Cake Maker to the Stars--Vegan and Gluten-Free

I Dig, Therefore I Dip.

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:53:00 +0000

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! I started writing and writing all about these homemade baked tortilla chips I've been diggin' and dippin' lately. Then I woke up--chips. You already know all about chips.

Time's a-wastin', you Chip Eaters. It's a new year, please don't wait until next fall to get on this Tortilla Train, they're too good. I like mine to taste like doh ree toes(c) (copyright added just in case), but you're most welcome to season yours however you like.

I follow Krista and Jess' instructions, but I sprinkle mine with nutritional yeast, sea salt and ancho chili powder to get that special doh glow.

Then chomp 'em with homemade guacamole.

xo
kittee

It's no Dream, Grandma.

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:35:00 +0000

In order to fully appreciate this blog post, please put on your buckwheat goggles now.

Sprouted buckwheat groats, pumpkin seeds, coconut, raw cacao powder, prunes, flax seed, agave nectar, vanilla and salt.

I've been making some crunchy-yummy granola lately. It's made with prunes, so if you know any laid back elderly folks you've been trying to impress, now's your chance. Or, if you keep company with a more uptight sophisticated set, simply call this raw buckwheat granola with cacao and dried plums, and you'll win their favor.

I swear, before you have time to even bat an eyelash, you'll be your town's Raw Granola Pied Piper leading the masses to toilets all over town. Or if you're my mom, you can lead them to the john, whichever.

Well not really. The prunes in this cereal just sweeten the deal, accentuate the cacao and add a bit of fiber and iron. They don't make you poop. At least not more than normal. At least not more than I usually poop. But I guess I should disclaim, if you're a big pooper, I cannot be held responsible for what happens between you, this delicious cereal and the ladies room. Dream big, y'all!

Anyway, I LOVE buckwheat granola. It's the breakfast wet dream of champions, and I've been eating endless handfuls of it since last summer. It's different every time I throw it together, but lately I've been basing it off the ingredients in this swanky and delicious commercial stuff I purchased during a recent road trip. I can only justify spending $7 a pop on granola during vacation-time, and even then it's embarrassing and a one time trick. So being the industrious lady-gal I am, I started making it at home. Viola! Affordable and sustainable.

I find making buckwheat granola a spontaneous meditation in xgfx eatery, I don't have a recipe and simply go by the a bit of this, a bit of that philosophy. Here's the gist:

I usually start with about 4 cups of raw buckwheat groats that I soak in an abundance of clean water from 2 hours to two days. Drain, rinse really-really well, then drain again, it will still be pretty wet. Throw it into a giant bowl.

Mix in about 1/2 cup freshly ground flax-seed, a little salt, some coconut and raw pumpkin seeds (sometimes I grind them into a powder, sometimes I add them whole), approximately 1/3 cup (or so) raw cacao powder and agave nectar to sweeten it up. For this prunish batch, I also added a huge handful of "dried plums" blended in about a cup of warm water. Sometimes I add a little vanilla extract and/or ground cinnamon, too.

Stir it all together! Slather it on dehydrator sheets about 1/2" thick for a full day, then flip it out into a bowl, break it up into chunks and put it back in the dehydrator. I like mine super crunchy and dry, so I dry it for another full day. Plus it stores on my counter like this for weeks. (I haven't tried this in an oven, but if yours goes low, I bet it'll work if you mind it carefully).

Makes about 1/2 gallon. Eat by the handful, or top with fruit and almond milk.

xo
kittee

You're a Monkey Lover.

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 02:02:00 +0000

I'm not sure who all reads this blog, but I dare bet y'all are a bunch of MONKEY LOVERS. If you heart on the furry bubs like I do, here's an easy (and affordable) way to lend them a hand. Buy a copy of Hungry Monkey and gain a nice compilation of vegan recipes. Your financial support will not only fill your belly, it'll help out rescued lab monkeys.

This submission to the Vegan Cook-Zine Museum was written by my friend Adriana and the curator of this zine. Read her fine words, buy a copy of the zine, then cook up my xgfx buckwheat ginger pancakes, 'cuz it's one of the recipes I contributed. Happy monkeys and happy New Year!

*****

Hungry Monkey: Vegan Recipes Written by Activists

Hungry Monkey Vegan Cookzine has dozens of delicious recipes written by animal rights activists and vegan chefs and benefits rescued lab monkeys! All proceeds go directly to support eight lucky monkeys who became "seized property" when an animal testing laboratory in New Jersey went bankrupt one year ago. These monkeys now live at Mindy's Memory Primate Sanctuary in Oklahoma, and all money from this zine goes towards sheltering them from harsh winter weather, as well as food and supplies.

The zine cover was beautifully illustrated by Renato Stumpo, the illustrator from the UK's anarchist magazine "Now or Never."

I created most of the layout for this zine by cutting and pasting pictures I found from an old 1900's Sears catalog. Inside, it's brimming full of gluten-free, raw and sugar-free recipes. All of the gluten-free recipes are clearly designated in the table of contents, too.

If I were forced to pick a favorite recipe it would have to be the Maple Bacon Cupcakes.

SO V-E-G-A-N Maple Bacon Cupcakes

This recipe was created by my friend Kelsey Tahara, who loves to bake into the wee hours of the night, when she isn't swamped with art school. I tested out this recipe and was super stoked by the results, because her frosting is just spot-on perfect .

My favorite gluten-free friendly dessert is the Coconut Agave Pearl Pudding. I'm blushing, because it's my own recipe, but it's damn good! This spin-off of a classic tapioca recipe is insanely delicious, and the agave rush it delivers makes all the stirring involved super worthwhile.

If you're looking for something savory and a bit more challenging, I recommend the Yuca Tamales. Yuca is common in Latin cooking and is a starchy potato-like root that carries a hearty flavor. Buy some corn husks and try your luck at making these--they're great to eat during the winter and are extra-amazing topped with homemade guacamole.

Now go buy a zine!

Title: The Hungry Monkey: Vegan Recipes Written by Activists

Author: Compiled by Adriana Pope with contributions from animal rights activists and famous vegan chefs.

Availability: On sale through Etsy.

Size: 6 1/2" X 8 1/2" / Stapled (legal half sized)

Length: 52 pages

Collection: 35 recipes, 2 articles and 3 How-Tos.

5 Recipes to Intrigue: Qatayef (Rose Water Walnut Crepes), Satanic Potato Angels, Thai Peanut Celebration "Spread", Texas Caviare and HomeStyle Grape Pie.

XGFXness: This zine is almost entirely xgfx.

Zine Wiki: Not listed

Stained Glass Heart Cookies!

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:01:00 +0000

I made some super-fun and practical delicacies for a Cookie Swap party last night. If you're still looking for the perfect dessert to hang from strings to deck your halls, these are perfect! So pretty too, especially in the window...

Orbs!

Any rolled cookie recipe will work for these cookies. I slightly modified the Rolled Brown Sugar Cookies recipe from The Allergen Free Baker's Handbook, but even gingerbread would work. (The recipe is available if you search through the book on Hamazone).

