Vegan Tacos

I was feeling quite lazy the other day when I whipped these little guys up. They are definitely nothing special, aside from the fact that they're made with chickpeas instead of ground meat. I'm sharing this because people don't often think to make their tacos with anything other than ground beef or fake ground beef. Legumes are such a great idea! All you have to do is get some taco seasoning (always check the ingredients label first, of course), your favorite toppings, maybe some soy cheese and chickpeas. Cook the chickpeas with the taco seasoning in place of the ground beef and you get these:

Sweet Pea and Garlic Soup

 I found the most amazing, flavorful and simple recipe on Food~Fitness~FreshAir the other day. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to try it out. I didn't even feel the need to adjust it and make my own Frankenstein version as I normally do with most foods. The best thing about this recipe? It's so simple it practically makes itself! Oh, and it's VEGAN! Hoorah. Here she be:

Sweet Pea and Garlic Soup
1/4 cup sliced garlic (10-15 cloves)
-4 cups peas
-2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. pepper
-2 Tbsp. chives, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1. Saute minced garlic in olive oil until garlic is nice and brown. Add peas, salt, pepper and broth. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until peas are tender. Remove from heat.
2. Put one cup aside and puree the rest however you please. I used a blender and in my infinite wisdom and patience I tried to do it all in one batch. Yes, it did look like Regan was in my kitchen when I was through. So, foo', don't do it all in one batch if you're using a blender.
3. Add puree and whole peas together back in the pan. Serve however your sassy little ass wants. This is your world. (thanks Bob Ross)

Anniversary Pancakes

So, yes I am a bad blogger. But whatever. Behold these tasty morsels of delicious deliciousness. It was my and B's anniversary and I thought to myself, what do I do well that B also really likes. You perverts, the answer is cook food! So, on Sunday so I got up early and made these babies:

Banana pancakes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, candied pecans, and peaches poached in ice wine. Now, I don't really have a recipe for this, as I kinda just threw it together, groggily, in the morning. I believe the pancakes go something like:

1 1/2 cups of flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup sugar
2 mashed bananas
1 egg
1 cup of milk (or soy milk, like I had on hand)
Mix the dry ingredients together and then add the wet ingredients. Cook away to your heart's content. I find that the best time to flip your pancakes is when the edges start to look cook and bubbles form in the center.

Peaches:
1 1/2 cups frozen peaches (fresh would have been preferable, if they had any)
2 tbsp ice wine
Pinch of cinnamon
Throw these two things in a pot and reduce until the liquid in the pot has reached the consistency of a syrup. You don't need to add anything else because there is so much sugar in the ice wine that it will thicken on it's own.

Pecans:
1 cup pecan halves
2 tbsp brown sugar
I actually had no idea how to candy nuts so I also just tossed them in a pan together and stirred them until the sugar had melted and coated the nuts nicely. You do have to watch them though, as they can burn quite easily due to the sugar.

Now, just throw it all together and blamo. Bliss. In your mouth.

The Bird and The Fish

There's this old adage that goes something to the effect of: a fish and a bird can fall in love, but where would they make a home? It always seemed so sad to me. Couple that with the impending environmental destruction that global warming threatens life with on a continual basis and soon the possibility of any of us having a place to build a home together diminishes severely. I know that a bird and a fish cannot actually build a home together, but there is something in the potential for togetherness and symbiosis that just feels right somewhere in my bones. I feel that it is via respect and then unity with all life forms that solutions might be found and NOT through alienation that results from being constantly "plugged in". It is for this reason that I have chosen to draw a bird and a fish in the holes where one would normally plug themselves and, and, inadvertently, shut themselves off from the rest of the world. This way you cannot ignore it.

I know it's not the greatest art but I'm hoping that it will inspire some to look outside the box to things that they can up-cycle.

Pavlova

Pavlova is one of my favorite desserts. I first tried it while living in New Zealand and I was hooked immediately. The crispy meringue outside, the softness inside, the cream and all of that fresh fruit? Gird my loins and look out! Ask any New Zealander and they'll tell you that they invented this and that all Aussies are bastards and liars. Ask any Aussie and they'll tell you the same thing but in reverse. Regardless of who first made it, it is delicious!

The best recipe I have found, to date, was actually from that "about" website. You know the one I mean. Here it is.

The best part is that the topping is completely up to you so you can choose your favorite fruits and this is perfect for summer, so go wild!

Tiramisu

Having worked in an Italian restaurant for several years I am very familiar with this dish. At one point I'm sure I could have made it in my sleep. Here's my version:

1 pkg lady fingers
1 container of mascarpone cheese (250 grams)
1 cup strong coffee, cooled. For a coffee-er taste try using espresso powder
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs, seperated
coffee liqueur - if you're a total food snob then feel free to use something expensive and genuine. I found some coffee flavoured swill from Mexico collecting dust in the cupboard.
dash o' vanilla extract
cinnamon to taste/preference
nutmeg to taste/preference

1. Beat egg yolks and sugar together until creamy and pale. Add mascarpone cheese and continue to beat until stiff. Add your dash of vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and a couple of drizzles of the coffee liqueur. Note: I accidentally grabbed the maple extract and added it before I even knew what was happening. It's like the tazmanian devil takes over my body when I enter the kitchen and I just mentally check out....at any rate, the maple turned out just swell. Didn't taste like a Canadian flavour battle or anything...

2. Beat the egg whites until they reach the soft peak stage. Gently fold into the cheese mixture. I genuinely suck shit at folding so I find it easier to add the egg whites in two additions.

3. Combine the coffee with 2 tbsp of coffee liqueur. Dip the lady fingers in the dish, but relatively quickly so they aren't too saturated and soggy. They soak up liquid relatively quickly and will continue to do so when sitting in the dish in the fridge. Arrange in your chosen dish. In the past I have used dainty little coffee cups and this always turns out really cute and creates an individual sized portion. But that was when I had access to better things. This time I just had a baking pan. Whatever floats your boat. Put it in a fish bowl for all I care. Just make sure the fish are out first.

4. Layer lady fingers soaked in coffee in one layer so they are covering the bottom of the pan, then add a layer of cheese mixture. Continue until complete.

5. Drink the rest of the coffee liqueur and enjoy some badass dessert. Just make sure you refrigerate it for about four hours first. That should give you enough time to finish the liqueur off anyway.

Blueberry Crumble

 As a continuation from my post about barbecues 'n' shit, here's some blueberry crumble that the fam seemed to love. I halved the original recipe, which accounts for the funny sounding measurements. This was enough for four people with no left overs. Adjust according to the amount of people you want to feed. Foo'.

Blueberry Crumble Filling:

2 1/2 cups of blueberries (I used wild blueberries and they were so small and sweet and delicious!)
1 1/2 tbsps lemon juice
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of flour
1/16th tablespoon of salt (see what I mean about ridiculous measurements?)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Blueberry Crumble Topping:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 tbsps butter or margarine softened (if you use margarine you could make it vegan quite easily - remember to always read the ingredients though because sometimes companies put dairy in their margarine anyway for some annoying reason)

1. Sprinkle berries with lemon juice and set aside.
2. Combine sugar and next three ingredients. Add to berries, stirring well.
3. Combine crumble ingredients with a pastry blender or two knives if you don't have a pastry blender. If you're really ghetto you could probably use the back of a spoon. Whatever you do, make sure that it reaches pea-sized consistency. Then toss that shit on top of yo' crumble.
4. Bake at 400F for 35 minutes. Enjoy with a huge scoop of ice-cream or soy-cream.