Holy Cow! Vegan Recipe

Quinoa Biryani with Kala Chana

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Thu, 16 May 2013 06:54:34 PDT

A biryani may be the ultimate indulgence, food-wise, but truth is that it can also be transformed into a super-healthy-- and decadently delicious-- weeknight dish. All you need to work that magic is your imagination.

My Quinoa Biryani with Kala Chana has all the flavor of a traditional biryani because it has the same spices and flavor building blocks-- with important modifications to the two main ingredients, the rice and the meat. The rice is replaced by nutty quinoa, a wonder food and one of the best sources of vegan protein, and the meat is replaced by kala chana, a smaller, darker version of a chickpea or garbanzo bean that you can find at any Indian store. Kala chana has more flavor and texture and it holds more firmly after cooking, compared to a chickpea. All of which makes it a wonderful meat substitute in this dish. And being a legume, it's also packed with protein, of course.

You can substitute chickpeas in this recipe, but the flavor won't be as hearty. Be sure to cook your chickpea to a slightly al dente texture instead of letting it get too mushy. And don't forget to rinse your quinoa thoroughly before you cook it to get rid of the saponin, a bitter coating that covers and protects each grain until it's ready for you to eat.

You will notice that there is no cayenne in this recipe, nor green chillies. The reason is that I used storebought biryani masala which tends to already have chillies added and can be very, very spicy. If you like your biryani eye-watering hot, feel free to add some cayenne pepper along with the turmeric.

Spring is my favorite time to make biryanis because it's still cool enough to stand over a stove, and the garden is already running amuck with leafy, verdant mint-- an absolute must in any biryani. Don't forget to pick handfuls to add to this one.

Now for the recipe-- it's gluten-free, by the way, in a healthy, non-starchy way. Enjoy, all!

Quinoa Biryani with Kala Chana

(Makes 8-10 servings)

Ingredients

For the quinoa "rice":

1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed thoroughly in a fine-mesh strainer

3 1/4 cups water

1 1-inch stick cinnamon

2 green cardamom pods

2 cloves

Salt to taste

Place all the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and let the quinoa cook until it has absorbed most of the water.

Lower the heat to low, slap on a tight-fitting lid, and let it cook another 10 minutes.

For the kala chana sauce:

1 cup kala chana. Soak overnight, rinse and cook in a pressure cooker or on the stovetop until cooked but still firm. For the stovetop method, place the rinsed chana in a pot with at least two inches of water covering the chana. Bring to a boil, cover, slap on a lid, and cook until tender. Check regularly and add water if the chana gets dry. It should cook in about an hour. Honestly, a pressure cooker's much faster and you can also usually skip the soaking, so get one already.

3 green cardamom pods

3 cloves

1-inch piece of cinnamon

1 tsp shahjeera

1 large onion, very finely chopped

6 cloves of garlic, very finely grated or put through a garlic press

1-inch knob of ginger, finely grated

1/2 cup tomato puree

1 tbsp coriander seed powder

1 tbsp biryani masala (available online or at any Indian store)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 cup coconut milk

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup fried onions (you can buy these in a packet at any Indian store. Fried onions might appear dispensable, especially to the health-conscious, but make the effort: they add a certain flavor to biryani that you cannot replicate with another ingredient. And since this biryani makes at least eight servings, they don't add many calories in a single serving).

1/4 cup finely chopped coriander leaves

1/4 cup finely chopped mint

1 tbsp olive oil

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot.

Add the cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and stir-fry for a few seconds. Add the shahjeera, stir, and then add the onions.

Saute, stirring frequently, until the onions are browning at the edges.

Add the ginger and garlic, stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add the turmeric powder, biryani masala, and coriander seed powder. Stir again to coat the spices with the oil, and then add the tomato puree.

Cook for about five minutes, stirring often, and then half of the fried onions, coconut milk and lemon. Add the mint and coriander leaves. Stir.

Add the drained, cooked kala chana. Stir together and let it all come to a boil. If the mixture is too dry, add some of the stock from boiling the kala chana. You want a thick gravy.

Reduce the heat to low. Now fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork so the grains separate. Pour over the kala chana masala in an even layer, using a ladle to help spread it evenly.

Sprinkle the quinoa with the remaining fried onions. Put on a tight-fitting lid and cook over a low flame for 15 minutes.

Let the biryani stand at least 15 minutes before serving. While serving, make sure you dig all the way to the bottom of the pot with the ladle to get a good mix of the quinoa and the masala.

In My Kitchen, April 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:42:57 PDT

What's in my kitchen this month?

This Spaghetti Gratin with Artichoke Cashew Cheese. But first, what else is in my kitchen?

I turned an interested eye to the most used room in my home after reading Nupur's post which in turn was inspired by a meme hosted each month by Celia of the blog Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. It is such a great idea, I couldn't wait to get started!

My kitchen, like everyone else's I suppose, is the heart of my home. It's the place I enjoy being in most because I love to cook and to eat. It's the place where we spend many evenings chatting about the important things and the trivial. It's where guests seem to naturally congregate, no matter how comfortable the other rooms are.

My kitchen, I will confess, or more specifically my kitchen table, can be messy. It ends up becoming a not-so-temporary home of all those things that pass through our daily lives. It's where the mail lands every evening, where my bowls of sourdough and sprouting beans sit, and where the waffle maker waits between use and cleaning. In my kitchen hangs this tile: we picked it up years ago during a trip to beautiful Delft in the Netherlands. "This house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy."

My kitchen is home to my spice rack, made of a recycled shelf and recycled glass bottles of jelly. This is my favorite part of the kitchen. It sits close to my workspace and I can reach out to it easily when I cook. On the lower shelves are the staples: turmeric, chilli powder, mustard, coriander, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, cloves, among others. On the top shelf are powdered spices like garam masala, biryani masala, pav bhaji masala, sambar powder, rasam powder, and so on.

On my kitchen wall hang these two beautiful plates that remind us of dear friends and good times: the bottom plate, a handpainted one from Portugal, is a gift from our friend Sharon who is half-Portuguese. The other was gifted to us by our dear friends Margo and Jon who brought it all the way from Jerusalem when they lived there.

From my kitchen I have a beautiful view of the oak tree sprouting new leaves in the backyard. Never mind the dead potted plant crying out to be replaced. Oh, well.

My kitchen has a favorite guest: my sweetheart pooch Opie who knows to go here when he gets an attack of the munchies. Because Opie has arthritis which can make bending over a bowl on the floor difficult, we bought him this raised contraption with a place for his water bowl and his food bowl. It stands in a corner of the kitchen, but his more favorite way to eat here is by scratching my leg with his paw and demanding a share of whatever it is I am cooking. When we sit down at the kitchen table to eat, he goes underneath the table and nuzzles our fingers to get attention-- and food.

My kitchen has an uninvited guest: a cute little mouse with big, beady eyes. Alfie, as we have named him, has evaded all of our attempts to catch him in a humane mouse trap. So smart is he that he learned how to get the food Desi would place in the back of the trap without getting himself caught. Finally we conceded that a mouse so bright deserved to stay, so we've made our peace with him.

In my kitchen are memories I will remember for a lifetime: Desi loading the dishwasher just so every night; the twinkle in my brother-in-law Naru's eye when he took his first bite of my mango bread; our dogs Opie, Lucy, and Freddie sitting in a half-circle around Desi, eyes fixed keenly on his face and hand as he dispensed treats; my cat Pubm meowing for us to open the kitchen door leading to the back yard; learning from my sister-in-law Paddu how to spread dosa batter on a hot griddle; baking cookies with my friend Navami on Christmas Eve, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for our friends Kumar and Lalita at 3 am in the morning after a long drive home from Niagara Falls...and many more to come.

**
In my kitchen this past week I cooked up this Spaghetti Gratin with Artichoke Cashew Cheese.

I love making pastas on weeknights because they are so easy to brown-bag to lunch the next day. Desi is extremely finicky about anything drippy that might ooze out of a lunch box, and because he eats at his desk most of the time-- as do I-- lunch has to be delicious, convenient and unfussy, all at the same time.

Although this gratin sounds like it might take a day and a half to make, what with the mushrooms and the artichokes and the cashew cheese, it took me under an hour, promise. The cashew cheese is easy and delicious-- better than the real thing, and healthier. I used whole-wheat spaghetti to make this dish healthy, and frozen artichoke hearts from Trader Joe's-- better than sliced bread, surely, because who has the time (or the skill) to actually prep an artichoke? Not me.

The mushrooms give this dish some added nutrition and flavor. I used a mix of crimini and shiitake, although you could go with one or the other or just about any other mushroom.

Here's the recipe, then. Enjoy, all!

Spaghetti Gratin with Artichoke Cashew Cheese

Ingredients:

1 16-oz package of whole-wheat spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces and cooked per package directions until al dente.

2 cups frozen artichoke hearts. I put them in a microwave with 2 tbsp of water and zap them for about five minutes or until they're quite tender. Drain the artichoke hearts and reserve.

1/2 cup cashew nuts, roasted lightly.

2 heaping tbsp nutritional yeast.

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced

4 cups of mushrooms, halved if small and quartered if large

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup breadcrumbs, tossed with 1 tsp olive oil, salt and ground black pepper

A generous dash of ground black pepper

Salt to taste

To make the artichoke cashew cheese, place the cashew nuts in a blender along with the artichokes, nutritional yeast, salt, ground black pepper, and enough water to make a smooth paste.

Blend into a very smooth consistency. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil and saute the sliced onions until they turn translucent, about five minutes.

Add the garlic and stir-fry a few seconds.

Add the mushrooms and saute until they are tender, another five minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and add the spaghetti along with 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Add the artichoke cheese and stir well to mix everything.

Pour the spaghetti into a gratin dish or baking dish. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid over the spaghetti.

Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top. Place under a medium-hot broiler for 10 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Serve hot.

Gluten-Free Multigrain Pancakes

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:24:13 PDT

It's not easy to be vegan and discuss weight gain.

Vegans, we are told unequivocally by all the experts in the field of plant-based nutrition, don't gain weight. And if they do, it's because they are doing something wrong. They are eating too much junk. Or they are eating too much. Period. It makes those among us who watch what we eat but also have to watch the scales feel very guilty. And very helpless.

I worked for a plant-based nutrition advocacy group where the message about vegan diet equals weight loss was drilled deep into our heads. But at work, even as I was expected to push out messages to the media about vegans not getting fat, I felt more than a little hypocritical and very angry. Because my mirror was telling me quite something else. I was a vegan and I was putting on weight.

My weight gain, although not drastic, was hard for me to accept because I had been thin all my life, until after I turned vegan. I was always an extremely skinny child -- so skinny, in fact, that people would sometimes jokingly ask me, child, are they starving you at home? I was skinny all through my 20s and 30s, when I became a vegan. Yes, I did gain those five pounds every now and then but it was never hard for me to lose them.

In the beginning, the vegan diet seemed to work: I did not lose weight but I didn't gain much either. And then, a couple of years into it, I began to realize that the scales were tipping upwards. And not coming down, even when I started to cut down on what I was eating.

It must be the carbs, Desi said, it's hard to get protein on a vegan diet. After spending years arguing with him and in denial -- and 25 pounds later -- I finally faced up to the truth: my vegan diet was not helping me keep the weight off. If anything, it was making things worse.

Now before anyone gets the idea that I am going to discard my vegan diet, let me clarify that I am not. I am an ethical vegan. I don't eat animals because I do not want to kill another living, sentient being for food and nothing will change that. I did not become a vegan because I wanted to lose weight or because I wanted to improve my health. And I will say that there is really nothing wrong with my health now. My blood pressure and cholesterol are great, and my weight gain is not so terrible that it would warrant desperate measures. For anyone looking to improve their health, a vegan diet is still the best option. And for most people, it does work with weight loss too: although Desi is not always vegan when we eat out, which is rarely, he eats only vegan at home -- the same healthy vegan food I eat-- and never has to worry about weight gain. So yes, I acknowledge that metabolism and genes play a role in this too.