Whatcha Do:

Roll your dough out and cut out whatever shapes you want, then use a smaller cutter to remove a small area from the center.
Transfer your cookies to a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Crush up some hard candies (we had leftover Dum Dums from Halloween still taking up space, but any lollipop type candy would work) and sprinkle them thickly into the cut area of your cookie where you want the stained glass to be.
Bake in a preheated oven until the cookies are golden and the candy is melted. I noticed some sugar cookie recipes bake at a pretty high temperature, but I wouldn't really go higher than 375F for these.
If you want to hang these anywhere, carefully poke holes in 'em, when they're still warm, then allow to cool until the candy area is set. Transfer to racks to cool the rest of the way.
To frost-- mix up some vegan powdered sugar and coloring paste with water to make a pretty thick paste. Use this to outline the outside of your cookies and the outside of your stained glass. Then mix up a thinner glaze with more powdered sugar, vanilla extract, coloring paste and water and use to "flood" the cookies with an even layer of glaze. You'll be able to use a toothpick or small knife to direct the frosting where you want it to go. The thick lines will keep it from flowing off the cookie or getting into unwanted areas.
Let dry and hang or eat!

xo
kittee

Occupie.

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 06:20:00 +0000

I'm pretty sure you don't need a recipe for this.

You take your favorite Mac 'n' Cheezie recipe and you pile it into a pie plate or cake pan. Then you pile your favorite collard green recipe on top (mine uses bits of Soy Curls). Then you top it with a xgfx crust and bake it. I can post the pie crust recipe if you want it...

If you are extra awesome, you add a layer of bbq tofu/Soy Curls and/or a layer of sweet potatoes. I'll be doing that the next go-round.

Occupie.

xo
kittee

Calaveras Azucar--Dia de Los Muertos

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:33:00 +0000

Two posts in one day, I know! But I'm definitely still feeling the MoFo madness, and since I just finished decorating my sugar skulls today, I wanted to post the pictures. These are for Dia de Los Muertos (All Saints Day and All Souls Day), which is celebrated today and tomorrow.

I set these up in the kitchen with some tea lights, but I think I'll probably move 'em to a small altar in the living room this evening. With the addition of a few photos, more flowers and maybe some chocolate chips (for one friend in particular).

These are easy to make vegan, just follow all the steps here, but instead of meringue powder, substitute in dry powdered egg replacer.

xo
kittee

Figs Not Wigs.

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:41:00 +0000

Figs! I've got fresh figs!

Last year, Amy and I turned them into an amazing fig-ginger preserve. This past Summer, I dried them as they became ripe, but for this last crop of the year, I might like to try something new.

In New Orleans, these would get preserved whole in a sugar syrup, but I'm not really feeling that.

~~Any suggestions?~~ I've settled on a fig preserve with lots of citrus and ginger. The combo can't be beat, especially since it's dual purpose. Biscuits and Indian stuff!
xo
kittee

Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food – Review by Marika Collins

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 05:09:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, I asked if anyone would be interested in writing up Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food for the Vegan Cook-Zine Museum. A few of you lovely folks volunteered to help (thank you!), but in the end I chose my friend Marika, because I love her work, and because we are real life bubs (thank you Vida Vegan). To close out MoFo 2011 in high fashion, I'm posting Marika's submission. Her pictures and writing are so lovely and sweet, they actually brought me to tears. I hope you like them too. After this post, I'll try to lay off the self-promotion for awhile, or at least until the Winter Holidays come around. Or if you really want me to shut up, buy a zine! Thanks again, Marika!

Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food, by Kittee Berns, is a handy, dandy, cheery recipe zine filled with tips, tricks, advice, artwork and all-around craftiness. Kittee, probably the most genuinely joyful person I know, is a friendly fixture of the vegan blog world, as well as one of the organizing whirlwinds behind Vegan MoFo, a founding member of xgfx.org, the creative force behind Cake Maker to the Stars and an Etsy store, and the author of the original Papa Tofu zine. Kittee takes her love for Ethiopian food to the max in her latest zine adventure and takes us along for the spicy ride.

The pages of this happy zine are infused with the friendly, creative energy and enthusiasm of the author herself. Kittee tells us everything we need to know to make a genuinely awesome Ethiopian spread, including a helpful rundown of all the requisite spices and ingredients needed to make a mad Ethiopian feast, advice on how to set up platters and estimating how many you'll need to accommodate a group, and menu recommendations to keep things varied and interesting. Kittee even explains how to add some Ethiopian flavour to familiar, everyday dishes anytime we might be in the mood for some spice, using her famous Mac 'n' Cheesie recipe as an example and providing before and after recipes to show how it's done. You'll find that in the Mixin' it Up! Section, speaking of which, chapters are divided as follows: hello!, Ethiopian Info, Essentials, Appetizers, Salads, Sides, Allecha Recipes (mild ginger/garlic stews), W'et Recipes (spicy red gravy stews), Mixin' it Up!, Leftovers and General Info.

Kittee tells us all about what she considers the "Holy Trinity" of Ethiopian cuisine: niter kibbeh (seasoned butter or oil), berbere (hot spice blend), and injera (Ethiopian style sourdough flatbread), and she provides recipes for all three. I followed Kittee's sage and easy instructions to make my own niter kibbeh and berbere (I made the spiced oil option), and because my silly supermarket was fresh out of the traditional teff flour I had to go off-zine to make my own injera using an alternative wheat-based recipe. I highly recommend that you make the niter kibbeh and berbere (or get store bought berbere if you can find it). They add such depth of flavour to the dishes, and lay the foundation for the layered taste explosion to come.

Armed with the basics (niter kibbeh, berbere, injera), I tackled an additional six dishes to assemble my Ethiopian feast: Ingudai T'ibs (sautéed mushrooms – a beautiful balance of spicy and sweet, and a gorgeous shot of colour), Ye'takelt Allecha (gingery mixed vegetables – not your average roasted casserole, these veggies have bite!), Keysir Allecha (Ethiopian style beets – a simple, mild, and dare I say, striking addition to your platter), Ye'kik Allecha (mild split pea purée – pretty in yellow, adds a seriously spicy kick to your plate), Ye'miser W'et Version I (red lentils in a spicy gravy – fragrant, sweet and mellow, this was a crowd favourite), Bakela Dinich W'et (soy curls and potatoes in a spicy gravy – saucy, hearty, sweetly spicy, and the first thing to disappear (note to self: why, oh why didn't I get a truckload of soy curls when I was in Portland for Vida Vegan Con 2011?! I used all I had to make this recipe and they are total awesomesauce).

Every dish we made was a complete hit, and every single one of them will be made again. I cried a little when the last of the Bakela Dinich W'et was gone. My previous Ethiopian cuisine experience had been limited to a single, through–the–roof–spicy restaurant visit. While I loved the ambiance, the company of friends, and the communal, friendly, eating with your hands aspect, the food itself was beyond too spicy for me. It was so spicy that I couldn't even taste the food. I remember eating a lot of salad and injera. But no more – Kittee has filled the Ethiopian food void in my life. Her creative dishes range from mild to spicy in the heat department, but nothing I tried was too spicy to take. I even forgot to make the salad. Best thing ever about making your own tasty Ethiopian food? You can control the heat, baby. So even though I went full throttle for these dishes, if I'm ever feeling a little spice meek in the future, I know I can just dial back the jalapeño.

