by betsy

Blooming Platter Cookbook Giveaway Reminder PLUS Vegan Chickpea Sausages with Roasted Apples, Onions, and Jalapenos with Cashew Cream & Pomegranate Molasses Drizzle

This Mediterranean riff on sausage and sauerkraut is perfect for Oktoberfest.  A fresh take on its forebear, my version will perfume your kitchen with warm North African spices when its cool outside.  And the presentation is so special, yet simple, that you can turn dinner into a dinner party.

Yield: 4 servings

Note: you will need to make the Cashew Cream a day in advance.

Cashew Cream

You will have lots of leftover, but you’ll be glad you do!

2 cups raw cashews, divided in half

2 cups water, divided in half

Sea salt to taste.

In a covered bowl, soak 1 cup cashews in 1 cup water overnight in the refrigerator.  Rinse and drain.  Process the cup of soaked cashews with the additional cup of raw unsoaked cashews and the remaining cup of water in a food processor for several minutes, or until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Add salt to taste, process just to combine, and store covered in the refrigerator.

Vegan Chickpea Sausages

1 1/2 cups chickpeas, rinsed and drained (1-15.5 ounce can)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos

1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Pinch of sea salt

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Freshly ground black pepper or white pepper to taste

Roasted Apples, Onions, and Jalapenos (recipe follows)

Accompaniment: 8 cups of very lightly packed fresh baby spinach lightly barely sauteed in about 4 teaspoons of olive oil over medium high heat for about 30 seconds to 1 minute

Optional Garnish:

Cashew Cream (recipe is above)

A drizzle of Pomegranate Molasses (available at Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Markets)

Tear off 4 sheets of foil about 6 inches wide. Place a steamer basket in a 4-quart saucepan and fill with water just to the bottom of the steamer. Cover the pan and bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer.

In a medium bowl, mash the chickpeas and garlic until creamy. A few small pieces of beans may remain. Stir in the vegetable broth, olive oil, and Worcestershire sauce, and set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk together vital wheat gluten, salt, coriander, cumin, paprika, and pepper.  Pour the bean mixture into a well in the center of the dry ingredients and, using a fork, stir the dry ingredients around the edge of the bowl into the wet center until all of the ingredients are completely combined.

Divide the dough into four equal parts. Place each part on a sheet of foil and shape into 5 to 6-inch long logs about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, pressing mixture together fairly firmly. Lay each log along one long edge of the foil and roll snugly, bending up the foil at the ends. Place the logs into the steamer–either  vertically or horizontally, two on the bottom and two on top of them–and steam for 40  minutes, adding more hot water to the saucepan
if necessary to prevent it from evaporating completely.

Remove the sausages from the steamer and unroll them when cool enough to handle. Be careful that you don’t burn yourself with escaping steam. At this point, I like to split the sausages lengthwise and grill for 2-3 minutes on each side on my stovetop grill pan.  Serve the sausages on a bed of the lightly sauteed spinach topped with the roasted apples and garnished with a dollop of cashew cream and a drizzle of pomegranate syrup.  While the sausages steam, make roasted apples.

Roasted Apples, Onions, and Jalapenos

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 gala apples (or your favorite sweet-tart variety), stemmed, cored, and cut into 8 wedges each

1/2 of a large Vidallia or other yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch slivers

1 jalapeno, stemmed, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/8-inch slivers (you can use two if you choose, but that makes for a really spicy dish!)

Sea salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Pour olive oil into a large metal roasting pan.  (If the ingredients are crowded, they will steam instead of roast.)  Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat with the oil.  Roast for 20 minutes, stirring after 10.  Remove the pan from the oven and serve as described above.

 

Blooming Platter Cookbook Giveaway

For more than 150 additional mouthwatering recipes to celebrate all year long, I invite you to check out The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes.

Enter to win you very own copy by clicking here.  Deadline is Saturday, October 8 at midnight!

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by betsy

Blooming Platter Cookbook Giveaway AND Vegan Pumpkin Pie Espresso (with REAL pumpkin puree)

First, don’t miss my cookbook giveaway by going here.  Deadline is next weekend.

And, second, it is Day 3 of Vegan MoFo and, Starbucks, you know I love ‘ya, but you can’t touch this!…

In recognition of this season of vegan eating and drinking, it is my pleasure to offer you my brand new breakfast beverage that is quick enough for a hurried weekday morning.  But it’s also perfect for a weekend morning when the first nip of fall is in the air.

 

As a pre-vegan child, I was never much of a breakfast eater, especially on weekdays.  Getting out the door to school–which I actually loved–was enough of a challenge.  So, my nourishment of choice was Carnation Instant Breakfast.  Always Chocolate.  Remember those?  It was (and I guess still is?) a vitamin and mineral-fortified powdered mixture that is whisked into milk.