But not every vegan who is thin is eating healthy either. I know many, many vegans and for every vegan who eats a well-balanced diet and stays thin, there is the vegan who eats an unhealthy diet to stay thin. I have known a vegan who would eat just a steamed sweet potato for lunch every day, another whose lunch box held nothing but a few shreds of lettuce, and one who considered an apple her entire lunch. They were all thin. For me, a sweet potato is a great side-dish, an apple is a snack, and lettuce should be part of a salad. I would rather be fat than not eat a steaming bowl of bean soup or a serving of low-fat vegan pasta for lunch.

But I am determined to shake those pounds off and what I am trying to do is eat more cognizantly while still eating well. One of the first things I have realized is that I need to move away from soy. There are many arguments out there against soy and its effect on hormones, but many plant-based nutrition advocates refuse to acknowledge those and, if they are asked about it, they shrug them off. I never consumed much soy but I did add soy milk to my tea or coffee and at three to four cups a day it added up. I can't stomach almond, rice, or coconut milk in my tea because of their strong flavors. I guess I'll just have to do without, unless someone out there has a better idea. Giving up tofu will be easier simply because I didn't eat too much of it--the only times I did were as a substitute for yogurt in Indian recipes or for quiches and breakfast foods, which was not often.

I am also trying to eat more gluten-free because it's supposed to help with weight loss, although wheat is not something I intend to give up entirely. Many Indian breads are made with wheat, and gluten-free flours just don't give you the right texture for a poori, say, or a chapati.There are many Indian dosas and some flatbreads that can be gluten-free and I will certainly be making more of those.

I am going to try and get more protein in my diet, and eat more leafies. Vegan nutrition experts say you need between 50 and 60 grams of protein (non-vegan nutritionists put this figure closer to 100). But getting even 50 grams of protein on a vegan diet is hard, unless you eat a ton of beans or soy-- and then you get all the carbs that come with these foods. I do eat foods like quinoa fairly occasionally, but I am going to try to include this wonder grain in my diet much more to get high-quality protein and supplement it with high-quality, high-fiber beans.

I am also going to exercise more. In the past year or so, caught up in the demands of a new job, I have been neglecting my workouts and although that has not really aggravated my weight gain, it certainly hasn't helped.

So there it is: my story about weight gain on a vegan diet. I am determined to do something about it while staying vegan because I can't imagine any other way to be. Hopefully, as the days go by, I will share with you my successes -- and perhaps my failures. But you can expect from me an honest account of what works and what doesn't. It's time to cut through the lies out there, however well-intentioned they may be.

***

You might not have expected a pancake recipe right after a post about weight gain, but I made these last weekend for Desi who has jumped on the gluten-free wagon faster than I have. And they are healthy, especially if you can limit the amount of syrup you pour on.

While making gluten-free foods, I have learned fast to steer away from the pre-mixed "all-purpose" gluten flours. These flours tend to have too strong a flavor and I prefer mixing my own flours to keep the taste as clean as possible. For pancakes and waffles, the premixed flours also tend not to work because they have too much starch, like tapioca flour or potato flour, and they often contain xanthan gum. These ingredients make the pancakes and waffles rather gummy.

This pancake recipe is extremely versatile. Use your own mix of flours: I used brown rice, millet and oat. I also mixed in some almond milk. They were light and fluffy and quite perfect.

Here's the recipe, all. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Multigrain Pancakes

(Makes eight pancakes)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup millet flour

1/2 cup oat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

Salt to taste

1 1/2 cups almond milk mixed with 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 heaping tbsp flax meal mixed with 9 tbsp water

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a large bowl, mix the flours with the baking powder and soda and salt using a wisk.

In another bowl mix the almond milk with the flaxmeal mixture and vanilla.

Add the wet mixture to the dry one, and mix well. Don't worry about overmixing, because gluten-free flours do not toughen up the way wheat does when mixed.

Heat a griddle and spray with a little oil. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter on the griddle and let the pancake cook until bubbles appear around the sides and center, then flip and cook until the underside turns golden.

Serve hot.

Mushroom Achari

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 07:52:26 PDT

Baingan Achari is a mouthwatering side-dish that cashes in on the great Indian obsession with pickles. Indian pickles, called achar in north India, are quite different from the pickles we eat here in the United States. They are made with all sorts of vegetables-- mango and lemon being the more popular choices-- and they are fiery red with bold tones of tart and hot that tease your tastebuds and whet your appetite.

The reason why pickles taste so special are a couple of very special spices that go into them: nigella seeds, or kalonji, and fennel seeds, or saunf. Baingan Achari takes the alchemy of those spices and puts them to work in a subzi, or a side dish, that is much quicker-- and easier -- to make than a jar of pickles, and has about the same effect on the appetite.

In my eggplant-loving home Baingan Achari is always a popular choice for dinner. But the last time I had a craving for this dish I didn't have any eggplant on hand. I did have some mushrooms, though, so I thought, why not?

My Mushroom Achari tasted so great, I couldn't wait to share it. The spongy mushrooms soak up all the goodness and flavor of the spices and you can use just about any kind of mushroom-- button, cremini, shiitake, portabella are all good here. This is also a very versatile dish that you can soak up with a roti or naan or serve up alongside some dal and rice.

This is a short post because life's busy right now, but I will be back soon with more. I have been doing more experimenting with gluten-free baking and cooking, and last Sunday I made some pancakes that I am dying to share.

For now, here's the Mushroom Achari. Enjoy, all!

Mushroom Achari

Ingredients:

1 pound mushrooms (I used cremini), cut into halves or quarters depending on their size. You want the pieces to be chunky and not too small. Keep in mind that mushrooms shrink when cooked.

1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)

1/2 tsp nigella seeds (kalonji)

1 tbsp coriander seed powder

1 tbsp ginger paste

2 tsp garlic paste

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 large tomatoes, finely diced

Salt to taste

1 tsp coconut oil

1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan.

Add the nigella and fennel seeds and toast for about two minutes over medium-low heat until they release their distinct aroma.

Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry quickly for 10-15 seconds. Add the tomatoes with all of their juices. Stir to mix.

Add the turmeric, coriander powder and cayenne and mix well. Let the tomatoes cook until they darken and shimmer, about 7-8 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and salt to taste. Stir to mix well and let the mushrooms cook for another 5-7 minutes until they are tender but not soggy.

Turn off the heat and stir in the coriander leaves.

Serve piping hot.

Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 09:39:27 PDT

I've been experimenting more with gluten-free baking, and today I wanted to share a foolproof recipe for a wheat-free sandwich bread. Vegan, of course.

I bake a lot and I love baking breads most of all. But I had rarely baked a bread free of gluten, unless you count some Indian flatbreads like bhakris and missi rotis which are often made with flours like millet and sorghum and corn. So when I rolled up my sleeves and set out to bake a gluten-free bread, I did a lot of reading and incorporated a lot of the advice in my recipe. Here's what I learned:

--Start with an open mind, especially if you're a seasoned baker, because all of your long-held notions about baking bread will be challenged. Gluten-free breads present a fundamental conundrum: gluten is the substance that gives breads structure and helps them rise (it's why you knead bread dough so much-- to develop those gluten strands that will stretch and make your bread grow big and light and airy in the oven). So then how do you get a bread that lacks any gluten at all to rise? Relax, because there is an answer: xanthan gum. This thickener adds viscosity and elasticity to a gluten-free dough, allowing it to rise in a hot oven, much as a wheat bread would. Xanthan gum can easily be found at stores like Whole Foods or online.

-- Take time to mix your ingredients thoroughly, even if there is no gluten to develop. You will find lots of websites that say you don't need to knead your dough, but trust me, mixing it for a decent period of time ensures that you get your dough to just the right consistency.That's because gluten-free flours tend to be rather thirsty and you want to give them time to absorb all the liquid they can.

-- Your gluten-free dough will look different: more like muffin batter than the average wheat bread dough. Don't be tempted to add more flour. The wet dough will help create an airier bread. Also-- big bonus!-- your gluten-free bread needs just one, not two, rises, saving you time.

--Your baked gluten-free bread will also look different. Because of the wet batter, the finished bread will have a rather shaggy look to it, not unlike a banana bread, cracks and all. But who cares when it looks great sliced and tastes even better.

--Your gluten-free bread will taste different, because gluten-free flours tend to have a more robust, earthier flavor than wheat does. One of the ways to combat this is to use lighter flours like rice flour and oat flour in combination with some of the stronger-tasting ones, like millet or sorghum.

So now that you are privy to some secrets of successful gluten-free baking, let's fire up that oven and get started. This bread uses millet flour, rice flour, and oat flour (be sure to buy one that says gluten-free, because some oat flours apparently can be contaminated with gluten while processing) and tastes, I think, as close to a wheat bread as can be. It also toasts really well.

Enjoy, all!

Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups millet flour

1 1/2 cups oat flour (make sure you buy one that's labeled gluten-free)

1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup flax meal

2 tbsp egg replacer (can substitute corn starch)

2 tbsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 1/4 tsp of active dry yeast (1 packet)

1 cup almond milk mixed with 1 tsp vinegar

1 tbsp maple syrup (can substitute sugar)

1 1/2 tsp finely ground sea salt

2 tbsp olive oil

Add the yeast and maple syrup to the water and let stand until the yeast starts to bloom, about 5-10 minutes.

Mix the various flours together with the baking soda, flax meal, egg replacer, and xanthan gum. Whisk everything thoroughly to ensure it's all mixed together.

Add the almond milk to the yeast-water mixture along with the flours and salt.

Mix using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer or by hand. Drizzle in the oil as you mix. Continue to mix for about 8 minutes or until everything's well-incorporated and you have a fairly smooth-looking, batter-like dough.

Oil a standard 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. Pour the dough into the pan and, using a spatula, even out the top as best as you can.

Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes or until the dough has domed around the top of the pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the bread for 55 minutes. Insert a thermometer in the middle at the end of baking-- it should register at least 200 degrees.

Remove the loaf from the oven and let it stand on a rack until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Remove from the loaf pan and continue cooling the bread on the rack.

Enjoy!

Whole-Wheat Apple Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 07:08:17 PDT

Desi loves himself some apple pie and each time we go grocery shopping together he will stop by the apples and wonder how long it has been since he had some. But the last time I gave in, I was not too sure I wanted to bake a pie. Because I am on a healthy bender right now and flaky, melt-in-the-mouth pie crusts-- my favorite part of any pie-- are not exactly health food.

So the apples sat around a little longer than I will admit, with Desi dropping broad hints ever so often about how he was going to have to throw them away soon. This past weekend I decided to surprise him. But instead of a pie, I baked up this rather low-on-guilt, delicious cake.

I worked from a recipe I found in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, veganizing it and making it healthier than the original. My Apple Cake is made with whole-wheat pastry flour, one of my favorite baking flours because it virtually eliminates the need to use all-purpose flours in most baked-good recipes, and it is tender and moist with the delicious juiciness of the apples and the crunch of walnuts baked right inside. If you are looking for a kid-friendly and adult-friendly recipe, you couldn't do better.

This cake contains a cup of sugar, but I found that because my apples were already sweet, I could have used less. If you want to, use 3/4 of a cup and add 1/4 cup of applesauce to add some moisture back in. This is a useful tip for anyone who wants to cut down on sugar in a recipe. Sugar acts as a "wet" ingredient in baked goods, because when it melts it becomes liquid. When you remove sugar from a recipe, you remove moisture and your baked good can turn out dry. Applesauce provides a great option when substituting some of the sugar because it adds tenderness and moisture to a recipe. Don't overdo it, though. Replacing one-fourth of the sugar with applesauce is fine, but replacing three-fourths of it is not and is going to show in your results.

This Apple Cake is going to be one I make again and again. Enjoy, all!

Apple Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (sub with half regular whole-wheat and half all-purpose if you can't find whole-wheat pastry flour)

2 1/2 cups very finely chopped apples (about 1 1/2 medium apples. I used Granny Smith which is perfect in this recipe)

1 cup sugar (if you want to cut down, substitute a quarter of the sugar with an equal amount of applesauce)

1/3 cup of canola or other flavorless oil

2 tbsp flaxmeal + 6 tbsp warm water. Mix well.

