Machuquillo (Plantain Mash)

Last night I made a traditional Cuban beverage (see post for Bul) and tonight I'm continuing the theme with this plantain side dish.  Plantains are a versatile food since they can go from savory dishes when green and under-ripe, to super-sweet for desserts once they turn to black.  For this recipe, you want plantains that are somewhere in between, which is to say moderately ripe with yellow, mottled skins, but not yet black (see photo below).  This plantain mash makes a great alternative to standard mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium plantains
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 minced garlic clove

1. Peel and thinly slice the plantains.  Cook the plantain slices in boiling water for 15 minutes; drain.  Place the plantains in a bowl along with the olive oil, salt, and garlic; mash with a potato masher until smooth.

Similar to mashed potatoes, this dish is best served immediately.  I kept up the Cuban theme with Gardein chicken and black beans seasoned with adobo seasoning, a flavorful blend of salt, garlic, oregano, bay, and turmeric. 

Nutrition Info:
4 servings (1/2 cup), Calories 140 

Tasting Notes:
A nicely different side dish that could easily become part of your regular rotation, since it's quick and easy, and good but not fancy.  This was the first time I've had plantains that weren't sweet, and the dish tasted like starchier bananas, with an almost vinegary tang on the tongue. The garlic was a nice touch.

Rating:
3

Bul

It's a gorgeous spring day and I'm a week away from earning my Master's degree, so in lieu of cooking I'm kicking up my heels for a little rest and celebration tonight, and giving you a simple cocktail to enjoy.  Bul (pronounced BOOL) is a Cuban beer spritzer, popular in the warm summer months in Cuban homes.  Prepare a pitcher of this refreshing drink and enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 1 (12-ounce) bottled chilled beer
• 1 and 1/2 cups chilled ginger ale
• 4 lime slices (optional for garnish)

1. Combine the lime juice, beer, and ginger ale in a pitcher.  Serve over ice in glasses.  Add the lime slices as garnish, if you like, for a pretty presentation.

A note on ingredients: because this drink is so light and crisp, you don't want a heavy beer - something like a pale ale works best, although a pilsner would also work well.  A good vegan option is Sierra Nevada's pale ale.  For a vegan ginger ale, I recommend R.W. Knudsen, which uses fruit juice as sweetener instead of sugar. 

Nutrition Info:
4 servings (about 3/4 cup), Calories 69 

Tasting Notes:
 Very much like a corona with lime!  I actually was disappointed that it wasn't sweeter from the ginger ale, and might use a 2-to-1 ginger ale to beer ratio next time, but still a wonderfully refreshing drink.  Best with a spritz of lime squeezed on top just before sipping.

Rating:
3.5

Blackberry Jam Cake

This is a traditional butter cake, using one of my favorite vegan products out there - Earth Balance vegan buttery spread.  It consistently lets me achieve great baking results that friends and family can hardly believe are vegan.  If you don't like the idea of jam for frosting, you could try topping the cake with caramel frosting or caramel syrup instead.

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup vegan sugar
• 1/2 cup vegan butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 Ener-G eggs
• 2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour*
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 and 1/4 cups plain non-dairy milk
• 1 cup seedless blackberry jam
• 1 tablespoon vegan powdered sugar

1. Cut 2 circles of wax paper to fit in the bottom of 2 (9-inch) round cake pans.  Coat the bottoms of the pans with cooking spray (but not the sides of the pans), and line the bottoms with the wax paper circles.  Coat the wax paper with cooking spray, and dust evenly with 1 tablespoon flour.

2. Combine the sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer; beat at medium speed for a few minutes, until well blended.  Add the Ener-G eggs; beat until blended.  Lightly spoon 2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife.  Combine the flour in a large bowl with the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Add the flour mixture and the milk alternately to the sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

3. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.  Tap the pans sharply against the counter once to remove any air bubbles, then bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes - a wooden pick inserted in the centers should come out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes in the pans on a wire rack, then remove the cakes from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

4. Place the jam in a bowl and stir with a whisk to smooth it out.  Place 1 cake layer on a plate, and spread with 1/2 cup of the jam.  Top with the second cake layer; spread the remaining 1/2 cup jam over the top of the cake.  Sprinkle with the powdered sugar.

*Measuring flour correctly is one of the keys to baking, hence why I always specify to spoon into measuring cups and level with a knife, rather than scooping right from the flour jar.  Another, even more accurate option is to weigh the flour.  The 2 and 1/4 cups called for in this recipe should be about 10 ounces.

Nutrition Info:
16 servings (1 slice), Calories 240 

Tasting Notes:
Remember those Pepperidge Farm Linzer cookies you used to eat before you became vegan?  Right, while turn those cookies into cake form and that's what you've got with this recipe.  Or like my mom's Christmas jam thumbprint cookies, but with soft cake as the base instead of a shortbread cookie.  In sum, delicious.

Rating:
5

Curried Noodles with Tofu

It was an Asian-themed night in my kitchen tonight. Unfortunately, the results were not as good as I hoped (see Tasting Notes below), but I have recommendations for how I would improve this dish next time.  If you want a curry paste that is vegan, try Thai Kitchen - many of their products, including the green curry paste, specify 'vegan' on the label.