The flavour profiles of Ethiopian cuisine are layered and complex, but the preparation is easy with Kittee's clearly written and well thought out recipes guiding you through. By the time I was done making all this delicious food I felt like I'd received an education in spices. Take on the recipes in this zine and your culinary efforts will be rewarded by a harmony of onions, garlic and ginger with a chorus of cinnamon and sweet paprika, and a cardamom, cumin and coriander refrain. Kittee's amazing little zine will make you an Ethiopian cuisine cooking master in no time. All hail Papa Tofu: he loves Ethiopian Food, and I do too.

Title: Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food

Author: Kittee Berns, 2011

Availability: You can get your copy here.

Size: 6 1/2" X 8 1/2" / Stapled

Length: 86 pages

Collection: 38 recipes

5 Recipes to Intrigue: Ingudai T'ibs (sautéed mushrooms), Keysir Allecha (Ethiopian style beets), Ye'kik Allecha (mild split pea purée), Ye'miser W'et Version I (red lentils in a spicy gravy), Bakela Dinich W'et (soy curls and potatoes in a spicy gravy).

XGFXness: 100% gluten-free and vegan, with many soy-free options too.

Zine Wiki: Not listed

Rites of Spring, in the Autumn--by Michelle.

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:30:00 +0000

Today's Vegan Zine Museum entry is brought to you by my friend ♥Michelle♥. I have yet to try this cauliflower dish, but I have heard on numerous occasions how oh-so-tasty-good it is. This zine is written by Brad of Please Don't Feed the Bears fame, and you can find this recipe in one of those volumes, too. Thanks for your contribution to the museum, Michelle!

Front and Back Covers.

I am in the thick of my second year of Chinese Medical school, and while my memory gets a hefty workout on the regular, I can't for the life of me remember the name of the most lovely woman who gave me my copy of this zine. We met at a knitting night within the first week or so that I moved to town, and upon learning that I was vegan, she brought over her brother's vegan zine for me.

You can tell it's Brad by the bear illustration!

My days at knitting nights are few and far between these days, but I've had the pleasure of running into her now and again on the street sometimes and around town, like on the very long line of the movie “King Corn,” a movie I slept about half-way through. When our brother and sister-in-law came to town and wanted us to meet up with her old friend from college, weren't we surprised to find her sitting at the table!

When we first moved to town, we were amazed to discover the glory of the produce to be found here. After coming home with a cauliflower as big as my head, Aaron found Matt's Arnabit (Burned Cauliflower and Tahini Sauce)out of our new zine, and ever since, cauliflower and this recipe have pretty much become synonymous.

Matt's Arnabit (Burned Cauliflower and Tahini Sauce) makes for happy bellies and tongues.

So you burn the cauliflower. And the way you do so is, basically, by ignoring it for awhile. Then you make a simple lemon tahini sauce. The combination is HEAVEN!!!!!!

There's some more details in the book on how it's done so that you too can burn your cauliflower to perfection.

The recipe is located five pages behind the staple, so basically midway through the zine. Our zine just jumps right open to this page every time so I've never had a problem finding it. After all these years, I realized today that this is the only recipe in here that we have ever tried. Perhaps I will try the Cabin Fever Chowder some night soon?

After many many times of making this, I thought I'd try roasting the cauliflower in the oven. Aaron was all up in arms about it! He'd like to share that the stovetop is really where it's at – the cauliflower still stays juicy and not dried out and just tastes so much more awesome and he can't say enough good things about cooking it that way. Burnt Cauliflower on the stovetop 4Life!

Title: Rites of Spring: A Renewal of Mind Body and Vegan Cookery . . . For the Dumville Family

Author: Not Listed, but a quick google search for “vegan Dumville” yielded the information that Brad Dumville also wrote Please Don't Feed the Bears. Mystery solved!

Availability: Out of Print

Size: Folded legal size paper, stapled with two staples in the middle.

Length: 65 unnumbered pages

Collection: 126 recipes

5 Recipes to Intrigue: BBQ Wrecking Ball Loaf, Plain Ramen Just Isn't Going to Cut it Today Soup, Mars Bars, The Best Cheese Dip Ever and Cabin Fever Chowder (his sister told me it was one of her favorites)

XGFXness: It's a mixed bag of gluten-free, easy to de-glutinize, and pretty gluten-acious

Zine Wiki: Not Listed

Occupy Pum'kin and Other Halloween Treats

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 05:13:00 +0000

Today: an evening view of our pum'kin--I borrowed the idea from my friend Walter. I haven't carved a pumpkin in years, and dude--squash has gotten a lot thicker than I remember. This was tough to cut!

In case you can't see it, there's a big spider on the top with a multiplicity o' eyeballs.

Tomorrow: my friend Michelle regularly cooks from a certain zine that I don't own. She whipped up her favorite dish from it, and tomorrow I'll be posting her contribution to The Zine Museum. If you have a zine that I haven't written about yet, let me know if you want to send something in! The more the better.

Right now: I wanted to show you a few of my favorite Halloween projects, in case you're still on the prowl for awesome things to make.

Don't underestimate the power of a cupcake! Especially ones with fig eyeballs on 'em.

These are dipped in homemade fondant and decorated with buttercream and figs. You could also go the easy route and just dip them in a powdered sugar glaze.

Sushi can be really fun! Here's some I made a few MoFos past, I just added a little food coloring to the cooking water and dyed the wasabi to make it look freaky.

Click on this to see more Halloween inspired sushi! SpoOOOOOooooky.

Using a dark rice with sweet potato tempura in the middle looks super cool! You can twist it up, too. Candy sushi is one of my all time favorites.

Click here to see more candy sushi!

I haven't made this since I went xgfx, but if you put your creative hat on, I bet you can succeed! Use xgfx cereal and for fillings melted and colored Dandies, cookie dough, caramel and fudge would all work great! You could also fill these with colored tapioca pudding, or use some to make gunkan or temaki, or plain up "jello" nigiri.

When in doubt, you can always just make brainz.

Click here for brain how-tos.

I was thinking of adding vermicelli noodles this year, y'know for that ultra elusive, sexy brainworm effect.

Also, if you have the time and skills, homemade candycorn is xgfx! You can fnd the recipe over on Melisser's blog, The Urban Housewife.

Oh! I almost forgot! The random number for the Rabbit Food cookbook giveaway was commenter #15 --Amberle. Amberle, please get back to me this weekend with your contact info, or I'm picking another winner on Monday!

kittee

Sunny Days in Texas--Benefit Zine!

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 04:22:00 +0000

Sunny Days in Texas is one of the best zines in my collection. It was recently compiled by my friend Stephanie aka LazySmurf, with recipes from a slew of other amazing folks, too.

This zine benefits Sunny Day Farm Animal Sanctuary in La Coste, Texas.

The proceeds from the sale of this recipe booklet benefit Sunny Day Farm Animal Sanctuary, the largest farm animal sanctuary in Texas. You know Texas is really huge and really hot, right? It's hard taking care of animals as it is, but when you add extreme drought and wild fires, times get serious. This zine couldn't be more win-win-win. You get an awesome book of recipes, and the animals get food and water. Simple!