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tsp of mixed powdered spices-- I ground up some cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in my coffee grinder.

1 cup walnuts, toasted lightly and chopped

Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

Beat together the oil, sugar and vanilla for about a minute to aerate.

Add the flaxmeal mixture, beat for a few more seconds to mix, and then add the flour mixture.

Stir with a spatula to get the ingredients well-mixed. The dough will be very stiff. Add the apples and the walnuts and mix well.

Pour the batter into an 8-inch oiled and floured square pan (or use a round cake pan if that's what you have). To make the cake easier to unmold, line the pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil and then oil and flour. I didn't, and trust me, unmolding this cake from the pan was a small battle.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for at least 10 minutes. Unmold and continue cooling.

Sprouted Moong Chilla

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 12:56:03 PST

If you've eaten my Besan Chilla, an eggless, protein-rich "omelet" from northwest India, you will love my Sprouted Moong Chilla, an even more nutritious version made with-- you guessed it-- sprouted mung (or, as we Indians pronounce it, moong) beans.

Sprouting beans, if you've never done it before, can be an intimidating idea. You are probably throwing up your hands now and going, heck, I barely have the time to open a can of beans, leave alone sprout some.

But here's something to consider: contrary to what you may have believed, sprouting doesn't take a lot of your time. I mean, yes, it takes time, but not dedicated time. You don't have to stand over the container and watch the beans sprout (now doesn't that thought beat watching water boil?) All you have to do is get them going and leave them alone. Largely. And if you add up the time you'll have spent, I bet it won't be more than 10 minutes over two or three days, combined.

That little time can add up to a lot of reward. Sprouting breaks down the amino acids in beans, making their protein content more available to the body. It also reduces the carbohydrate content of beans because the bean uses up a good amount of energy to sprout. Sprouting increases the Vitamin B and Vitamin C content of beans, and what's more, sprouted beans are more easily digested by the body. Sprouted beans cook faster. Finally, it's so easy, even a kid could do it. In fact, if you have kids, this is a fun project to do with them.

And if you think you need all sorts of fancy equipment to sprout, think again. All you really need is a container-- any old plastic or glass or steel container should do-- a large colander, and a kitchen towel. I am sure you already have those.Begin the process by placing your beans in a colander and washing them thoroughly in a few changes of water. Then place them in a container large enough to hold the beans and twice their volume in water. Immerse the beans completely in room-temperature water, top off by three or four inches more, and then let them sit overnight or about eight hours. By this time they will have soaked a lot of water and will have almost doubled in volume.

Soak a kitchen towel in water and squeeze out any excess water. Drain the soaked beans in a colander and cover them with the damp kitchen towel. Place out of direct sunlight and let them work their magic. All you need to do every 12 hours or so is shake them around in the colander, hands-free if possible or delicately so as to not break any tender sprouts, rinse them off, and cover again with a damp towel before setting aside.

In winter, mung beans take about two to three days to sprout in my kitchen, although it can be a faster process in summer. Also, some beans just take more time than others to sprout, so be patient. You will know you have succeeded when you see little white squiggles shooting out of the beans.

You can use sprouted beans in almost any recipe that calls for beans. But this Chilla is a great place to start because it's a fast recipe, once you have those sprouts ready to go. And it's super-delicious, not to mention super-healthy. And gluten-free and nearly fat-free. Boy, am I on fire today.

You can make this chilla extra-nutritious and extra-tasty by adding to it all sorts of quick-cooking veggies, like bell peppers, spring onions, spinach, watercress, zucchini, mushrooms, corn kernels, and even herbs. I used coriander and some grated carrot, which is what I had on hand. Be sure to chop the veggies fine or grate them to make the chilla as spreadable as possible.

Here's the recipe. Enjoy, all!

Sprouted Moong Chilla

Ingredients

1 cup dry mung (moong) beans, sprouted per directions above

1-inch knob of ginger, chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic

2 green chillies

Salt to taste

2 tbsp chickpea flour (besan)

2 tbsp brown rice flour (optional, but makes the chillas extra-crispy. Use regular white rice flour if you can't find brown)

1 cup chopped coriander

1 large carrot, grated (use the side with the largest-size slots on your grater-- you don't want this to be too fine)

Cooking oil spray

Place the mung beans in the blender along with the ginger, garlic, chillies and salt and blend until smooth, using just enough water to get a slightly-runnier-than-pancake-batter consistency. Add the flours and veggies and mix well. Set aside for 10 minutes and mix again.

Heat a cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until water sprinkled on the surface skitters off and dries up immediately.

Spray on a thin coating of the oil and then place 1/2 cup of the batter in the center using a ladle with a rounded bottom. Use the bottom of the ladle to spread the batter into as thin a round as possible. This doesn't have to be crepe-like, but if you ladle it on too thick the inside might not cook through.

When the top looks dry and the edges turn brown, flip over and cook until golden-brown.

Serve hot with some coconut or date-tamarind chutney.

**
This chilla goes to Priya over at the Mharo Rajasthan blog for her Healthy Me & Healthy US event. If you haven't been before, her blog is a great resource for recipes from the colorful state of Rajasthan in northwestern India. Hope on over to take a look.

Whole Wheat Vanilla Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:38:36 PST

One morning in Bombay, Desi, on an errand to pick up some bread for breakfast, came home with two little balls of fur, one yellow and the other red. You can expect to find just about anything for sale on the streets of Bombay and that morning Desi had come across a man selling tiny little baby chickens for two rupees each. Not thinking about the fact that we lived in an apartment -- not exactly the right atmosphere to raise a chicken or two-- he had picked them up "because they looked so cute."

He named them Chikni and Chikna (which translates, in Hindi slang, to Beautiful and Handsome). For weeks they ran about the tiny apartment, dispensing chalky white poop everywhere and shocking neighbors who couldn't believe their eyes. Chikna, the red furball, didn't live long. He got very sick one day and despite our best efforts to nurse him back he passed away. Chikni was more resilient. Over the next few weeks she grew much bigger -- and smarter. She knew exactly where she could find food whenever she wanted it-- under the sink, after the maid had done the dishes. So she would run to the kitchen each time the faucet turned on. She would come to us when called, and respond, in some ways, not unlike a cat or a dog. She was a sweetheart.

I was thinking about Chikni recently after reading day after day about the uproar in Europe (and some paranoia in the United States) about horse meat hidden inside cow meat. Initially, all that outrage seemed rather dumb. If you're okay with scarfing down one kind of dead animal, why is the idea of eating another so disgusting?

But what really got me was the concern about the deplorable conditions these horses are subjected to as they are shipped and butchered for their flesh. Horrible as that is, here's my question to these meat-eating hypocrites: what do you think goes on at factory farms in Europe and the United States and indeed anywhere in the world, where cows and pigs and chicken are "raised" for food?

Every animal that ends up on dinner plates across Europe and the United States (or anywhere else in the world) is treated horrifically and endures a hellish life from start to end. If you really are worried about horse meat because those horses were treated badly, you need to take a hard look at the well-documented cruelty that goes on in slaughterhouses that raise the animals you think are perfectly okay to consume.

There is also another kind of hypocrisy at play here: out of sight, out of mind.

We don't worry too much about "farm animals" like cows and pigs because the only time we see them up close are when they are neatly carved up on supermarket shelves. They are not within our day-to-day cognition. On the other hand, we consider dogs and horses our friends. We share our homes and lives with them, we relate to them and we see how intelligent they are, how beautiful, how well they reciprocate our feelings, and how easily they communicate. Eating a dog, to most of us, would be almost as bad as cannibalism. But even after we learn about the horror of producing beef or pork or chicken, so well-documented in recent years, it doesn't turn us into vegetarians. Because we attach no value to the life of a cow or a pig. We don't stop to consider that an animal raised for food has a will to live that's just as strong as yours and mine.

Having lived with Chikni I know that chickens are smart and adorable. In fact, animal behavior experts who have studied chickens found that they can recognize human faces. Cows have complex emotional lives and have best friends who they grieve for when separated. Pigs are smart-- smarter than dogs by some accounts-- and are capable of feeling optimistic or pessimistic based on how they are treated.

From where I sit, the life of a cow and a pig and a chicken is really no less valuable than the life of a horse or a dog. No animal should have to die to feed us. So instead of getting a bee in the bonnet about some horse meat getting into your cow meat, why not just say no to all meat-- and to all animal cruelty? You'll be doing yourself a favor.

***

Our very animal-free recipe for today is this fragrant, sumptuous Whole Wheat Vanilla Bread that is just perfect to eat with just a dab of vegan butter or with some peanut butter. It's a wholesome, kid-friendly snack that'll please any adult too.

I used a vanilla bean in this recipe, but feel free to use pure vanilla extract out of a bottle. The fragrance that will fill your home as this bread bakes up is to die for. Contrary to what the name might indicate, this is not a cakey bread, but rather more like a regular whole wheat bread with just a hint of sweetness from the vanilla.

Here's the recipe. Enjoy, all!

Whole Wheat Vanilla Bread

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 tbsp sugar

1 vanilla bean or 3 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup soy or other nondairy milk

1/2 cup water

Salt to taste

Mix the yeast with the water and sugar and wait a few minutes until it froths, indicating the yeast is alive.

Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, scrape the seeds out with a small knife, and add to the yeast. If using vanilla extract, add it now.

Add the soymilk, the salt, all-purpose flour, and 1 cup of the whole-wheat flour. Knead and add the last cup of whole wheat flour slowly, until you have a resilient but smooth dough, about five to eight minutes.

Place the ball of dough in a bowl coated lightly with oil. Turn over once to coat the top with oil, cover with a kitchen towel, and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 90 minutes.

Punch the dough down and shape it into an oval. Place in an oiled loaf pan and cover loosely. Let the dough rise until it domes around the top of the loaf pan.

Bake in a 350-degree preheated oven for 50 minutes. Remove to a rack and let it cool for 10 minutes. Then unmold from the pan and continue cooling on the rack.

Roasted Vegetables with Fennel Vinaigrette

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 06:46:58 PST

As delicious as fennel is, I am always hoping to create recipes that will do its unique flavor full justice, like my Fennel Crusted Potatoes and Pasta with Fennel Pesto. This past week, trying to do something wonderful with a couple of beautiful bulbs of fennel, I put together this quick, very simple, but very flavorful side dish of Roasted Vegetables with Fennel Vinaigrette.

In India, fennel seeds are a common ingredient in the spice pantry, but fresh fennel is not. In fact, I had never cooked with the vegetable before I moved to the United States because it wasn't available at least in Bombay. It's easy to fall in love with this versatile vegetable with a crisp, sweet, licorice flavor. This is also a very nutritious vegetable, with anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties. But cooking with fennel can be both simple and tricky. Simple because it doesn't take much to make something delicious with fennel because you already have so much flavor to start out with. Tricky because adding it in with the wrong ingredients can lead to the fennel overwhelming the dish or being overwhelmed by stronger ingredients.

My Roasted Vegetables with Fennel Vinaigrette is a very versatile dish. Use any robust vegetable that would stand up well to roasting and hold its shape and a bit of crunch in the oven. I used carrots, potatoes, and fennel bulbs, but sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, or even plantains would work here.

It's getting late as I write this and I have a busy day at work tomorrow, so I'll leave for now -- but not before I share with you this recipe. Enjoy, all!

Roasted Vegetables with Fennel Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

2 bulbs fennel. Cut off the leaves and stems and peel the tough outer layers of the bulbs. Chop the bulbs roughly into a 1-inch dice.

2 large potatoes, cut into a 1-inch dice.

2 carrots, cut into a 1-inch dice

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Olive oil to spray

Place the vegetables on a baking sheet sprayed with oil and toss with the salt and black pepper. Spray some more oil over the top of the vegetables.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 45-60 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through and lightly golden-brown.