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces uncooked rice sticks*
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon vegan sugar
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons bottled ground fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon green curry paste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Cooking spray
• 12 ounces extra-firm tofu
• 1 cup red bell pepper strips
• 4 cups shredded napa cabbage**
• 1 cup chopped green onion
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1. Place the noodles in a large bowl, and cover with hot water.  Let stand for 5 minutes, then drain.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, curry paste, and salt; set aside.

3. Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes, and add to the skillet; saute for 10 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove the tofu from the pan.

4. Add the bell pepper to the pan and saute for 1 minute.  Add the cabbage; saute for 30 seconds.  Return the tofu to the pan, along with the noodles and the coconut milk mixture; cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in the green onions and the cilantro.

For a quick veggie side dish, I tossed together easy sesame-scented snow peas and carrots: cook 1 and 1/2 cups snow peas and 1/2 cup diagonally sliced carrot in boiling water for 30 seconds.  Drain, and toss the vegetables with 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce, 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. If you want to conserve water, use the same water from boiling the snow peas and carrots to soak the rice noodles. 

A cup of green tea rounded out the meal nicely. 

*Make sure to buy rice stick noodles, which are thin like angel hair pasta, because rice noodles also come in wider varieties about the width of linguine.  If you can't find rice sticks, try substituting angel hair pasta or vermicelli, although you'll alter the flavor of the dish slightly.

**A fun fact I learned about napa cabbage: I always thought that the term referred to the California wine region, which seemed awfully confusing since the other name for napa cabbage is Chinese cabbage.  In making this recipe, though, I learned that the name comes from the Japanese word nappa, which simply refers to the leaves of a vegetable.  To shred the napa cabbage, I recommend the shredder attachment of a food processor. 

Nutrition Info:
4 servings (1 and 1/4 cups), Calories 300

Tasting Notes:
As mentioned in my intro, I was disappointed in this recipe, and - believe it or not - found it incredibly bland.  Despite all the ginger and garlic in the coconut sauce, the flavor of neither came through, and it definitely needed more green curry paste.  The tofu also did not soak up any of the flavor or sauce.  Next time, I would use baked, seasoned tofu, and cut into cubes and add to the recipe.  In sum, this dish felt like a lot of effort for not a lot of flavor, but I think it has potential with significant tweaks.

Rating:
2

Blue Cheese Bruschetta and Apples

As promised, tonight I'm pulling out the grill plate sides of my new counter-top Griddler, a grill/griddle hybrid that I used to make pancakes to perfection a few nights ago (see my post for Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes).  Try the Soy Bleu from Sunergia to capture the strong flavor of Gorgonzola cheese in this appetizer.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup crumbled vegan blue cheese (such as Sunergia)
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• 1 tablespoon brandy
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 12 (1-ounce) slices diagonally cut French bread baguette
• Cooking spray
• 6 halved garlic cloves
• 3 Granny Smith apples (about 18 ounces total)

1. Combine the blue cheese, butter, brandy, and black pepper in a bowl, stirring until blended; set aside.

2. Heat an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan coated with cooking spray over high heat.  Add the bread slices and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.

3. Rub the cut side of 1 garlic clove evenly over one side of each bread slice.  Spread about 2 teaspoons of the blue cheese mixture over each bread slice.  Cut each apple into 8 wedges, and serve the apple wedges alongside the bruschetta.

Nutrition Info:
12 servings (1 bruschetta, 2 apple wedges), Calories 148

Tasting Notes:
I loved the blue cheese spread, but I have to lay that fact aside for a moment  Unfortunately, I did not like the rest of this appetizer, nor its presentation.  The Granny Smith apple was much too tart, in comparison to the blue cheese mixture, and I recommend a sweet variety like Braeburn or Pink Lady.  It also felt very strange to serve warm baguette and spread next to the room temperature apples - why not throw the apple slices on the grill for a minute or two as well, to soften and sweeten the flavor?  Still another option would be to dice the apple very fine and stir into the blue cheese spread.  This ended up feeling like a strange appetizer to offer guests, and I unfortunately would not do so again.

In terms of the spread - I loved the bite from the blue cheese and the strong, warm flavor from the brandy.  If you don't love the taste of alcohol, consider decreasing the amount of brandy by half, because even that 1 tablespoon made it quite strong.  I similarly would have liked more spread per bread slice, and next time would double the spread and drop the apple altogether.  The final rating for this recipe, therefore, would be much closer to a 4 if I was rating the spread alone, and would probably fall to a 2 (my lowest yet) if the spread hadn't been so darn yummy.

Rating:
3

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

I'm having breakfast for dinner tonight, a guilty pleasures that feels fun on occasion. Vegan buttermilk, made with non-dairy milk and lemon juice, adds an amazing, fluffy texture to these pancakes.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons vegan sugar
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 cups vegan buttermilk*
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 Ener-G eggs
• Cooking spray
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons vegan butter

1. Lightly spoon the all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife.  Combine the flours in a bowl with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, canola oil, and Ener-G eggs, stirring with a whisk.  Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture, and stir just until moist.

