dish. Also, a quick word about corn tortillas. I really got out of the habit of making them because they would always fall apart if I didn't fry them in bajillion amounts of oil first. However, I found a solid (literally) brand that will let you heat them up in the microwave and still stay in tact when you roll them up with the goods - all without saturating them in oil first. This magical brand is Don Pancho, and I found him at Freddies. Always Freddies. 

Cheezy Enchiladas
inspired by Mama Pea

Cheeze Sauce
everything as in the link above, plus I added 1/2 teaspoon of cumin for a little more Mexican flair

Enchiladas
8-10 corn tortillas
1 20 oz. can enchilada sauce
1 can refried beans
1.5 cups cooked white or brown rice
chopped jalapenos, amount to your preference
1 cup shredded green cabbage
1/4 of a small white onion, diced
shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet over medium hear; add onion and saute until soft, about 3 minutes.

2. Add shredded cabbage to the onion in the skillet and saute until it's all soft and smells good, about 5 more minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

4. Bust our your baking dish of choice and add about 1/4 of the enchilada sauce to the bottom.

5. In a mixing bowl, mix together the beans, rice and a smaller amount of the cheeze sauce; eyeball the cheeze amount and of course add more if you feel it's necessary, which it probably is.

6. Microwave the corn tortillas in a damp paper towel about 30-45 seconds.

7. Begin stuffing the tortillas, starting with the saucy cheezy mixture, then the jalapenos, and finally the cabbage and onion mixture. At this point, you can also add your hot sauce of choice.

8. Roll your tortillas and place face down in the casserole dish; continue until they're all lined up and ready to go.

9. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over your lovely creations, and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. You can see that I made 2 separate pans - a reeeeeal cheese and one sprinkled with leftover cabbage. Guess which is for who.

10. Pop in the oven for about 20 minutes until it's all hot and, well, saucy.

Mac N Cheeze

Cheeze and Co.

Despite the fact that I am not currently partaking in "Vegan-O-Con," there are still times when I see a vegan recipe and think "hot dam! Can this be better than the real deal?"

When I came across Branny's vegan mac and cheese, I knew what was about to go down in le kitchen. GF noodles and some cheeze, all in the name of good, clean fun. To make things extra kosher (wait, this recipe isn't kosher. or is it? what does that entail, exactly?), I added some frozen broccoli florets to please the boy, as well as some tomatoes for all those lycopenes. Lycopenes are bomb.

We ate this mid-April, the same night it snowed 5 miles away from us. YEAH, the frozen rain business that wasn't supposed to show it's face again until next November (at the earliest. You hear me snow?). But you know, this is comfort food through and through, and was content with how it warmed me up despite the 35 degree weather.

For those of you who are like I was and scared of nutritional yeast, don't be. It's perfectly fine to eat, and no one will know you threw fungus in their food unless you tell them (Don't tell them. Maintain your untarnished reputation). I buy mine in the bulk food department at Freddies, and I'm sure you can find it at most other grocery stores. It's cheap, and healthy, and best of all...gluten-free! Go figure.

Mean mug that shadow

Vegan Mac-N-Cheeze Bake
hardly adapted from Branny Boils Over
Makes 1 8x8 Dish


*Despite being ridiculously easy, this is a multi-tasking recipe and requires using your noodle to maneuver these noodles (sorry. I had to). Put the pasta water on to boil before you begin the cheeze sauce so the whole dish comes together roughly the same time.


Cheeze Sauce
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup oat flour
1 T olive oil
2 Tb. minced garlic
1/2 small white onion, diced
pinch dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
1/8 tsp turmeric
1 tsp. curry spice
3/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 tsp prepared yellow mustard

For Everything Else in the Bake:
1/2 pound small noodles
1/2 pound extra firm tofu
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 T olive oil
1 T lemon juice
1 cup frozen broccoli
1/2 cup canned tomatoes


1. (Remember: Noodle water on to high heat for boiling!) In a small bowl whisk together the broth and flour until there are no clumps; preheat oven to 350.

2. In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the garlic and onion up for a couple minutes; add theyme, salt, pepper, turmeric, and curry spiced and stir all together for a brief moment.

3. Add in the broth/flour mixture, nutritional yeast and mustard; turn up heat to medium-high and whisk constantly for a few minutes until it's thick and bubbly and the consistency of melted cheese. When it reaches this texture, take off burner.

4. By this time, your water is either boiling or your noodles are on their way to being cooked. If not, your cheeze sauce will stay warm so no big.