There are all sorts of recipes compiled here, a little something-something for everyone, and I think the range is a lot more dynamic and interesting than the typical zine, too. Where else can you find a Vegan Breakfast Taco Guide sitting side by side with a Daikon Salad recipe? You can't even find that on a Greyhound bus, m'friends.

You can help the animals at Sunny Day AHORA MISMO for just $10, or instead, you can make a donation to support Team Sunny Day and you will be entered into a giveaway to win a copy of the zine, plus a whole slew of other amazing stuff. Also, can you tell that the local radio stations just had their benefit drives? I took notes. Let's make those phones ring, people!

If you need added motivation to support this project, the zine also has cute animal photos.

Lambs are The Best!

I cooked up a couple of recipes from Sunny Days in Texas to test the waters for you. No sharks! First I made Kristen's Chickpea "Tuna" Salad for sustenance. In this version, chix are mashed together with seasonings, mayo, dill pickle relish and all sorts of stuff to make a very satisfying lunch. Kristen recommends adding kelp or dulce for a more authentic sea flavor, but since I didn't have those, I rolled mine up into sheets of nori and made rolls!

Man, was I excited to eat these. I sprinkled mine with a little cayenne.

After the chixrolls, I steered right into the sweet. Since Dazee's a bit under the weather, I thought some coo-coo-badookie cookies might lift his spirits. Either that or his blood sugar.

These are Krys' Yummeos, which I had to try, since baking cookie sammies is one of my life's callings. I did xgfxercise this recipe, but it wasn't hard--just a little brown rice flour, sorghum and potato starch was all I needed.

Here's a cookie map to explain the details more clearly.

Also, since I had some chocolate hanging around from my sugar coma project, I added that to turn these into Triple Stuffed Yummeos.

Count for yourself.

Some of them even have two layers of chocolate, so they're more like Quadruple Stuffed XGFX Yummeos.

Title: Sunny Days in Texas

Author: Compiled by Stephanie Bogdanich aka Lazy smurf. Contributions from a whole slew of amazing people make this zine great.

Availability: Info is here, black and white copies are listed on Etsy and full color copies are on MagCloud.

Size: 6.5″ x 8.5″ (legal half sized) / Stapled

Length: 38 pages

Collection: 36 recipes

5 Recipes to Intrigue: Zucchini Migas, Fried Green Tomatoes with Roasted Red Pepper Aioli, King Ranch Casserole, Jackfruit Brisket and Jalapeño Popper Dip,

XGFXness: This zine is almost entirely xgfx. The boudin recipe would be hard to xgfxercise, 'cuz it has vital wheat gluten in it, but the other ones are easy to sub out. Do it for the animals.

Zine Wiki: Not listed

xo
kittee

Vegan de Guadalupe: Mexican Food Authentically Vegan!

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 02:42:00 +0000

I better start looking for online docent applicants for this Cookzine Museum, 'cuz it's getting voluminous. I still have a good-sized pile of zines to cook through, so this project may actually eek its way into the New Year. It's definitely not gonna be completed by the end of MoFo, so don't start putting away your safety belts or anything.

Today, I hit Hortencia's Vegan de Guadalupe. I keep this pretty-pretty zine tucked away in its original mailing envelope, so it's still in top shape. I actually forgot about it until today and had to dig around a little to find it. Someone really smart like Emma Goldman must have coined "out of sight, out of mind," 'cuz that is some real gold, folks.

The awesome cover art was made by the author's friend Danae.

Today I made three recipes from Vegan de Guadalupe, all served together as one dish: Mole Verde, Salsa Verde Casera and some purple cabbage slaw. Instead of tofu, I used Soy Curls in the Mole Verde. This dish was the man! We courted briefly over lunch, and as soon as Dazee tries some for dinner, I'm sure we'll be pluralizing our marriage tout de suite.


Let me spell it out for ya.

This was such a snap, too. I sauteed some hydrated Soy Curls in olive oil with a chopped onion and some garlic. Once that got some color, a bit of the Salsa Verde was stirred in, then it was briefly simmered. I made tacos out of this with organic corn tortillas, a little avocado and some of the cabbage slaw, which is recommended with the green mole.

For Dazee's supper, I'll probably round this off with a little potato hash and maybe some pintos, too.

I don't know if this was a translation error, but the Salsa Verde Casera recipe calls for "green tomatoes," and since I've an armful to use up from the garden, I was on it like lint and packing tape.

However, I'm wondering if Hortencia meant tomatillos, instead? No matter, 'cuz now I have a new way to use up the last dawdles of Summer.


Hortencia `♥s` Isa, Colleen and her friend Celina. Aw!	`♥`

A favorite thing I learned from this zine; César Chávez was vegan. Who knew?

Title: Vegan de Guadalupe: Mexican Food Authentically Vegan!

Author: Hortencia Armendariz / 2008

Availability: Email contact here.

Size: 5 1/2 X 8 1/2 (vertical half-size letter) / Stapled / Color Front and Back

Length: 30 pages

Collection: 22 recipes, each in English and Spanish

5 Recipes to Intrigue: Chilaquiles Verdes, Sopa de Fideo, Salsa Verde a la Horticulturelandia, Capirotada and Fruit Cocktail (contains cukes, watermelon, pineapple, mango and all sorts of other cool fruit!)

XGFXness: The entire zine, including desserts is xgfx, except for 1 seitan recipe and 1 chocolate cake recipe. How's that for hoozah?

Zine Wiki: Not listed

xo
kittee

Pumpking Fig Bagels Rule.

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:44:00 +0000

You got the joke up there, right? I'm not that bad of a speller...

I've been working on my bagel recipe/s this week. Somehow when the figs in the backyard get ripe in the Fall, it makes me want bagels. Not just any bagel, but bagels with figs, which is a weird thing. Especially since I come from a toasted savory bagel, with cream cheese, tomato and onion sorta family. The same exact craving hit me this time last year, too. So maybe don't tell my Mom. She would probably be OK with a cinnamon raisin fix, but pumpkin-cinnamon-fig? It might cause unnecessary concern.

These bagels are for zine #3. Instead of baking them with fresh figs on top (like in the photo), which was tasty and a fun experiment, but really hard to eat, adding stuff to the inside is a smarter approach. Stuff like dried figs, pumpkin, cinnamon and cardamon. I hate it when I'm practical, but practicality often yields The Tasty. Just don't take away my jangly nail polish, and it'll all even out.

Yesterday, I split one and toasted it for lunch, and ate it adorned with a delicious topping. I added ground cinnamon, roasted chopped hazelnuts and fresh chopped figs to cream cheeze. It was gorgeous to eat, but a visual abomination. I pinky swear, you don't want to see it.

Don't forget about the Rabbit Food cookbook giveaway! I'm not drawing a winner until this Friday!

xo
kittee

Buckeye Amazeballs Updo from Papa Tofu

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:51:00 +0000

Death by sugar coma is the real trick on Halloween, y'all. F'reals. I'm not afraid of a little toilet paper in the trees, but I just can't take the sweets on, like I used to. Lucky for me, the following treats are getting shipped off to my nephews. Their birthdays fall on the 28th and 29th of October, and I'm pretty sure they still appreciate a bit of the ol' birthday treat jolts (their parents maybe not so much).