For the vinaigrette:

Tender stalks and leaves of the fennel, chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt and black pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a blender and blitz until everything's blended pretty fine.

Pour over the roasted vegetables, toss to mix, and serve immediately.

Gluten-Free Raspberry Chocolate Brownie Bars: Countdown to Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 07:26:44 PDT

All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!
--Charles M. Schulz

Which is why I have for you today the ultimate vegan Valentine: these scrumptious Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Bars. And they are gluten-free.

Now everyone knows that chocolate is pretty much the ultimate aphrodisiac-- not to mention the ultimate food. And the great thing about chocolate is that it's not just good, it's good for you. In fact, it's great for you. That's not a free pass to go and guzzle down a dozen candy bars because there are other things mixed in with candy-- like milk and fat and sugar-- that are not doing your body any favors. But pure dark chocolate, the kind you can bite a corner off and savor for hours, is packed with life-giving antioxidants that nurture your health and heart.

I made these brownie bars gluten-free and without any added fat because I wanted to keep these very healthy and as guilt-free as could be. A majority of the recipes I post at Holy Cow! are incidentally gluten-free, but when it comes to baking I must confess that I tend to rely a lot on wheat. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Gluten, a protein found in wheat that acts as a building block in baked goods, is not a friend to people with celiac disease, a disorder that afflicts around 1 percent of the U.S. population. The rest of us can eat it without worrying about getting sick, although using whole wheat instead of refined is always a healthier option.

But the discussion about going gluten-free, whether or not you have a medical reason to do so, is growing louder by the day. Those in the gluten-free camp claim humans don't fully digest wheat, that wheat is a major allergen, and that there are many more people with celiac than are being diagnosed right now. Those in the anti-gluten-free (or is it pro-gluten?) camp counter this is just a fad for the most part and that wheat is good for you, the way you always thought it was. After all, cultures around the world have thrived on wheat for centuries.

Last week the New York Times' Well blog weighed in with a lengthy post tellingly headlined, Gluten-Free, Whether You Need it or Not. I read through it because, well, I read anything on this blog and also because without trying I've noticed a creep of gluten-free in my diet. I've already bought gluten-free pasta and cooked it, picked up gluten-free baked goods off the shelf, and started substituting barley, oat, and rice flours in my pancake and waffle recipes because these flours are readily available now and I like the idea of adding multiple grains to my diet. Last week, on a trip to Whole Foods, I was so taken by the vast lineup of gluten-free flours in the baking aisle that I picked up a bag despite the heftier-than-wheat price tag.

I couldn't wait too long to try my hand at some gluten-free baking. And I wanted it to be something really special, like these bars.

There are some things to remember when you bake gluten-free. For one, your baked goods are not going to rise the way they do with wheat (the building block is absent, remember?) One way to get around this (somewhat) is to use guar gum or xanthan gum, which gives your baked good more structure. Some gluten-free flours already contain one of these-- the one I bought did.

Second, don't expect gluten-free baked goods to taste exactly like their wheat counterparts. They don't taste bad, just different. Most gluten-free mixes use robust, wholegrain flours like sorghum flower, brown rice flour, and arrowroot flour and include starches like tapioca to neutralize the strong flavors of the flours.

These brownie bars turned out to be quite delicious, especially with the added flavors of raspberry and walnuts. They were also dense and chewy and just a tad gooey with the raspberry preserves, giving them the perfect mouthfeel.

I may not be switching over to gluten-free baking only any time in the near future, but I know I will be emptying that bag of flour I bought pretty fast.

Hope you have all enjoyed this Valentine's Day series of heart-healthy and aphrodisiac foods. I know I have enjoyed cooking them for you. Many thanks to Samantha and Kristen for inspiring me to post these recipes. And a very happy Valentine's Day to all of you -- because I love you all with all of my heart.

Gluten-Free Raspberry Brownie Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup raspberries + 1 tbsp sugar. Place in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook, stirring and mashing with the back of your spoon, until the water has mostly evaporated and you have something that resembles preserves. It is important to get the moisture out of the raspberries.

3/4 cup gluten-free flour (if you want a cakier, fluffier brownie and are not worried about the gluten, use whole-wheat pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup ground chocolate or cocoa powder

2 tsp instant coffee

Sift all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside.

In another bowl mix together:

The cooled raspberry preserves

2 tbsp maple syrup

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together until well mixed. Add:

2 tbsp flax meal plus 4 tbsp water, whisked together

Add the flour-cocoa mixture to this in 3 batches, mixing well after each addition using a ladle or spatula.

Stir in 1/2 cup chopped, lightly toasted walnuts

Prepare an 8 X 8-inch baking pan by lining it with aluminum foil. Leave an overhang on each side of the pan so you can easily lift the brownies out after they are baked. Spray some non-stick cooking spray on the foil.

Pour the batter in and, using a spatula or the back of a spoon, spread evenly in the pan.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

After five minutes, lift out using the foil overhang as handles and place on a rack to cool thoroughly. Cut into squares.

Whole Wheat Focaccia

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 06:10:54 PST

After making the best focaccia ever, I was a little obsessed with the idea of making a whole-wheat focaccia that was just as good, or even better. But with all that was going on, it took me until now to actually make it. Boy, was it worth the wait!

My Whole-Wheat Focaccia is not just soft as a pillowy cloud with a divinely chewy crust, it is also a good-for-you bread that you don’t have to feel guilty about cramming down your gullet. Slice it into half and slap on some vegan mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes and you will have a delicious meal you’ll never forget. You can even eat it as is, or with some extra virgin olive oil drizzled on.

To achieve the perfect wholegrain foccacia, I put all of my trust in that stinky old mess no serious bread baker should be without, especially if he or she loves wholegrain breads: sourdough.

Sourdough elicits some strong reactions: there are those who love it and those who hate it. I kinda belong to both groups. I am not a fan of sour breads, but I do love the texture that sourdough gives breads, especially wholegrain breads. So I tread the middle path: I use just enough sourdough to give me the texture and a hint of great flavor without any of the sourness. It’s a win-win.

Sourdough also plays a valuable role in wholegrain bread-baking. It helps wholegrain breads, handicapped by their low gluten content, rise and become airy, the way high-gluten breads are. Mark Bittman of the New York Times wrote a great article last week about wholegrain baking and the important role sourdough can play in making it better. If you have never baked before with sourdough and don't know where to start, read this post from my archives to begin your own sourdough starter. It's the easiest thing to do and you will reap the rewards forever.

To give even more flavor to my already delectable foccacia, I brushed on an intoxicating medley of rosemary, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and garlic. All of these vibrant flavors infuse the bread during the baking and make it even more delicious, if possible. The oil also gives the focaccia a beautiful golden hue, making it food for the eyes as well.

This is pretty much a no-knead bread, made using the same technique from America's Test Kitchen that I used in my last focaccia recipe, so it's quite easy to make as well. I know you’re just raring to read the recipe so I won’t keep you from it anymore. Next, watch out for my dessert recipe for our Valentine’s Day countdown series: a chocolatey treat you will not be able to resist.

Enjoy, all!

Whole-Wheat Foccacia

(Makes one large loaf or two small ones)

Ingredients:

1 cup sourdough

3 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup vital wheat gluten (if you can't find this, substitute one more cup of the whole-wheat with all-purpose)

2 tsp active dry yeast

Salt to taste

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 1/4 cups warm water

For the topping:

2 tbsp finely minced rosemary

1 large clove of garlic, finely minced

1 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Mix the toppings together in a small bowl and set aside.

Mix the yeast in 1/2 cup of water and set aside to froth for five minutes.

After five minutes, add the sourdough to a large bowl. Then add the flours, oil, and the remaining water and mix with a wooden spoon or in the bowl of a stand mixer until everything comes together. This is a very sticky dough at this stage, but that is what will make this focaccia light and airy.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in an oven with the pilot light on or in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours or until it has doubled in size.

Using an oiled spatula, turn the dough over on itself in the bowl for a total of 10 times. You don't want to deflate the dough too much so don't knead it by hand.

Turn the dough over into a large baking pan (15 by 10 inches) sprinkled with some coarse salt. Or divide in half and place each half in a 9-inch cake tin. (I used a glass baking dish which wasn't such a good idea, because the baked bread was a bear to unmold. I'd advise using a metal pan)

Press the dough gently out from the center so it reaches the sides of the pan.

Cover the pan or pans with plastic wrap and place in the oven with the pilot on for another hour or until the dough has doubled.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees at least 30 minutes before baking.

Using a fork, prick the dough all over to remove any bubbles on top. Don't go heavy-handed because you don't want to deflate the dough.

Brush the top of the bread with the rosemary-olive oil mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Remove the focaccia pan or pans from the oven and let stand on a rack for five minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and continue to cool on the rack.

**
This focaccia goes to Manasi's I Must Make That event. It also includes a giveaway from CupoNation. Head over to Manasi's blog, A Cook at Heart, for some delicious food, a lot of it Indian, a lot of it kid-friendly, and for the entertaining stories she pens alongside her recipes.

Chickpea and Kale Stew with Indian Spices

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:12:20 PST

In winter, the body simply craves comfort: sweaters and blankets, fuzzy slippers, a crackling fireplace, and a bowl of hot, delicious stew to warm the tummy.

My Chickpea and Kale Stew, simmered with Indian spices, does more than warm the tummy though. It delights your tastebuds with the eclectic flavors of toothy kale, succulent sweet potato, vibrant garlic, and tangy lime. And then it goes and turns your body into a lean, mean, fat-burning machine. How's that for perfection?

I used my pressure cooker to give me a head-start on this recipe on a busy weeknight. All I did was cook the kale and the chickpeas together until both were tender and perfect. To add to the convenience I used frozen kale, although fresh kale would also work great here. And by all means, use canned chickpeas if you want to.

I've been sharing Valentine's Day recipes on this blog for the last few days and there is more to come, but I wanted to take a little break with this everyday comfort food. If you live in the northeast, I hope you are taking all the precautions you can against the nasty blizzard heading your way.

A lovely weekend to all!

Chickpea and Kale Stew with Indian Spices

Ingredients:

1 cup dry chickpeas

1 16-oz package of chopped kale

2 large sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp grated ginger

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 heaping tbsp sambar powder

2 dry red chillies (optional)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp coriander powder

1/2 cup canned coconut milk

1 tsp canola or other vegetable oil

Juice of 1 lemon

Pressure-cook the chickpeas and kale together until tender. If you don't have a pressure cooker, soak the chickpeas overnight and then place them in a pot with the kale (use fresh kale if you don't want to use the frozen). Cover with water and cook about 45 minutes to an hour or until the chickpeas are tender.

Heat the oil in a separate pot and add the cumin seeds.

When they sputter, add the onions and red chillies and saute until they start to brown, about 3-4 minutes.

Add the ginger and garlic and saute for a few more seconds.

Add the sambar powder, turmeric, and coriander powder. Mix well and then add the sweet potatoes.

Saute the sweet potatoes for five minutes or until they start to soften. Now add the chickpeas and kale and any stock from cooking the chickpeas, and bring to a boil. If the mixture is too dry, add water.

Cover the pot and cook for another 10 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are really tender.

Add the coconut milk and lemon juice. Stir well and turn off before the stew comes to a boil.

Serve hot over some rice or bulgur or couscous.

Enjoy, all!

Almond Pancakes: Countdown to Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:44:43 PST

Breakfast on Valentine's Day should be as delicious as romance and as perfect as love.

My Multigrain Almond Pancakes are made with three different kinds of flours-- barley, spelt, and whole-wheat-- but you could easily substitute with other flours like oat flour or even a gluten-free baking mix. But here's what makes them really special: I add to them some almond paste, almond milk, and a few chopped almonds, ingredients that make them tender, nutty, extra-flavorful, and healthy, of course.