5. Mash the tofu, salt, oil and lemon juice together in your 8x8 dish until it resembles ricotta cheese.

6. Microwave your frozen broccoli and add to the tofu with the tomatoes; mix all together.

7. Now add in the cooked noodles and all put 1/2 cup of the cheeze sauce; combine well and spread evenly in dish.

8. Pour on the reserved 1/2 cup cheeze sauce and place uncovered in the oven for 25 minutes; cool a good 10 minutes before serving.

Itza Pizza!

 

That's right - deep breath, inhale, ahhhh. 

And yes, there is over 3 different kinds of tomatoes laid out on that pan of glory: jarred (spaghetti sauce), sun-dried, and fresh. Pizza is something my gluten-free main squeeze digs (who doesn't?), and the dish he misses most frequently. I had another pizza crust recipe in mind that requires almond flour, which unfortunately is sold too far away for me to go fetch. So I, knee-deep in a weeknight  pizza-crazed state, pulled out my long-lost Gluten-Free Vegetarian cookbook, and crossed my fingers it had some answers for me.

Then, page 83 came into my life and spot on - cornmeal pizza crust! This can actually be the bottom layer for anything you wish a nice, sturdy foundation on. It came together in about 30 minutes which makes it not only a great idea in general, but especially when you're low on time or near starving. 

 

Caprese Pizza with Cornmeal Crust

The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen

Makes 1  large rectangle pizza

Cornmeal Crust

2 cups course-ground yellow cornmeal

1 cup cold water

1 cup boiling water

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper

Toppings

1/2 cup prepared pasta sauce (we used spicy tomato)

sun-dried tomatoes

1 large, ripe tomato

7 basil leaves

1/2 sliced white onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

more mozzarella cheese

How You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees; lightly spray your baking sheet with oil.

2. In a large boil, mix together cornmeal and the cold water; slowly add in boiling water and whisk together for 3 minutes until it's cooled a little. 

3. Add in eggs, mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper; combine well.

4. Spread the cornmeal mixture into your baking pan and distribute evenly, smoothing out with a spatula; bake in the enter of the oven for about 10 minutes. (It's super fun once you start to see the bubbles start popping up!)

5. While the crust is cooking, get a saute pan heating up over medium heat with garlic, onion, and a little olive oil; saute it all together until cooked (you could even caramelize the onions here if you want - just cook the onions first and add in the garlic the last few minutes.)

6. Spread the pasta sauce over the crust and continue to layer on your tomatoes, basil, onion and garlic mixture and cheese; bake in the oven until cheese has melted and the pizza is bubblin'.

Polenta, Act 1

This is what I've been up to this past month of not blogging. Playing with polenta. Well corn meal, technically, which does a pretty darn good job of turning into polenta.

I've done a polenta-love post before, and this will definitely not be the last. In fact, shortly (read: hopefully less than a month) I will be posting an Act 2, because these are 2 recipes I am dying to share with you.

Corn meal is so easy I almost feel like I'm cheating when I cook with it. I don't know why, I guess I feel like I should be experimenting with gluten-free bread or making vegan pudding or some other things that seem a little too complicated the majority of the time.

Another corn meal trait that makes me want to jump and leap stars? It tastes good with anything. It's a great kitchen-sinker - throw whatever in the pot that you will be throwing away in your garbage tomorrow.

Sans wrapper.

and peel.

and maybe mold.

But anything else that hangs out with your food, yes! Throw it in! The pot wants it!

Mediterranean Polenta Casserole
Makes one 2 quart casserole

Polenta:
2 cups milk
1 3/4 cup cold tap water
2 Tb. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

Topping:
1/2 onion (any kind)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1.5 cups tomato soup
10 spears asparagus, cut into thirds
1 12oz. can tomatoes with juice
1/2 block tofu
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
dash of salt and pepper

Plus, 1/2 cup prepared pesto

1. Spray your casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Bring the milk, water, butter and salt to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.

3. Sprinkle in the cornmeal and continue stirring; reduce heat and let the mixture simmer about 35 minutes until it thickens. You will know the polenta is done when it plops off a spoon and when you scrape the bottom of the pot, the polenta doesn't immediately spill to the empty space.

4. Pour the polenta into your greased casserole dish and put into the fridge for cooling.

5. Now, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and pull out a skillet; begin to saute up the onion and garlic for a few minutes.

6. Once the onions begin to get soft, add in the tomato soup, asparagus, canned tomatoes, tofu, and seasonings; let mixture simmer over medium heat until asparagus begins to soften, about 10 minutes.

7. Once the tomato mix is warmed and done, pull the polenta out of the fridge. Spread the pesto on, and top with the warm tomato mixture.

8. Bake covered in the oven for 15 minutes; uncover and sprinkle with cheese for the last 5.

9. Devour!