Out of print, but never out of style.

I revamped the Buckeye Balls from Papa Tofu, and I think this is a better recipe. I mean, if peanut butter, chocolate and balls can get any better.

Buckeye AmazeBalls whip up faster than cookies and taste even better.

Buckeye Amazeballs

Makes 18 1" balls

1 cup natural crunchy peanut butter, salted
1/2 cup organic powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup gluten-free puffed rice

Mix together the peanut butter, sugar and vanilla, then work in the cereal and roll into 1" BALLS. If you have a cookie scoop, use that to make 'em uniform. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and stick 'em in the ol' freezer while you prepare the chocolate.

1 cup xgfx chocolate chips
1 1/2 teaspoons coconut oil

Over a makeshift double boiler, melt 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips with the coconut oil. When smooth, remove the double boiler from heat and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate. Stir until smooth and keep your bowl resting on top of the boiling water, so it remains warm. Dip the peanut butter balls in the chocolate, then transfer back to the cookie sheet. I like to plop the balls in the chocolate, then with a small spoon I coat them on all sides with chocolate. I place the chocolate ball on top of a fork, to allow excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl, then use the fork to transfer them back to the cookie sheet. When all the balls are dunked, place in the freezer to set.

Ball Innards.

My favorite way to eat Buckeye Amazeballs is straight outta the freezer, since I can't really handle more than one at a time, and I like 'em as crunchy as possible.

Chocolate Covered Peppermint Action.

After my ball escapades, I had a little bit of melted chocolate leftover, so I decided to make some chocolate mint patties, too. I sorta wung the filling loosely following this MoFo recipe from ¡La Vida Vegana!.

Please note my stunning nail polish, it is jangly.

I think these patties are the culprits that sent me over the sugar cliff, so next time I'll play with the recipe a bit more. Delicious, but eeeEEEEEE, not so good for the brains. I think using agave necta', coconut oil and shredded coconut will be a nice change.

xo
kittee

Rabbit Food Blog Tour Kickoff

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 06:18:00 +0000

When Sasquatch Books asked me to kickoff the blog tour for Beth Barnett's Rabbit Food cookbook, I was excited to participate. Especially, since Beth's book fits well within my theme this month. Rabbit Food was orginally sold as a small edition, handmade spiral bound vegan zine.

From left to right, falafel con chickpea, front and back covers.

Sasquatch Books has tried to keep true to the feel of Beth's original zine, and I think they did a great job. The new release also includes new illustrations, updates and a few new recipes from Beth.

All of the recipes in Rabbit Food fit into the yummy/comfort food category of vegan cooking and seem pretty easy to make. After diligently reading the book in the tub, I settled on trying the falafel recipe. As close as I am to my friend Chickpea, it's weird that I'd never attempted to make falafel from scratch before. Even with my love of making balls, it's one of those foods I usually just wait to eat when dining out, or in the past when I have made it, it came outta Ze Ol' Box.

Tahini Sauce Riverfall.

I followed Beth's recipe to the capital tee, using superfine brown rice flour and fresh parsley. One of my favorite things about falafel is the crazy bright green insides, so next time I make these, I'll probably add a lot more to try to get that same glow. To go with today's falafel, I also whipped up a little bowl of Beth's tahini sauce. I ate mine wrapped in lettuce with fresh cukes, sweet red pepper and a small river of tahini sauce. Tasty stuff.

Recipe posted with permission of Sasquatch Books.

Here's the recipe straight from the book--all of the recipes are hand written with cute illustrations throughout. I sure wish most of my cookbooks were spiral bound, it makes cooking so much easier.

Sasquatch Books has offered to send a free copy of Rabbit Food to one of my readers in the US or Canada. If you'd like a copy, simply post a comment saying so, and I'll randomly pick a winner the morning of Friday, October 28th. Please make sure to leave me a way to contact you, if your name doesn't link to a website.

Rabbit Food will be on tour for a full week after today, here's where you can find it next:

Tuesday October 25th, Cook Vegan Lover

Wednesday, October 26th, Bake and Destroy

Thursday October 27th, Carrie on Vegan

Friday October 28th, Vegancraftastic

Saturday October 29th, Manifest Vegan

Sunday October 30th, Andrea's Easy Vegan Cooking

Monday Octover 31st, Vegansaurus

Full disclosure: I have not received any compensation for participating in this blog tour, although I have received a free review copy of Rabbit Food cookbook.

xo
kittee

In the Mood.

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:16:00 +0000

I've been feeling like decorating for Halloween this year, but didn't want to buy a bunch of plastic stuff that would probably end up getting thrown away. Instead I decided to make a bunch of quick stuff with materials we already had on hand.

These are ghosts I made by simply using old white cloth I had laying around. I hot glued on googly eyes leftover from other sultry projects, then strung the ghosts from our front railing alongside some hand cut papel picado, dhalias and sunflower seed heads from the garden.

The birds and squirrels have been making a mess on the porch, but I just think it adds to the mood of the season. I made the papel picado from regular ol' printer paper. First I cut the scallops on the bottom, then I folded it up like you would for snowflake cut-outs and cut away. I hot-glued the paper to some orange yarn, then glued a few strips onto the page, to make it more secure.

I've also had another go at sugar skulls. I love making these. They consist of nothing more than beet sugar, food coloring and a bit of powdered egg replacer (the starch in the egg replacer works just as well as powdered meringue).

Here are the before shots, and in a few days, I'll post pictures after they've been properly decorated. This year I think I may glue some tea lights onto the tops and use them to line the steps on Halloween Eve, alongside a big Jack-o'-lantern.

xo
kittee

Hope's Superfine Tomato Galette

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 04:45:00 +0000

This heirloom tomato tart made me happy.

Our friend Hope made it for a dinner get-together a few weeks past. Hope's not vegan, but she is gluten-free, and this tart was amazing--she nailed it. She xgfxercised a fancy creme fraiche tomato galette recipe, and hit it out of the ballpark with some sort of tofu creme.

I need to find out exactly how she did this, because it was really delicious, and her pastry was mad-flaky. I was impressed--attacking dairy and gluten all at once like that takes skill.

I am taking a short zine break for Halloween/All Souls Day preparation. Tomorrow, I am pulling out the ol' sugar skull mold!

xo
kittee

Bui Natural Tofu

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 02:23:00 +0000

Bui Natural Tofu
520 NE 76th Ave
Portland, OR 97213

While I couldn't dig up any extra time to cook today, I can always find time for Vietnamese food. Two of my favorite shops are across the street from each other in NE Portland, The Knitt'n Kitten and Bui Natural Tofu. In case you haven't heard, Knitt'n Kitten is a thrift/resale shop for crafts, trim, yarn, knitting/crochet supplies and fabric of all kinds, and is obviously all kinds of amazing. Just a skip away, is Bui's. I just hate it, on days when I have to visit this part of town. Poor me, salad rolls and vintage calico at the same time, it just can't get much worse.

I've been extra-dying for Vietnamese lately, so when I scored a bunch of reduced limes for sale at the co-op yesterday, I knew some pho or bun chay would soon be within reach. I procured the rest of the needed ingredients today, which involved The Dreaded Errands: Vee and I scored some cool vintage double knit polyester, plus a skadoodle of Vietnamese treats.