Although I meant to focus mainly on (Indian) dinner foods for this series as we countdown to Valentine's Day, I couldn't resist the idea of throwing in a hearty-- and heart-healthy-- breakfast with the added mojo of the very aphrodisiacal almond. Here's a nut that has been long considered a fertility symbol and is even heart-shaped (kinda). What's more, it is packed with energizing protein, is certified heart-healthy, and you really don't need an excuse to eat it, do you? All the wholegrain and multigrain flour in these pancakes is just more goodness for your heart.

I wish I had one of those heart-shaped molds so I could have shaped these pancakes into little hearts (cheesy, but fun!), but I didn't so I didn't. I served these with some pure maple syrup and chopped almonds, but you might want to try them with my Apricot-Walnut Syrup for more nutty, fruity goodness.

More romantic goodness coming up soon. Enjoy, all!

Multigrain Almond Pancakes

(Makes 10 pancakes)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup spelt flour

1/2 cup barley flour

1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

In another bowl mix together:

2 tbsp flaxmeal

6 tbsp warm water

1 1/2 cups almond or other nondairy milk

1/4 cup almond butter

1/4 cup almonds, crushed or chopped into small pieces

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Add the well-mixed wet ingredients to the dry. Mix the batter until everything is just moistened. The batter should still be lumpy.

Heat a griddle until water sprinkled on the surface evaporates rightaway.

Spray with some vegetable oil. Use a 1/4-cup measure to pour out each pancake.

Cook until the sides start to dry and bubbles appear on top. Flip over and cook for a minute.

Stack and serve piping hot with or without some vegan butter and syrup.

Strawberry and Boondi Raita: Countdown to Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 06:00:08 PST

If all the love in the universe could be represented by a single fruit, which one would it be? An apple or a strawberry?

The apple may have the Biblical advantage, but my bet is on the strawberry. This brilliant-red berry with its intoxicating fragrance and divine taste has the love advantage hands-down. It is juicy, sweet with just the right hint of sassy sour as love should be, it makes a perfect pairing with that other lovers' favorite-- chocolate-- and it even looks like a tiny little heart.

So here is my third Valentine's Day recipe gift to you as we continue our countdown to the big day: Strawberry-Boondi Raita, a perfect accompaniment to the Asparagus and Saffron Biryani and the Pink Lentils with Roasted Mushrooms that I've just shared with you.

Staying with our theme of arousing and heart-healthy foods for our Valentine's Day meal, strawberries have been considered aphrodisiacs since ancient times, and they are nourishing food for the old ticker. Like all berries they are packed with antioxidants and studies show they lower heart-disease risk. How much more perfect can this edible Valentine get?

I know that my raita is a rather counterintuitive use of strawberries-- as a savory side instead of a sweet dessert. But life -- and love-- should be full of pleasant little surprises. And the succulent sweet-sour strawberries are a perfect foil to the slightly spicy crunch of the boondi.

Boondi, if you are not familiar with Indian snacks, are tiny little chickpea-flour balls that are available in clear plastic packets at any Indian grocery store. They make for a delicious snack, but they are also great in raitas where they are often used. Boondi is available both plain and with some masala added, and you can use either in the recipe depending on your taste. I like the hint of spice in this raita.

For the "yogurt" in this recipe-- yogurt is the base of all raitas-- I use my very simple and very delicious tofu yogurt. When I serve this to guests they can never tell the difference. In fact, Desi-- also an omnivore-- prefers this to the regular yogurt.

Next, stay tuned for a gorgeous breakfast to get your Valentine's Day to a raring start.

Strawberry-Boondi Raita

(Makes eight servings)

Ingredients:

For the "yogurt," you need 1 tetrapack of silken tofu (12 oz) + 1/4 cup nondairy milk + juice of 1 lemon + salt to taste.

Blend the ingredients together to a smooth, yogurt-like consistency.

Add to this:

1 tsp crushed, roasted cumin seeds

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

1 cup of thinly sliced strawberries.

1 cup boondis

Mix well. Keep in mind that the boondis soften the longer they stand in the yogurt, so if you want the boondis to be crunchy, mix them in right before serving.

Garnish with a couple of strawberry "hearts".

Enjoy, all!

Pink Lentils with Roasted Mushrooms: Countdown to Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:25:05 PST

Continuing with our Valentine's Day countdown, today I have for you a delicious -- and perfect-- accompaniment to the Asparagus and Saffron Biryani I last shared: Pink Lentils with Roasted Mushrooms.

Mushrooms are prized by vegetarians for their earthy, addictive flavor but also for their satisfying texture that makes them a great substitute for meat. Legend or lore has it that mushrooms have been, for centuries and by many cultures, considered a prized aphrodisiac. They are also low in calories, high in fiber and potassium, and packed with antioxidants, all of which makes them great for your heart too.

Adding lentils to mushrooms sends the heart healthiness of this dish shooting into the stratosphere. Lentils, as you already know, are one of the healthiest foods on the planet. They are not only delicious, but they are also brimming with fiber, protein and friendly carbs. And all of this goodness comes with almost no fat attached. How great is that? Keep in mind that pink lentils cook up yellow, so your dish won't actually be pink (wouldn't that have been great, given the theme?)

These are busy days so I cannot chat for long, but stay tuned for more recipes in this series with more arousingly heart-healthy foods that will make Valentine's Day just that much more special.

Enjoy, all!

Pink Lentils with Roasted Mushrooms

(Makes eight servings)

Ingredients:

1 cup pink lentils (masoor dal)

1 pound crimini mushrooms, quartered and then cut lengthwise once more so you have longish slivers

1 large onion, thinly sliced (optional. If you'd rather not eat onions on the big day, no worries. This dish is still delicious without them. Just skip the step that involves caramelizing the onions)

1 tsp sugar

1 + 1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 + 2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 tbsp garam masala powder

Salt and black pepper to taste

3 tsp canola or other vegetable oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup minced coriander leaves

Heat 1 tsp oil in a heavy-bottom pan and add 2 tsp of garlic and 1 tsp red pepper flakes. Saute for a few seconds, then add the lentils. Stir well, then add 3 cups of water.

Bring to a boil, then place a lid on it and cook until the lentils are really tender, about 30 minutes. (If you have a pressure cooker, you can prepare the lentils in it and cut down on the time required).

Stir in salt and pepper and reserve.

In another pan, heat 1 tsp oil and add the onions and sugar. Cook on a medium flame, stirring, until the onions are caramelized and golden-brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the onions and reserve.

In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and add the remaining 2 tsp of garlic and the remaining red pepper flakes.

Add the mushrooms. Stir-fry the mushrooms until they soften. Add salt and black pepper and garam masala and continue cooking until the mushrooms are cooked but still have a great bite to them.

Set aside a few mushrooms for garnish and mix the dal wth the remaining mushrooms. Bring the mixture to a boil. Check seasoning, mix in fresh coriander leaves and lemon juice.

Top with the mushrooms and caramelized onions. Serve hot with the biryani.

Asparagus and Saffron Biryani: Countdown to Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:30:23 PST

If you really could find your way to your lover's heart through their stomach, what would you feed them on the most romantic of all days?

Reader Samantha asked me for an Indian vegan menu that she and a friend could put together for their boyfriends on Valentine's Day. So I put my thinking toque on and came up some dishes perfect for marrying romance with love: sensual and luxurious foods made with ingredients known to be powerful aphrodisiacs that are also very heart-healthy. What better way to show your lover how much you love the heart that loves you back?

Starting today, as we approach Valentine's Day, I will share with you these recipes one at a time. There are entrees, side dishes, desserts, and just about everything you'll need to keep your love coming back for more (and I'm not just talking about food).

Valentine's Day is an extra-special day for me because it's the day I married my one true love -- the guy you all know as Desi. Although I definitely didn't find my way to his heart through his stomach, because I didn't know how to cook when we met and even after we got married, nothing delights me more than when he takes a bite of something I cooked and loves it. And I can tell you that the Asparagus and Saffron Biryani that I am sharing today to open this series definitely put the twinkle in his eye.

Asparagus and saffron are both ingredients that pack a powerful love punch. Both have been prized for centuries as aphrodisiacs because they contain powerful, libido-stirring nutrients. Asparagus, besides being exquisitely delicious, also packs tons of healthy fiber, potassium and folate, making it a heart star. And saffron, often called the most expensive of spices but really not that expensive (you do want to splurge a little on your favorite person this day, don't you?), adds a beautiful golden color and just that right touch of sophistication and provocative flavor to the biryani.

My Asparagus and Saffron Biryani is light and fresh and not weighed down by heavy masalas: perfect for Valentine's Day when you definitely don't want your sweetie to doze off after a divine dinner. Plus all of the recipes I will share in this series, including this one, are designed to be cooked in minutes (although no one will guess that), because you don't want to be spend the whole day in the kitchen and get so tired that you have to feign a headache at crunch time.

The recipe's next. Enjoy, all!

Asparagus and Saffron Biryani

(Makes eight servings; Prep time about 30-45 minutes)

Ingredients:

For the rice:

1 1/2 cups basmati rice, soaked in cold water for half an hour, then drained

2 1/2 cups water

2 dry bay leaves

4 cloves

4 pods of green cardamom

2 1-inch sticks of cinnamon

2 generous pinches of saffron

Salt to taste

Place the water in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add all the spices, including saffron, and salt to taste. Bring the water to a boil, then add the drained rice.

When the water begins to boil, slap on the lid, turn the heat to low, and let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Turn off heat.

For the sauce:

1 pound asparagus, cut lengthwise into 1-inch pieces (cut on a bias, or diagonally, for a pretty look). Trim the asparagus first by removing the hard ends. The easiest way to do this is to hold either end of the asparagus with your fingertips and bending it firmly. The stalk with automatically snap at the point where the hard end meets the tender one. You can save the tough parts to make vegetable stock.

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp vegetable oil (olive or canola will do)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp black cumin seeds (double the regular cumin if you cannot find these)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tsp minced garlic (yes, I know it's garlic and we are talking Valentine's Day, but this much garlic will not foul your breath, especially when it's cooked, and do you know garlic is also an aphrodisiac?)

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup vegetable stock (use water if you have to, but the stock tastes much better)

Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a saucepan large enough to hold the sauce and the rice.

Add the cumin and black cumin. When they sputter, add the onions and some salt. Saute until the onions start to soften, then add the garlic and ginger and red pepper flakes. Saute for another minute.

Add the asparagus stalks and stir well. Add the lemon juice so the stalks remain bright green.

Add the stock and when it starts to simmer, place a lid on the saucepan and let the asparagus cook for about 5-7 minutes on medium-low heat until it's cooked but still firm with a good bite to it. You don't want soggy asparagus in this dish.

Add the cooked rice to the asparagus and stir everything together, very gently so as to not break the grains of rice. It is best to do this with a fork-- use a "fluffing" motion with the rice instead of a stirring motion.

Serve hot. And stay tuned for my next Valentine's Day Countdown recipe, yet another luscious yet heart-healthy dish made also with a powerful aphrodisiac -- and vegan-- ingredient.

Vegan Mung and Rice Pudding With Coconut and Saffron

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:27:43 PST

Here's a kheer (an Indian pudding) that my Konkani parents make for Makar Sankranti, a celebration in their part of India that falls on the same day as Pongal.

The recipe is very similar to Sakkarai Pongal, except that my parents' version has some coconut milk, a staple of the Konkan region where coconut trees grow abundantly along the coast. Coconut adds a unique flavor all its own which is particularly great when you remove ghee from the equation, as we do for our vegan version. The coconut also keeps the kheer moist and fluid even after you refrigerate it.

Another flavor boost comes from saffron, those spicy stamens so prized in Indian cooking. The saffron also gives the dish a gorgeous golden color.

It has been a week since Pongal and Makar Sankranti, but it' never too late to eat something as delicious as this kheer. On to the recipe. Hope everyone's feeling well and rested after a long weekend. Have a lovely day, all!

Mung and Rice Kheer

Ingredients:

3/4 cup rice

1/4 cup mung dal

1 cup almond milk

1 cup coconut milk

3/4 to 1 cup grated jaggery

1 tsp powdered cardamom seeds

10-15 cashew nuts, broken into pieces

A generous pinch of saffron, soaked in a couple of tablespoons of almond milk

Boil the rice and mung dal together, preferably in a pressure cooker, until really soft. I added about 3 cups of water to the pressure cooker, which gave me the right consistency.