2. Heat a griddle coated with cooking spray over medium heat.  Spoon 1/4 cup of the batter per pancake onto the griddle - you'll have enough batter for 12 pancakes, so work in batches to avoid overcrowding the griddle if necessary.  Flip the pancakes over when bubbles cover the surface (after about 3 to 4 minutes), then cook for about 1 to 2 minutes on the other side.  Serve with the maple syrup and the butter.  For the best flavor, I recommend warming the maple syrup briefly in the microwave (about 30 seconds).

Note: if working in batches, keep the already-made pancakes warm in the oven at 200 degrees until ready to serve.

To round out my "breakfast for dinner," I added a quick fresh fruit salad on the side: combine 3 cups sliced strawberries, 1 cup blueberries, and 1 cup sliced banana in a bowl.  Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon vegan sugar, tossing to combine, then chill in the fridge while you prepare the pancakes.

Another fun addition to the meal is chai tea - although you can certainly steep chai teabags in hot water, I highly recommend the vegan chai concentrate from Oregon Chai (available online at veganessentials.com).  Mix with your favorite non-dairy milk for a delicious hot drink. 

On another note, tonight was the first night I got to play with my new Cuisinart Griddler.  This countertop appliance has reversible plates, so you can cook on a smooth griddle surface or a ridged grill, depending on your recipe.  The griddle worked amazingly for these pancakes, and I intend to try out the grill side of the machine next time, so keep an eye out for a grilling post soon.

*To prepare the buttermilk, place 1 and 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.  Fill with your favorite non-dairy milk to equal 1 and 1/2 cups.  Let stand for about 5 minutes to clabber (sour) the mixture before proceeding with the recipe.  You definitely don't want to skip this step; it is the acidity from the lemon juice that reacts with baking soda to make the pancakes as light and fluffy as they are. Plain soy, almond, or rice milk alone won't have the same effect.

Nutrition Info: 

6 servings (2 pancakes, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons butter), Calories 351 

Tasting Notes:
Woah.  Just about the fluffiest, lightest pancakes I've ever had.  They needed absolutely no embellishment and no changes - they were just gobble-'em-up good.  The butter and maple syrup were super indulgent, and the addition of whole wheat flour added a nice, complex taste.

Rating:
5

Zesty Tofu Wraps with Olive Tapenade

These yummy wraps make a great weeknight supper, or brown bag lunch.  I recommend making two batches of the tapenade; leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to a week, and would be great as a sandwich spread or an appetizer served on crusty bread, later in the week.

Ingredients:
For the tapenade:

• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup pitted oil-cured black olives
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

For the wraps:

• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes halves, packed without oil
• 1 pound extra-firm tofu
• Cooking spray
• 1 and 1/3 cups (1/4-inch thick) sliced red onion
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 4 (9-inch) flour tortillas
• 4 cups trimmed watercress

1. To prepare the tapenade, place the kalamata olives, oil-cured olives, lemon rind, and olive oil in a food processor - pulse until minced (anywhere from 2 to 10 pulses, depending on your food processor).  Set aside.

2. In a bowl, combine 2 cups boiling water and the sun-dried tomatoes; let stand for 30 minutes, then drain and chop; set aside.

3. Meanwhile, drain the liquid from the package of tofu, and cut the tofu lengthwise into quarters.  Place the tofu slices on several layers of paper towels.  Cover with additional paper towels and let stand for 20 minutes - the tofu should be barely moist by the end.

4. Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Separate the onion slices into rings, and add to the skillet; saute for 5 minutes, until lightly browned.  Place in a bowl, and stir in the balsamic vinegar.

5. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, red wine vinegar, agave, rosemary, Dijon mustard, salt, and garlic.  Heat a skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Add the tofu and cook for 6 minutes, turning to brown evenly on all sides.  Stir in the lemon juice mixture; cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

6. Warm the tortillas according to package directions.  Tonight I used the whole wheat flour tortillas from Maria and Ricardo's, a company I love because their tortillas are certified vegan.  Spread 2 tablespoons tapenade evenly over each tortilla.  Top each tortilla with 1 tofu piece, about 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, about 1/3 cup onion, and 1 cup watercress; roll up.

Nutrition Info:
4 servings (1 wrap), Calories 312

Tasting Notes:
These wraps were really yummy, but there was actually almost too much going on.  Both the tapenade and sun-dried tomato have big bold flavor - you might consider using one or the other but not both.  I liked the slightly pickled taste to the onions, but felt that there was too much watercress and not enough tofu (I recommend two tofu slices per wrap).  A couple elements of the recipe itself also seemed odd - it was a waste to pour so much balsamic over the onions, and the lemon-and-rosemary sauce felt wasted, since although the tofu cooks in it, the sauce isn't added to the wraps.  You might consider marinating the tofu in the rosemary mixture instead, to better capture the flavor.

Update: as mentioned in the intro, the tapenade can easily stand on its own as an appetizer with French bread, or on a sandwich. You'll be able to appreciate the strong bite of the oil-cured olives much more when the tapenade is not competing with all the other flavors in the sandwich.

Rating:
4