Today's haul! Look at this beautiful stuff.

The salad rolls at Bui's are a mainstay at our house. For $2.75 you get two big rolls plus a hoisin/peanut sauce, of questionable xgfxness*.

The rolls are my favorite in town, which is weird because they're super plain--no basil, mint or cilantro, and I am no Plain Jane. Rice papers are simply wrapped around rice noodles, green leafy lettuce and thinly sliced tofu.

See what I mean? The noodles 'n' stuffed are pressed right into the tofu!

The tofu is the secret ingredient, that makes the rolls so tasty and addictive. It's made in house, so you know it's fresh, and it's full of vermicelli noodles, green onions and shallots. IN. THE. TOFU. If you go to Bui's looking for this stuff, they call it "green onion" tofu and sell it fried and plain out of the fridge. It's super cheap, so I bought a couple of blocks to show you its inner glory--you can't beat .69 a block for fresh homemade tofu.

I also picked up a container of Lemongrass Tofu. I don't buy this as often, since it's deep-fried, but it's another one of Bui's shining soy stars.

More plusses about Bui: they have containers of Bi Chay and Bi Thai Chay in the fridge. They're dry tofu based condiments made with noodles, veggies and spices, and they are awesome. You don't need to do anything special with 'em, just throw them on some brown rice, and you've got a delicious meal.

My only complaint about Bui: They use a lot of styrofoam, but if you bring in your own containers, they're more than happy to fill them up with whatever you desire.

In case you're a little lost in the salad roll department here's a little help, by way of a small preview from my forthcoming zine, to get you going in the right direction. I usually make mine a lot crazier (with avocado, steamed sweet potatoes, etc.) but below is a much simpler version. Since hoisin often contains wheat, I've also included my go to hoisin peanut sauce recipe, in case you can find this xgfx one.

Vietnamese inspired Salad Rolls and Hoisin Peanut Sauce

Makes a belly-full

What You Need:

8" rice/tapioca paper
rice noodles (bun noodles)
herbs: green lettuce, basil, mint, and cilantro leaves
tofu in a form you like: baked, fresh or fried

What You Do:

Boil the noodles in plenty of water until tender. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain again and set aside.
Find a lipped tray wide enough to accommodate your rice paper and fill with an inch or so of warm water.
Prepare a work station by laying a clean and smooth kitchen towel down on a flat surface(pick a towel wider than your papers).
Place a rice paper in the water and let soak until just flexible.
Carefully transfer it onto your towel and smooth out any wrinkles.
Since the papers are translucent, choose your first goody carefully, it'll show through and make your rolls look fancy. For prettiest presentation, start with something that'll add color like the green herbs. Add a little bit of noodle on top of that, some protein and then whatever you fancy.
Carefully roll the puppy up. Dip 'n' Eat.

Peanut Hoisin Sauce
Makes enough for 6-8 salad rolls.

What You Need:

1/3 cup natural peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
4 tablespoons warm water, divided
2-3 tablespoons xgfx hoisin sauce (to taste)
1 tablespoon wheat-free tamari
Sriracha

What You Do:

In a small bowl, mix together the peanut butter with 2 tablespoons of warm water. At first the peanut butter will break apart in the water, but if you keep stirring, it will emulsify and become thick and smooth. Once the peanut butter comes together, gently stir in the remainder of the water.
Mix in 2 tablespoons of Hoisin sauce and the tamari. Blend well and taste. Adjust to taste with an additional tablespoon of hoisin if you want.
Serve with Sriracha, or stir some in to taste.

xo
kittee

Bark + Grass Number 2: Revolution Supper

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:30:00 +0000

Let's pretend you're the type of person who likes peanut butter. And, let's say you just ate a nice big fat spoon of it, whilst carefully avoiding any drippage that might fall into the open utensil drawer you were standing over while slurping it. Unfortunately, it seems the big spoon of peanut butter did nothing but whet your appetite for more, I mean that's what a little peanut butter can do to a gal. So let's imagine you were looking for an excuse to eat even a little more of that nummy nut stuff. Excellent! Today's zine spotlight--Spicy Sweet Potatoes-- seems to be the exact solution you were looking for.

This recipe was scooped right out of Bark + Grass Number 2: Revolution Supper, but I can't direct you to an exact page number, because fuck page numbers, this is a punk DIY Cut + Paste Revolution style zine and page numbers are for The Man.

However I can direct you to the general location of this recipe. If you happen upon this zine, you can find the Spicy Sweet Potatoes right between the Armenian Yams and Lemon Broccoli in the first 1/3 of the publication.

While we're at it, F*ck Thanksgiving, too.

I'm pretty sure Bark + Grass was one of the first two zines I ever laid my hands upon. From its size, color, font and graphics to its recipes and information, this zine appeals to my girlie sensibilities in ways other zine classics like Soy! Not Oi! never did. My favorite things about it are the rubber stamped stars and chapter titles, plus Moon, whoever she is and her mom are referenced throughout. I also love the size of the zine and its cut and pastiness.

Right, the sweet potatoes. They were super fast to make and surprisingly tasty. Well it surprised me at least. Since the directions were a bit lacking, I feared the taste might lag as well. Happily wrong, here! Basically, you steam cubed and peeled sweet potatoes in an inch of water until fork tender. The potatoes are scooped out and tamari, peanut butter, jalapeno and fresh ginger are mixed into the remaining cooking water to create a sauce. The sweet potatoes are added back in, seasoned to taste and served. I added a squirt of fresh lime juice and some chopped cilantro for a little more pick-up, but you get the idea.

I acknowledge the Spicy Sweet Potatoes in this photo look a bit like gack, but I swear they were tasty. Under the advisement of Megan McClellan, I have been approved to post this picture anyway. Please direct any criticism or complaints to her office.

Title: Bark + Grass Number 2: Revolution Supper

Author: Positive Press Product / Cut + Paste Revolution

Availability: Available as a re-print from AK Press

Size: 6.5″ x 8.5″ (legal half sized) / Stapled

Length: 66 pages

Collection: 109 recipes plus instructions for making your own cleaning supplies.

5 Recipes to Intrigue: Revolution Grrrlic Style Now with Sun-Dried Tomatoes (pasta), Coconut Clusters, Raspberry Chocolate Pudding, Armenian Yams and Pernice Penne

XGFXness: There's lots of xgfx sides in here, but all the baked goods are wheat-errific.

Zine Wiki: Not listed

kittee

Kitchen Witch: Vegan Magic

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 04:45:00 +0000

In my fantasy head, I keep thinking I'm being so organized about my theme for MoFo this year, but the truth is I usually have no idea WTF I'm going to cook until around 1:30 or so. I'm really not a big plan aheader in the cooking department, unless there's an event or party that I have to be put together for. Usually, it really has more to do with, "What can I make without hauling my tired ass to the co-op?" So when I started rooting around in the zines today, I was pleased to discover I had ever'thing I needed to crank out Potato-Broccoli soup from Kitchen Witch--Vegan Magic. This zine's title is pretty self-descriptive; along with recipes you get info about "Alchemical Arts," "Recipes for the Revolution," Wicca talk, pro-boob feeding info and stuff like that. It's all good, clean fun, nothing weird to look at here.