Add the almond milk and half the coconut milk to the rice-mung mixture and set it on a low flame.

Add the grated jaggery and stir well.

Cook on a low flame until the raw jaggery smell has dissipated. This took about half an hour for me. The pongal should not be dry, but creamy and slightly fluid. If it gets too dry, add some more almond milk. Stir in the saffron with the almond milk it was soaked in and the remaining coconut milk.

Heat 1 tbsp canola oil

Add 1 tsp powdered cardamom seeds

10-15 cashew nuts, broken into pieces

Toss until the nuts are lightly browned. Add to the rice.

Stir well. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Crispy Pongal Cakes With Sweet Potato Gotsu: Revitalizing a South Indian Classic

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:27:59 PST

I am too ~~lazy~~ easygoing to keep tabs on when Indian festivals come and go, but thanks to our families back home it is impossible for us to ever miss one.

Every year, just before Diwali, my dad on the phone from Goa starts counting down for my benefit the days leading up to this mother of all Hindu festivals. Patiently (and probably concerned for my agnostic soul) he will explain to me what each day of Diwali signifies and the traditions to be observed for each of those days.

"On Narakchaturdashi, get up early and have an oil bath," he will direct.

Dad, I am NOT smearing myself in oil early in the morning-- or anytime of the day. (Italicised, because these answers are strictly in my head. For his benefit I mumble something incoherent.)

"Don't forget to light lamps around the house for Dhanatrayodashi," he will go on.

Oh, gee, whatever happened to those colorful little earthen lamps I picked up at the Indian store 10 years ago and never saw again?

"And be sure to place a lamp and some flowers before a picture of Laxmi for Laxmi pooja."

Picture of Laxmi? Maybe I can light a candle before the carved-wood statue of an unidentified Indian goddess that sits in my living room --strictly as an objet d'art -- although Desi might kill me.

It's the same thing all over again with Desi's relatives and Pongal.

Last weekend, on the phone from Pune, Lalitha Manni, my sweet but ever-zealous sister-in-law, reminded me that I should cook Venn Pongal and Sarkarai Pongal on Monday, to celebrate the coming of the Tamil new year, also called Pongal. She went on to tell me how much Desi loves both-- never mind the fact that by now I have a pretty good idea of what Desi loves.

"I am not making any pongal for you if your relatives don't stop hassling me," I threatened Desi afterwards.

"Well, maybe she still thinks that since you're the only non-Tamil in the family she has to make an extra effort."

"If she comes here maybe I could teach her a thing or two in the kitchen," I shot back.

Truth is, though, it is hard to annoy me out of an opportunity to make Pongal, both the sweet and savory kind, because this is exactly the kind of food I love cooking and eating. The most magical thing about Pongal is its simplicity: both the sweet (Sarkarai) Pongal and the savory (Venn) Pongal start out with the same, rather unglamorous base of mung dal and rice. But the alchemy of just a few different ingredients added to each transforms them into two totally different, totally sublime dishes.

Because I usually enjoy cooking more when I can change things up a bit, I decided to give my Venn Pongal a delicious twist: I shaped the Pongal into little cakes, coated them with some rava or sooji (the Indian answer to breadcrumbs), and then pan-fried them so they developed a crispy skin while remaining soft and gooey on the inside. Kinda like risotto cakes, because Venn Pongal has the same consistency as a risotto. I then served my Pongal Cakes smothered in some vibrant, gorgeous Sweet Potato Gotsu, another twist on the dal dish typically served with Pongal and usually made with eggplant and green peppers. I've shared that version earlier and you can find it here.

The Pongal Cakes are delicious: it's like comfort food wrapped in a warm blanket and fuzzy slippers. Best part is, it is still a healthy dish: there is very little oil in this recipe, and -- bonus-- we leave out the artery-clogging ghee in our vegan version.

Here's the recipe. It's also a great way to revitalize some leftover Pongal. My next post will be about the other Pongal-- the sweet one-- also with a slight variation on the original.

A happy Pongal to all the readers of Holy Cow!

Pongal Cakes

Ingredients:

1 cup rice (I used Basmati but use any kind, medium being the best choice. You want your Pongal, like your risotto, to be starchy so that it ends up being nice and gooey)

1/2 cup mung dal (the yellow kind)

1/4 tsp turmeric

2 tsp cumin seeds, coarsely pounded

1 tbsp grated ginger

1/4 cup cashew pieces, broken into small bits

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp oil

Salt to taste

1/2 cup rava or sooji

About 1 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil to pan-fry the cakes.

Cook the rice and dal together until very soft. I usually do this in a pressure cooker (I add four cups of water and let the cooker go for five minutes after it reaches pressure). But you can also do this on the stovetop. It will take much longer, but it will get there. Make sure you monitor it, like you would a risotto, and add water if it dries up. Pongal by itself can be more gooey, but because you want to shape this into cakes you want a slightly firmer (albeit not dry) consistency.

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the cumin, pepper, ginger and cashew and stir until the cashew pieces just start to turn golden. Add this to the rice-mung dal mixture and stir it in until everything's well mixed.

Once the mixture cools, start shaping your cakes. I press them into balls and then flatten them on the palm of my hand. You don't need a separate binder-- the dal and rice are glutinous enough to hold firm.

Place the rava in a dish and dredge each cake so you have a light coating on each.

Heat the oil in a cast-iron or nonstick skillet and add the oil, spreading it evenly in a thin layer.

Pan-fry the cakes, about two to three minutes each side, or until a golden-brown crust forms.

Serve hot with the gotsu (recipe below) or with chutney.

Sweet Potato Gotsu

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mung dal

2 sweet potatoes, chopped into 1/2-inch dice

2 tsp oil

1 tbsp grated ginger

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp rasam powder

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 green chillies

1 sprig curry leaves

1 tsp mustard seeds

Heat 1 tsp of oil and add the onions.

Stir-fry until the onions start to soften, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the curry leaves, tomatoes and sweet potatoes and stir. Add the ginger, green chillies, and rasam powder and stir together for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the mung dal and stir well. Now add enough water to cover the dal, season with some salt, and pressure cook or let it cook on the stovetop until the dal and vegetables are really soft.

Mash the dal with the back of a ladle. Add water if the mixture is too dry.

Heat the remaining tsp of oil and add the mustard seeds. When they sputter, add the curry leaves. Stir for a few seconds and then add this tempering (or tadka) to the dal mixture.

Add more salt if needed. Serve hot.
**
This lentil entry goes to The Well-Seasoned Cook's My Legume Love Affair, the wonderful -- and healthful-- event created and hosted by Susan.

**
This regal bird was taking a break on our backyard fence one fine morning last week. She's long flown on to greater adventures, no doubt, but Desi trapped her forever in these gorgeous shots.

Giveaway Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:47:53 PST

Dropping in briefly to announce the winner of the Rotito Rolling Board set giveaway, picked by this really cool random number generator at random.org. And it is....

Shveta, who left the following comment:

Shared on Twitter! I have just recently actually considered making roti on my own, and yes, my mom's board had a leg that always came loose.

Shveta, congratulations, and hope this will get you started on making rotis on your own. Please email me at MyVeganWorld@Gmail.com with your mailing information. The set will ship to you directly from GitaDini.

Thanks to everyone who participated. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Pappardelle With A Creamy Butternut Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:26:41 PST

I made this sauce in my head on the way home from work last night. I was feeling sick as a dog and I knew there was nothing in the refrigerator that I could reasonably disguise as dinner. Takeout could be an option, but salty, greasy food is not exactly a good choice when one is under the weather.

It was the pantry to the rescue. I knew I had some beautiful pappardelle pasta, some canned chickpeas, and a bag of frozen butternut squash cubes that I had picked up at the supermarket some weeks back. The idea of marrying the pasta and the chickpeas with a silken butternut sauce got me so excited, I almost felt better again.

I am a great believer in keeping frozen vegetables on hand: as much as I love fresh veggies and the peeling and scraping and dicing that accompanies them (honest, I do), I am not above grabbing convenience when I can get it. And there are plenty of studies that show that frozen veggies actually preserve nutrients better than fresh ones do because they are usually frozen right after picking. Fresh veggies, on the other hand, sit in trucks and supermarket shelves and then your refrigerator, leaching nutrients until you get around to them. The frozen stuff is also a busy cook's best friend because you don't have to worry it'll spoil on you before you have a chance to cook it.

I knew that I wouldn't have to spend the evening slaving over the stove for this pasta. Frozen butternut squash cooks in a hurry and in no time at all I was blending it with some garlic, onions, and sage. Sage, incidentally, is the perfect herb to pair with butternut. The smoky savoriness of the sage is just perfect with the nutty sweetness of the squash. If you've never paired them before, try it. You'll be a changed person.

So here's the recipe for my Pappardelle with Butternut Squash Sauce. It goes from start to done in under 30 minutes. I mixed in some avocado for more veggie power and buttery flavor, sprinkled on some nutty sunflower seeds, and mixed in a few crunchy capers for a salty, tangy hit. It couldn't have been more perfect.

Pappardelle with Butternut Squash Sauce

(Makes 8-10 servings)

Ingredients:

1 pound pappardelle pasta (can use linguine or even smaller pastas like farfalle). Cook the pasta in salted water according to package instructions until al dente.

1 28-oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 20-ounce bag of frozen butternut squash cubes (use fresh, if you prefer. This would roughly equal one medium butternut squash. Your cook time could be a little longer).

1 large onion, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tsp crumbled dry sage

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp ground black pepper

Salt to taste

1 tsp olive oil and some extra virgin olive oil for sprinkling

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

2 avocados, finely diced

2 heaped tablespoons of capers

Heat the oil in a saucepan and when it shimmers, add the onions and saute until they start to soften and brown a little, about five minutes.

Add the garlic, red pepper, black pepper and sage and stir to mix. Saute for another minute or two until the raw garlic smell disappears.

Add the cubes of butternut squash and cook, stirring, until the squash is really soft and breaks down.

Add salt to taste, let the mixture cool a little, then place in a blender with enough water to make a smooth puree (about 1 cup).

Blend the butternut squash into a silken puree.

Transfer the puree back to the saucepan and heat through.

Add the pasta, chickpeas, lemon juice, sunflower seeds and capers and toss together. Serve sprinkled with some diced avocado and a few drops of extra virgin olive oil.

Enjoy!

**
A quick reminder that the giveaway for the Rotito Rolling Set from GitaDini closes by the end of day today. If you haven't already added your name, do so asap so you can be rolling some scrumptious rotis, parathas and pastry dough in no time. Read the post carefully for instructions on how to participate.

Easy Mushroom Biryani: A Low-Fat Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:28:18 PST

The other day, as the fragrance of my easy and quick Mushroom Biryani filled the kitchen, I was back for a moment in my aunt's kitchen in Bombay.

Akka, my dad's sister in whose Vile Parle home I spent many wonderful summers as a girl, was at the stove, frying up the onions for her mutton biryani in a small Indian wok, known as a kadhai. My cousin Tai was sitting on the cold, red, cement-tiled floor at an adoli, a cutting implement often used in Indian homes instead of a knife, cutting coriander leaves into lacy fronds with a deftness I have never mastered. A plane closing in to land at the Santa Cruz airport just a couple of miles away drowned out, for a moment, the sounds of gods alternately battling and pontificating on my uncle's favorite Sunday morning television show, Mahabharat.

Akka passed away last year, and it's been a long time since I've physically been in my hometown, Bombay. But the food I cook in my kitchen often takes me back, like a time machine, to her and into other long-lost corners of the past.

The smell of cumin sputtering in oil reminds me of the swell of excitement I felt the first time I visited Delhi along with other students in my class at journalism school. We were about to start the most exciting trip of our lifetimes thus far. We were going to meet leaders of top political parties, visit the pink-marble building of the Indian parliament, and explore the capital city. I don't remember many details of the central government dorm we were staying at, after a day and night's train journey from Pune, but the overpowering scent of burnt cumin floating atop a dal that we were served for dinner is seared forever in my memory.

The scent of turmeric in a curry reminds me of the lunch I ate at the US Embassy in London, along with journalists from around the world on a fellowship. The curry we were served was nice enough although really heavy on the turmeric. But what was even more memorable was the American diplomat who shared our table. He had somehow gotten a dab of butter on his forehead and as the meal progressed the butter slowly melted and ran down his face and his nose, even as he talked vigorously, completely oblivious to the butter and to the inadvertent entertainment he was providing the rest of us (we weren't being cruel-- we just didn't know how to tell him).

Rolling a paratha reminds me of the first recipe I ever cooked for Desi-- an Aloo Paratha. Each time I make parathas now, he reminds me, to this day, that he nearly starved that afternoon as he waited for me to turn out one that was fit to eat.

Among all the things food is, it is a wonderful reminder of the paths our lives have taken. Its effect is certainly not strong enough to shape lives-- unless you happened to choose a career in food, perhaps-- but it often becomes a delicious marker for life's milestones. The best part is, it doesn't even really have to be delicious to be memorable, although that doesn't hurt.

What are the foods that mark the milestones of your life? I'd love to hear.

***
I adapted my recipe today from the Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor's version of a low-fat fish biryani. I love biryanis-- who doesn't?-- but as anyone who's made one knows, it is not the stuff of weeknights. When I saw Kapoor's recipe I was thrilled because it appeared really easy to put together. You just mix everything in a pot, no separate sauteing for each ingredient required, and there's definitely no grinding and blending involved. It doesn't get any better for my time-strapped kitchen.

I made a few changes, besides the fish which I substituted with the mushrooms. I also subbed the yogurt-- an ingredient that adds a little extra something to any biryani-- with coconut milk. And for good measure, I threw in a few handfuls of green salad leafies that had been sitting around in my fridge and weren't looking too, ahem, lively. You can add other vegetables to this recipe as well, like bell peppers or carrots-- anything that doesn't take ages to cook. If it does, precook it before adding it to the biryani.

One of the best things about this recipe is, it has no added fat (there is some fat in coconut milk and in the fried onions, if you choose to use those, but no added oil). So in addition to being delicious and easy to make, this biryani is also good for you. And how can you argue with that?

So here's the recipe for an easy, low-fat Mushroom Biryani, a flavorful, delicious, and vegan treat for any weeknight or weekend meal. It is good enough to mark one of life's milestones.

Enjoy, all!

Easy Mushroom Biryani

(Serves six)

For the rice:

1 cup Basmati rice. Soak the rice for 30 minutes and then wash thoroughly to remove as much of the starch as you can.

3 cloves

3 pods of green cardamom

2 1-inch pieces of cinnamon

1-2 bay leaves

In a saucepan, place 1 cup of water, the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaves. Add salt to taste.

Pour in the drained rice and place over a medium fire. When the water starts to boil, cover the saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and then turn down the heat to the lowest setting.

Let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.

For the sauce:

4 cups chopped mushrooms. Quarter the really large ones and halve the smaller ones.

2 cups of quick-cooking leafy greens (don't use kale or collard which take a long time to cook. Spinach, lettuce, chard are all good).

1 cup coconut milk

Juice of 2 lemons

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 heaping tbsp garam masala or biryani masala. If using biryani masala, you may want to cut back on the cayenne because these masalas can sometimes be really spicy.

1 tbsp ginger paste

1 tbsp garlic paste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp cayenne or paprika

2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup coriander leaves, minced

1/4 cup dill or mint, minced

Salt to taste

1/2 cup fried onions (optional, but these are always a key ingredient in biryanis because they give great flavor. You can use French's or the ones you can buy in a packet at the Indian grocery store)

Mix all the ingredients together in a heavy-bottomed pan with a tight-fitting lid. Turn on the heat and saute until the mushrooms are almost cooked.

Pour the cooked rice over the mushroom mixture and spread into an even layer.

Sprinkle the top with a little coconut milk, if you desire

Cover and let the biryani cook on a low flame for about 15 minutes.

Turn off the heat and let the biryani sit for another 15-20 minutes for the flavors to merge.

Serve hot by itself or with a light curry, like my Tomato Curry.

**

If you haven't entered the giveaway for the Rotito rolling board set that I announced last week on this blog, you are not too late. I plan to announce the winner later this week, no later than Friday, so until I do you are welcome to enter. See the post for details on how to enter. Good luck!

Gobi (Cauliflower) Parathas With Zucchini Raita, and a Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:47:53 PST

This giveaway is now closed.

The sleigh bells are done ring-ting-ting-a-ling and all you are left with now is that jiggle in your waistline from all those holiday goodies. So what are you to do? Exactly what you do every year this time of the year: resolve to lose weight. And to get you started, I have for you the perfectly low-fat, perfectly nutritious meal: Gobi Parathas with Zucchini Raita.

The time after the holidays is always a little depressing. Suddenly there are no more lazy days with family and friends to look forward to, all the colorful lights and Christmas trees twinkling in windows are gone, and the most wonderful time of the year is a whole year away. But the New Year also brings with it a chance for renewal and as trite as those resolutions seem, we all can't help but make a few.

My resolution for the year is to go through life at a more conscious pace. As much as I love the idea of taking things slow and absorbing the beauty around me each day, I get caught up, inevitably, in the stresses of day-to-day living. And before I can realize it, some of the best moments I could have grabbed and held on to have passed me by. As have the people I know would have been good friends had I spent a little more time getting to know them, and events that I could have enjoyed far more had I not been busy looking at my watch.

My other resolution is to meet up with all of you more often. The last year was a tough one for me-- I went through a difficult time with Lucy's illness followed by a job change, and as a result Holy Cow! did not get the attention from me that she deserved. This year I intend to remedy that by posting new recipes more frequently.

I wanted to start the New Year also with a little gift for you -- a fabulous giveaway of an essential kitchen tool. Read on to get more details about that after the recipe post.
**

Now on to the Gobi Parathas which are a great way to add the rather unglamorous yet incredibly nutritious cauliflower to your diet. Cauliflower has potent, cancer-fighting properties that it shares with its cruciferous cousins, namely broccoli, cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Collard Greens, and Kale. But it can also be a challenging veggie to cook, because it is rather bland and, if overcooked, it can turn into an unappetizing mush.

For these parathas, I marry the cauliflower with a blend of spices and then envelop it in some crispy whole-wheat dough. And then, just to make it all a little more perfect, I dunk it into some Zucchini Raita made with my tofu yogurt.

The Raita is a little different from your usual raitas -- I cook the zucchini into melt-in-the-mouth tenderness before adding to it the tofu yogurt. It is delicious, nutritious, and together with the parathas it makes for a high-protein meal perfect for weight loss.

On to the recipe now. Hope everyone has had a fabulous start to 2013 that will continue forever. Happy New Year, all!

Gobi Parathas

Ingredients:

For the dough:

2 cups whole-wheat flour (use durum atta flour if you have this, otherwise regular whole-wheat is fine)

1/2 tsp salt

Water

Place the flour in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix in the salt. With your hand or the dough hook, knead into a soft, pliable, but not sticky dough. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.

For the filling:

1/2 large head of cauliflower or 1 small head. Grate the cauliflower in a food processor or by hand into fine shreds.

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp paprika (use cayenne for more heat)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp ginger paste

1 tsp aamchoor (mango powder), optional

2 tbsp finely minced coriander leaves

2 tbsp finely minced dill

1 tsp canola or other vegetable oil

Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium-high heat and add the mustard seeds. When they sputter, add the grated ginger, coriander powder, turmeric, and chilli powder.

Mix quickly and then add the grated cauliflower and salt. Stir to mix thoroughly. We are cooking the cauliflower to get as much of the moisture out of it as possible, so do not cover it. Dehydrating the cauliflower will not only make it taste better in the paratha, it will also make it easier to roll the parathas out.

Stir the cauliflower frequently. A good way to tell that the cauliflower is done is when it starts to stick to the bottom of the saucepan. This should take about 15-20 minutes. Don't let it burn though.

Mix in the dill and coriander and add more salt if needed. Remove from the fire and allow to cool.

To roll out the parathas, divide the dough into 10 pieces.

Take each piece and roll it into a smooth ball in the palms of your hands. Using your fingers, or with a rolling pin, roll out each piece into a round, about 4 inches in diameter.

Now place some filling inside the circle. I like to stuff the parathas as much as I possibly can, to get the most flavor.

Gather the edges and pinch together at the top to seal into a dumpling. Press down the top.

Dust the round with some flour and roll out gently into a 6-7 inch circle. I like my parathas really thin, but traditionally they are rolled out fairly thick. If some filling squeezes out, don't panic. Just dust with some dry flour.

Heat a cast-iron or nonstick skillet. Place the paratha on the hot skillet. When it turns opaque and small bubbles appear, flip around. At this stage you can spray the parathas with some oil to make them really crispy.

Flip over again and cook both sides until golden-brown spots appear.

Serve piping hot.

Zucchini Raita

4 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 tsp vegetable oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp red chilli flakes (or powder)

Salt to taste

1/2 tetra pack of firm tofu blended with 1/2 cup nondairy milk and juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and then ground to a coarse powder

Heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the red chilli flakes and ginger, stir to mix, then add the zucchini and salt to taste.

Cook the zucchini, stirring frequently, until it is fairly soft.

Turn off the heat and let the zucchini cool. Mix with the tofu yogurt.

Sprinkle the cumin powder and mix. Check salt.

Enjoy!

**
GIVEAWAY!

To help you make your parathas, GitaDini, the makers of the awesome Rotito Rolling Board, are offering one of their Rotito Sets to a lucky reader of Holy Cow! See details below on how to enter.

The Rotito rolling board is a huge improvement on the traditional wooden rolling board that I (and most Indian cooks) have been used to. The rustic wooden boards almost always have uneven legs. In my kitchen, each time I made chapatis or parathas, I would have to deal with the board going clack-clack-clack as it danced on the countertop. The Rotito rolling board does away with this problem -- it has a circular base that grips the platform beautifully. What's more, it's sturdy, looks really cute, and I realized that after I am done rolling and cooking the parathas I can flip over the rolling board and use it as an attractive container to store and serve them (I don't know if the manufacturers intended this, but I love this feature).

And wait, it gets even better! The set comes with a wooden rolling pin and a neat stainless steel dusting flour container, evocative of those mom and grandmom used, that's just the right size to dip those parathas into as you roll them out.

To enter the giveaway for the awesome Rotito Rolling Board Set and get started on your parathas, all you have to do is:

1. Share this post on Facebook or Twitter.

2. Leave a message on this post telling me you did so.

I will announce the winner, picked at random, next week.

Please keep in mind that GitaDini can only ship in the United States for now.

Good luck, all!

Junk Food For the Vegan Soul

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:47:53 PST

Before you get started with New Year's resolutions about being good, here's a post about being bad. Really, really bad.

Oh, come on! I'm talking about food. This is a G-rated blog, y'know.

When people think about vegans, the first thing they imagine is a bunch of do-gooders who read every ingredient label twice and then once more, interrogate waiters as if they were accessories to murder, and in general subject themselves to absolute deprivation because we don't want to murder animals for food.

Worse, the world worries, we will force our food habits on them (I swear a new acquaintance rolled her eyes last week when I mentioned we choose a vegetarian-friendly restaurant for a lunch outing).

But we vegans like to play dangerous too. And yes, our decadence can often be, ahem, rather healthy, but there are lots of foods out there we love that qualify as total junk, even in the non-vegan world. And that, just before those resolutions kick in, is exactly what this fun post is all about: it's my rather counterintuitive list of five of my most favorite-- and widely available -- junk food splurges that are also inadvertently vegan. Meaning the manufacturers never intended them to be vegan and they are not labeled as such, but they just ended up being so.