Sorta plain Jane, but sometimes that's A-OK.

Here's the facts. This zine's a bit plain in the layout, humor and art area, and the recipes are super basic. But y'know, everything I made today was really tasty, and tasty goes a long way.

Sometimes a simple recipe can mean there's more room for creative play and personal adaptations, plus it can also be good for both beginner cooks and newer vegans.

Broccoli-Potato Soup

The Broccoli-Potato soup instructions were super clear and simple. I mostly followed the recipe, although I did add in some fresh leeks, 'cuz we just snared one at Saturday's Far-Mar.

I was hungry while the soup was cooking, so I plowed through the zine to see if I had ingredients for anything else. With a few changes, I realized Red Cabbage Salad was well within my reach. I do love cabbage slaw, and I was able to put this together in about five minutes. Man, but was this good! I gobbled through the entire bowl while watching the last of the first season of Breaking Bad.

Red Cabbage Salad is good for TV watching.

While the soup was plenty tasty, especially with some sesame chili-oil, the cabbage salad really stole the show. I used my mandoline on a small head of cabbage, then added some fresh spinach, a chopped apple, some roasted hazelnuts and a bit of ground flax. I tossed it all with a bit of green olive oil, organic balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. That's all it needed. I need to remember how delicious and easy a salad like this can be.

Look at all that healthy stuff.

Title: Kitchen Witch: Vegan Magic

Author: Kara Maia, Spring 2002

Availability: I'm not sure if this is current, but here's the contact email.

Size: 5 1/2 X 8 1/2 (vertical half-size letter) / Stapled

Length: 43 pages

Collection: 33 recipes

5 Recipes to Intrigue: Tahini Tofu Spread, Sharon's Samadhi Tofu, Sweet and Sassy Split Pea Soup, Tortillas and Tiger Shake

XGFXness: There's plenty of xgfx in here, from soups, to salads and smoothies.

Zine Wiki: Not listed

xo kittee

Happy Hump-Hump-Hump Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:59:00 +0000

Vegan MoFo 2011 is halfway done, and while I'm not nearly to the point of collapse, I am gonna celebrate the ol' sabbath today by letting my vegan pal Leslie Hall do all the work.

Thank you Mother Gem!

Leslie is one of the best performers and raddest vegans around, and she wants to help us celebrate VeganMoFo Hump Day with a brand new, never released VEGAN SONG! Seriously, the only other place you can hear this song is in Leslie's own living room. Except she's not there, 'cuz she's on tour with Yo Gabba Gabba, so double win for MoFo!

Click on the picture to hear the new song!

The Lyrics:

I eat the finest cuisines, in the finest of places / Stuff my mouth full and always say thank you / But if it's raised in a cage, and it can't even move, if it's hormone filled and in a bad mood / I'm gonna pass on that / Reach for something better / The only milk I'll drink comes from the nipple of a soy bean / Veggies make you live forever, and they seem to taste much better / When they're cooked and grown with love, so give a chef who knows what's up a hug / Momma just can't seem to get it, Papa he just rolls his eyes / When I tell them I'm much healthier, they just say that it's all lies / But beans, nuts, fruits and veggies can really fill the belly / Get you vitamins you need, shiny hair and extra speed / Don't take that meat-wich any further, I want a marinated, deep fried, hand-tied mushroom burger / I like it! / We gotta stand strong for our feathered, furry, sometimes scaly animal friends and their little babies / 'Cuz I wouldn't want to live in a cage in a dark warehouse killed at an early age / Pumped full of hormones, sleeping in my feces / Never met my mother, raised by machines / Never get sunshine never get green, but that's just me / [That girl loves fruit leather!] / So ask us what we're eating, delicious and repeating / Fruits and veggies are so nice, with a slice of tempeh, yes, I'll have that twice / Don't forget the legumes!

This song isn't for sale (yet), but if you love it, you can see a ton of Leslie'a videos online, and she has a bunch of crafts and CDs for purchase, too. If you ever have a chance to see her live, run as fast as you can to get tix--best shows ever!

xo
kittee

P.S. For a better look at my Leslie Hall NECK TATTOO, please check out Nicole's blog Vegan Things I like.

Don't Eat Off the Sidewalk: Simple Recipes for Complicated Vegans

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 04:35:00 +0000

I'm definitely too talkie for Wordless Wednesdays, too clashy for What I Wore Wednesdays and maybe just lame enough to start ~~WTF~~ (slashed because this actually exists), so I'll go with Wacky Wednesdays. There ya go. Anyway, I'm trying to organize a Vegan MoFo flash mob for this coming Friday, which also happens to be Vegan MoFo's (eff yea) Hump Day. It's gonna be fun, and no, you don't need to know what I'm talking about to participate. Just be spontaneous and go here to submit your email so I can send you the details tomorrow. The link is only gonna be up for part of tomorrow, so get on it. Otherwise you're gonna be feeling left out come Friday, and as you all know worm eating is not for lovers.

On to the zines! Today Amy Applesauce came over for a long overdue cook-date. After we walked vee for a long jaunt, we came home and fixed lunch from Mrs. Hubbard's spiffy 2007 Don't Eat Off the Sidewalk. Yes, she named her zine after a Cramps song, and no, I don't know which song. Although, I did see The Cramps play a tiny UT venue in the early 90s. Lux Interior wore black leggings and matching skyscraper-stilettos and climbed off and on the super-tall monitors throughout their entire set.

The obligatory front and back covers, drawn by Felica Olin.

I knew going into DEOTS I wanted to make the Tempeh Wingz, 'cuz they're world famous, I'd never tried them before and they're unapologetically spelled with a zee. Amy wanted to make something sans soy, so we also whipped up Katie's Vegetable Fried Rice.

Clockwise from top: Vegetable Fried Rice, daintily dressed Tempeh Wings and nummy Wingz' Sauce.

Here's a picture of our spread, I lightly dressed the wingz, for this photo 'cuz I wanted you to see how thick and crunchy the breading came out. Everything was really tasty, and I learned something new about xgfx cooking in the process. I bet you didn't know that brown rice cakes whizzed up in the ol' electric spice grinder resemble panko. Did ya, huh?

"There is no wrong with this pie."

Katie's recipes are really simple to make, soul-comforting and easy on the eyes, too. You might not see it in the picture, but our Vegetable Fried Rice was a gorgeous double rainbow of delight. Stuffed full with: purple cabbage, cauliflower, portobello mushroom, onion, red pepper and broccoli. I'm looking forward to chugging leftovers for breakfast tomorrow.

Title: Don't Eat Off the Sidewalk #1

Author: Katie Hubbard

Availability:

I don't think any of Katie's zines are available anymore, but you can bug her about them on her blog.  Also, she has a bunch of recipes posted there, including her world renowned Tempeh Wingz.

Size: 5 1/2 X 8 1/2 (vertical half-size letter) / Stapled

Length: 18 pages

Collection: 15 recipes

5 Recipes to Intrigue: Tempeh Wingz, Emergency Barbecue Sauce, Frozen Banana Pops, Herbed Tomato Potato Salad and Vegetable Fried Rice.