This is a short list because it's just mine, but for more inspiration check out PETA's long list of foods you can buy off supermarket shelves that are also "accidentally" vegan. If you are a non-vegan who glances at this list and wonders if all this stuff isn't obviously vegan, trust me when I say that readymade foods that may seem very obviously animal-free are very often not. Do you know, for instance, that even after being sued for its beef-fat-fried French Fries way back when, McDonald's continues to use in its fries a flavoring derived from beef and from milk products, making this potato product entirely non-vegetarian?

I also want to clarify that I am not endorsing the products I have listed here, or encouraging people to eat unhealthy. I like eating good-for-me stuff too, most of the time. But I do believe, with all my heart, that the occasional french fry (although not a McDonald's one) does more good than harm to a human soul.

So here goes, not in any particular order:

1. Oreos: I love these delicious little black-and-white nuggets and although I don't eat them as often as I'd love to, I would probably put them on my list of foods I'd want to eat on my death bed. A word of caution, though: I learned this when I posted my Oreo Cake that although these delicious sandwich cookies are vegan in the United States, they could contain whey in other countries in Europe and Asia where they are also manufactured and sold.

2. Ghirardelli White Mocha Hot Chocolate: I love nothing more than to snuggle into bed with a cup of hot chocolate, and what's better than white hot chocolate? This is by far the most delicious drink I have ever had in my life-- mix it with some soymilk and you are ready to go to heaven.

3. Lay's Potato Chips: I love potatoes. There, I've said it. I don't care if they sit on my hips for the rest of my life, because what would good would life be without the occasional plunge into a crackling bag of crispy, salty, absolutely incredible potato chips?

4. Cinnamon Life cereal: This may qualify as breakfast food, but let's not kid ourselves: with a ton of sugar and almost no protein and fiber, this is not a healthy splurge. But it's SO good.

5. Fritos: Deep-fried corn? Bring it on!

So what are your guilty pleasures that were never meant to be vegan but are? Chime in!

Eggless Broccoli-Tomato Frittata from Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen: Cook That Book

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:29:10 PST

For as long as I can remember, I have loved the idea of food as medicine. Although I am guilty of stuffing my own face with more junk than I should (think french fries, pizza, and crispy, salty snacks--ooh, where can I get some now?), I am an unabashed dictator when it comes to laying down -- and enforcing-- healthy-eating rules for my family.

Lucky for me, Desi is mostly an unfussy eater with a tendency to choose healthy foods, except sweets of any kind which he's crazy about. Opie, who I transitioned to an extremely healthy, homemade diet that is head and shoulders above any store-bought food, truly, madly and deeply loves mealtimes. Pie, my finicky kitty, has disdainfully rejected all of my attempts so far to feed her unprocessed, homemade food, but I'm not giving up.

So earlier this month, when I got a review request for the new book, Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen, I accepted without a second thought. I have a long association with this killer and I'd do anything to kick its ass. Cancer snatched my mom from me when I was just seven. Over the last two years, it has claimed three of my animal family members-- my dogs Freddie and Lucy, and my cat Pubm.

Global statistics on cancer are alarming. You'd think that with all the knowledge we have today, and medical advances, we would have this disease under control. But the World Health Organization actually predicts that cancer deaths will nearly double between 2007 and 2030. In developing countries like India, which once had low rates of cancer, the number of new cases is increasing at a rapid clip.

While some cancers have a genetic risk-- meaning you have a greater likelihood of contracting it if a close relative had it-- the comforting fact is that most cancers can be pushed away by following healthy lifestyles, like not smoking, exercising, and following a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, beans, and grains. Such is the diet promoted by the gals behind Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen, Annette Ramke and Kendall Scott.

The idea of using food to fight cancer is not, in itself, new. A number of doctors and health organizations have long promoted a low-fat vegan diet for preventing, reversing, and surviving cancer. Christina Pierello whose PBS show some of you are likely familiar with, has a personal story of beating cancer with a macrobiotic diet that's nothing short of miraculous. And there is abundant research to show that plant-based diets can actually lower the risk of getting several cancers, including prostate and colorectal cancers and even breast cancer. Some studies have even found a benefit of plant-based diets in preventing leukemia.

But good advice is something one can never get enough of, so the moment I got the book in the mail, I sat down to devour it.

What I loved about Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen is that it's not just a cookbook but a comprehensive guide for those who have survived cancer and those looking to prevent it. Both women are certified holistic health coaches and in their book they take a holistic approach to fighting cancer, sharing brilliant nuggets in sections on alternative cancer treatments, "food friends" or the foods that are good at keeping cancer at bay, foods to avoid, and even what kind of pots and pans to use (think cast iron, not teflon).

In the book's first half, titled "The Girlfriend's Guide," Ramke and Scott tell their own stories of being diagnosed with, and surviving, cancer. They talk frankly about topics like chemotherapy, scars, about the loneliness of the cancer journey, hair loss, and friends who stick by you through tough times and those who don't. Their food advice ranges the gamut from eating during chemotherapy to finding your unique "food groove" to tailoring a diet that works best for you.

I was in turns moved and inspired by the first half, but the second half-- made up of delicious recipes-- had me rushing to the kitchen. Over the first three days I tried four recipes and really liked them all: the Eggless Broccoli-Tomato Frittata, the Banana-Pecan Pancakes, the Crispy Kale Chips, and the Sweet Potato Fries. There are many more like Dandelion Greens with Warm Tahini Dressing, Mighty Mushroom Soup, Mint Chocolate-Chip Cookie, and Coconut Ice Kreme with Cherry Swirl that I want to try.

One quick note: the book, although mostly vegan, has some recipes that include non-vegan ingredients, like eggs and honey. They are clearly labeled. But it may not be hard to veganize these recipes, if you wish. For instance, I added a tablespoon of flaxmeal mixed with some water instead of the egg in the pancakes, and they were delicious.

I am sharing with you today the recipe for the Eggless Broccoli-Tomato Frittata. Enjoy, all!

Eggless Broccoli-Tomato Frittata

Ingredients:

1 small onion, diced

1 small head broccoli, chopped (1 cup)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 medium tomato, diced

1/2 cup fresh parsley, packed, chopped

6 medium mushrooms, chopped

1 package firm tofu (14 ounces)

1/4 cup unsweetened rice milk

4 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch

2 heaping tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp paprika

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp dried dill

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a pan over medium heat, saute the onion and broccoli in the olive oil for five minutes. Add the garlic, cover, and cook for two more minutes. Add the tomato, parsley and mushrooms, and saute for two minutes. Remove from heat and cover.

Place the tofu between two cutting boards or two plates and squeeze excess water out. In a food processor or blender, combine the tofu, rice milk, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, paprika, mustard, turmeric, dill, salt, and pepper.* This mixture can also be mixed by hand in a large bowl if a food processor is not available.

Scoop the mixture into a large bowl and mix in the sauteed vegetables. Pour into a pie plate or similar-sized baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for five minutes before serving.

Recipe From Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen. The Girlfriend's Cookbook and Guide to Using Real Food to Fight Cancer. By Annette Ramke and Kendall Scott

*I deviated slightly from the recipe to add the turmeric to the veggies while sauteing them, instead of blending it with the tofu mixture. This is because turmeric, unless it is roasted first, imparts a bitter taste to any dish.

Banana Pecan Pancakes From Kicking Cancer in the Kitchen

***
Healthy Quickie Snack Tip from Holy Cow!

I love bhel, not least because it's super-easy to make, fat-free, and it can even be super-healthy if you use the right ingredients. My favorite snack right now is to mix some brown rice crispies (kurmura) in a bowl with a spring onion (scallion), white and green parts finely chopped, a finely diced potato zapped in the microwave until tender, a plum tomato, a few squeezes of lemon juice, and a sprinkle of cayenne. For the crispy, crunchy element I throw in some sunflower seeds (instead of sev, the squiggly, deep-fried thingies you can find in Indian stores and which are a traditional ingredient in bhel).

Just toss it all together and eat. Do you hear your waistline thanking you?

For a more traditional bhel recipe, read this post.

Butternut Squash Muffins, And Travel Through Timeless Lands

noreply@blogger.com (Vaishali) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:47:53 PST

These Butternut Muffins were a bit of a gamble. I had some butternut squash puree leftover from making my Butternut Squash Pie, and some blended tofu from making my Mango Pie and I wondered why I couldn't just marry these two into a blissful breakfast food . And just like that, these delicious muffins were born.

Before I go on with the recipe, a quick word about our recent travels. Desi and I rarely visit the same place twice because there is so much world to see and so little vacation time, not to mention money, to see it. But when we planned our second trip to Las Vegas this fall (our first was nearly a decade ago), it was chiefly with the goal of making Sin City our base and then traveling around to the many breathtaking wonders that the area has to offer: Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam, and the Valley of Fire. We had a hectic trip, but it couldn't have been more fun. I have some photographs from Desi for you-- they follow the recipe post.

Back to the recipe, these Butternut Squash Muffins are great breakfast material. Or pre-breakfast material, or even brunch material. They are made with whole wheat, include a veggie, and pack a protein punch with the tofu. How much more can you ask of a muffin?

I am going to run now, but there's a lot to follow, so read on. Hope everyone's enjoying the warm glow of the holiday season!

Butternut Squash Muffins:

(Makes 6 large muffins or 12 regular-sized ones)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (if you don't have this, substitute with 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour plus 1 cup all-purpose)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup butternut squash puree (recipe for making the puree here)

1/2 firm extra-firm tofu blended into a smooth mixture with 1/4 cup of nondairy milk

1 tbsp canola or other flavorless vegetable oil

2 tbsp flax meal (ground flax seeds)

1 cup turbinado or unprocessed vegan cane sugar

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

In another bowl, mix the butternut squash puree, blended tofu, flax meal, oil, and sugar.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just mixed-- do not overmix. A few lumps are okay.

Spray a muffin pan with oil or line with paper liners. I used a large muffin pan that makes six huge muffins, but you can bake these in the regular-sized muffin pans that will make 12.

Bake the muffins for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. If you are using the large muffin tins, you will need to add 3-4 more minutes to the baking time. To ensure your muffins are baked through, insert a toothpick in the center. The toothpick should come out dry or with a few crumbs sticking to it. If it comes out with moist batter clinging to it, bake the muffins for a couple of minutes more and try the toothpick test again.

Cool the muffin tin on a rack for 10 minutes, then pop out the muffins and continue cooling them on a rack.

Enjoy, all!

***

And now for those promised pictures from our visit to the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam, and the Valley of Fire, with some Las Vegas thrown into the mix:

Timeless Land: In Nevada's Valley of Fire, about an hour's drive northeast from Las Vegas, breathtaking sandstone formations take you back to an era when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

**

There must be few sights on Earth as stunning as the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Carved by the Colorado River, the canyon is a World Heritage Site. Its awe-inspiring and timeless beauty is a reminder of just how fleeting our lifetimes are in the scheme of things-- and how important it is to preserve our beautiful Earth.
***

The wild denizens of Grand Canyon show up, as if to let us know we are intruding. This handsome Elk and her herd stepped calmly out on the road, stopping traffic for a good while. No one complained, of course, because everyone was busy taking pictures.

A raven enjoys his extra-special view of the Canyon from a treetop.

And a deer grazes with his partner close-by, quite oblivious to the humans around.

***

I am no fan of dams because of their environmental impact, but it is hard not to be fascinated enough by the famous Hoover Dam to go have a look-see. Built during the Depression in record time, the sweeping, arching dam straddles the states of Nevada and Arizona and was quite an engineering feat. It harnessed the wild flow of the Colorado River and generates enough electricity to power Nevada, Arizona, and California.

Lake Mead, one of the world's largest manmade lakes and quite a spectacular one at that, was created when engineers tamed the Colorado River for the Hoover Dam project.
***

Tourists clamor for photo ops at Las Vegas's welcome sign-- a world-famous icon in its own right.

We had a long stopover in Salt Lake City on our way home, but we had a great time browsing the spectacular paintings and photographs of local themes by local artists that hang all around the bright and airy airport. What a great idea!