XGFXness: About five of the recipes call for wheat flour and could be xgfxercised with some know-how, while the others are xgfx or easy to make xgfx.

Zine Wiki: Not listed

Death by GasTank's Peanut Butter Crispie Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 05:19:00 +0000

The first time I looked though GasTank, I stopped on page 73 and had to take an extra breath. "Peanut Butter Crispie Cake," right there at the top of the page. Basically you make peanut butter rice crispie stuff and instead of making squares with it, YOU PRESS IT INTO CAKE ROUNDS. This idea changed my life, but it gets even better...After you pop these babies outta the cake pans you frost 'em with peanut butter buttercream like a double-layer cake and then pour chocolate glaze over the top. My earth actually bobbed, I kid not-- best idea, EVER.

Featuring Breakfast, Lots of Desserts and Everything in-Between! I'll say.

I will not lie; I haven't tried any recipes from this zine, because really--why bother? When you've been handed the world and it only cost you a few bucks, you don't need another split pea soup recipe.

This zine contains a lot of comics copied from Lynda Barry, but I like the fork above best.

It goes like this: I already have recipes for peanut butter rice crispie bars, peanut butter buttercream and chocolate ganache--so I use the ones I know, instead of the ones in this zine. But they're almost the same as the ones offered here, so it's copacetic either way. Especially since this makes it easier for me to share the dream.

Clockwise from top left: peanut butter crispie crust, peanut butter buttercream, rocky road brownie and chocolate ganache.

Somewhere in my past, I've already made a regular Peanut Butter Crispie double layer cake with peanut butter buttercream and chocolate glaze, so I wanted to do something a little different and with more class. A showboat I could bring to my craft group to keep everyone up all night with sugar jingles.

I made a Peanut Butter Crispie Brownie Pie with peanut butter buttercream and chocolate ganache. And sprinkles. And I had one piece, and I may never sleep again. Be warned.


Geographical Pie Chart.

First I made a peanut butter crispie crust by quartering this recipe, and I used organic corn syrup, because I had some laying around. It works just fine with agave, tho, so use that if you have it. I pressed it into an 8" springform pan and then popped it out to chill, I also may have mixed in some dandies and organic chocolate chips, but my lawyer has advised me not to discuss the details.

Then I made my standard brownie recipe, and I may have mixed dandies into that too. Then I spread some peanut butter buttercream on top of the crust (coconut oil, organic powdered sugar and crunchy peanut butter all mixed together), popped the brownie on top of that and doused the whole thing with a nice thick-thick-thick ganache. The sprinkles were for looks, but I'd leave them off next time, too crunchy for my liking.

This pie is delicious, but mind jabbing.

Title: GasTank

Author: GasTank

Availability: Not sure if this is current, but here's the contact email and here's her Etsy Shop (she has an all dessert zine, too). Oh goodness.

Size: 5 1/2 X 8 1/2 (vertical half-size letter) / Stapled

Length: 118 pages

Collection: 100+

5 Recipes to Intrigue: Yeast Buckwheat Cakes, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars, Peanut Butter Candied Corn, and Russian Dressing.

XGFXness: There are lots of recipes for baked goods and breads, which all include wheat flour, but there are a lot of soups, stews and casseroles that are xgfx.

Zine Wiki: Not listed

xo
kittee

Please Don't Feed the Bears #2, Steve and Heidi Make Good

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 04:46:00 +0000

Brad Misanthrope's Don't Feed the Bears #1-3 are pretty well known in the indy zine/book circuit, if you know them, you're probably familiar with the compiled book Microcosm released a few years ago. I don't remember when or how, but lucky for me, that implanted vegan cookzine magnet I've got has enabled me to collect all three of these in their original format.

Here's the front view of all three copies.

All of the cover art and illustrations are hand-drawn by Brad, with tons of his political musings as well as music selections for each recipe strewn throughout.

You wanna see their backsides? What??

By the time I got to New Orleans, Brad had already moved on to Pennsylvania, but apparently he spent a few years down there, too.

I thought this roach sentiment was both uplifting and especially apropos for today's menu item. I scoured through all three copies, trying to decide which to sample. Tons of stuff sounded good, but I settled on "Steve and Heidi's Authentic Creole Tofu and Rice." I read through the ingredients and had everything on hand, plus I knew that Dazee would be super happy to guzzle this for dinner.

The recipe begins where all tasty recipes begin-- with crispy, noochie coated tofu cubes. I cut the tofu into small cubes, doused 'em in wheat-free tamari, then dunked 'em all in a blend of Tony Chachere's and nutritional yeast. When using any sort of seasoning blend, I am a strong advocate for purchasing the salt-free variety, otherwise you can't properly control how the dish is seasoned, without worrying about things getting too salty.

The nooch cubes were tossed onto an oiled baking sheet and thrown into a hot oven until sizzling, chewy and golden brown. Pretty good on their own!

Then I was directed to make a roux, I went with a medium-dark one made from olive oil, gluten-free oat and chickpea flours, which I cooled quickly down with a big shot of Trinity (chopped onions, celery and red bell pepper). Garlic and other spices were added, including more Tony Chachere's. That stuff always makes me sneeze, no matter what, so you know it's potent.

After the vegetables had cooked and softened, I added some water and tomato paste to make a gravy. This was served over some pink rice (thank you Vida Vegan!) and topped with the chewy tofu. Super filling and delicious, especially dappled with Tabasco!

Title: Please Don't Feed the Bears, #2 (Too Late)
Author: Brad Misanthrope
Availability: Available here from Microcosm.
Size: 5 1/2 X 8 1/2 (vertical half-size letter) / Stapled
Length: 70 pages
Collection: 81 recipes with a ton of information including a soundtrack for each.
5 Recipes to Intrigue: Ital Stew, Caribbean Rice and Peas, Kofta Balls, Korean Seasoned Potatoes and Watermint-Melon Slushie
XGFXness: Lots of these recipes are gluten-free, mostly just the baked goods (which are limited) contain gluten.
Zine Wiki: Not listed

Thanks Brad!
xo
kittee

Squash Circles

noreply@blogger.com (Kittee Bee Berns) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 05:11:00 +0000

Here I am with a quick post to fill you in on something you hopefully already know about. Squash Circles! I've been poppin' the delicata squash like Pez over here, and they taste just as good.

To make 'em, wash the delicata squash well, but don't peel! With a super sharp knife, cut the squash into slices about 3/4" thick, which will yield a bunch of circles. Then with a spoon, scoop away any strings or flesh in the center and throw the seeds in a bowl of water to soak. In a large bowl, toss the circles with a little olive or grapeseed oil, salt, chipotle chile powder and about a teaspoon of brown sugar. Lay them in a single file on top of a parchment lined cookie sheet and roast at 425F until brown and soft, turning them once. These make a quick snack-- they only take about 15 minutes to bake.

While the circles are baking, prepare the seeds (these are just as tasty as pumpkin, only smaller). Throw the wet seeds into a sieve, then scoop out any squash guts. If you like, you can season the drained seeds the same way as the circles. A little sugar will help them get brown and caramelized and plays against the heat of the pepper--use cayenne or ancho for a switch, or leave it all out. Just don't forgot the oil and salt!

xo
kittee