Turns out that the most important meal of the day (though there is now some debate about that) is still not my favorite on weekdays.  On the way to school, now as an art teacher, I whip into Starbucks and grab a venti Green Tea Soy Frappuccino to go–hold the classic syrup and, of course, the whip–in one of their insulated travel cups.   (An aside: my neighbor, Joe Pitt,  who “tricks out” high-end custom motorcycles is making a bracket so that he can attach a cup holder to my Vespa!)

On weekends, though, I love to make, especially, pancakes a zillion ways, but also French toast and other fruit pastry type dishes (you’ll find many on this blog and more in my cookbook.)

However, after one of my favorite SB baristas told me about an apple cider and soy concoction, I decided to try to make one at home.  It was a miserable failure.  The soymilk curdled the apple.  I’ll have to find out her secret.

In the meantime, still craving a warm and comforting beverage of some sort–and with some pumpkin puree on hand–I created Pumpkin Pie Espresso which I hope might become a staple in your home. It’s quick, delicious, nutritious, fragrant, and super-satisfying.  The real pumpkin puree lends just the right of body so that it is still very sip-able, but with a lusciousness about it.

Minnie in the Morning--when food is involved, Minnie is never very far away!

Yield: 1 1/2 cups (that’s a single serving for me!)

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

Sweetener of your choice: agave or maple syrup, natural sugar, Stevia, Splenda (eek!), etc.

Pumpkin pie spice, to taste (or a combination of small pinches of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves–go lighter still on the cloves–etc.)

1 1/4 cups unsweetened, plain or vanilla soymilk

1 rounded teaspoon of instant espresso (about 1 1/8-1 1/4 teaspoons)

1 cinnamon stick

Saucer garnish: a star anise pod

Optional: Rosemary-Caramel Sauce to drizzle (I love the rosemary, but if that sounds odd to you, just follow the recipe but omit the rosemary)

In a microwave safe 2-cup measure or a 1-quart saucepan, whisk together pumpkin puree, sweetener and pumpkin pie spice to taste.  When you have it just right, whisk in the soymilk and espresso powder.  Drop in the cinnamon stick and either microwave for about 2 minutes on high–watch closely so it doesn’t spill over–or simmer for approximately the same amount of time over medium to medium-high heat.  Remove the cinnamon stick to a mug and then pour in the pumpkin-espresso mixture.  Serve with a star anise on the saucer.  [I love the way these look–so organic and autumnal, but they aren’t to be eaten, so when I’m finished, I just pop it back into the jar (with clean hands) and use it again.]

To make this beverage ultra-decadent, serve it with a caramel drizzle.  Mine isn’t formulated to float on top like Starbucks is, but mine also isn’t dairy!  And since it sinks, it adds flavor, but it’s also about the overall presentation.  A little bowl of caramel sauce and a pretty silver spoon just looks so inviting sitting on the table.

 

For more than 150 additional mouthwatering recipes to celebrate all year long, I invite you to check out The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes.

 

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by betsy

Blooming Platter Vegan Cookbook Giveaway AND Baked Apples Baklava with Cider Sauce

In celebration of the first day of the first full week of Vegan MoFo 2011, I wanted to offer a cookbook giveaway for all you MoFos out there.   On the block is my brand new cookbook, The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes, published in May 2011 by the good folks at Vegan Heritage Press.

It’s simple to enter!  Just add a comment to this post on one of two topics: 1) either share how you “MoFo” (do you blog, subscribe to MoFo headquarters rss feed, read more blogs than usual, cook more than usual, etc.); or 2) share your favorite way to enjoy apples in the fall.

I’d also love it if you checked out the book on Amazon, read one or two of the very generous reviews and, if you like what you see, “like” the book while on the Amazon site.

A winner will be chosen at random (using www.random.org–very cool site), next Sunday, October 9.  Deadline to enter is midnight (wherever you are in the world), Saturday, October 8.  Make sure your email address is accessible through your comment.  The winner will be notified privately via email to provide me with your mailing address.

A quick note: I will respond to the comments at the end of the contest because if I respond as I receive them, it will throw the numbers off for the random calculation of a winner.  So, I want you to know in advance that I appreciate you, and don’t want you to think I am being rude by not acknowledging your time and effort!

That’s all there is to it!  Please spread the word.  But first, check out this sneak preview recipe from The Blooming Platter Cookbook.  I love re-imagining one dish as another, and my Baked Apples Baklava is a perfect and perfectly tasty example of that.  And, though the presentation is elegant, the recipe is as simple as can be, provided you purchase the phyllo dough.  If you decide to be an over-achiever and make your own, that’s on you!

Baked Apples Baklava with Cider Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

Baked apples are one of the wonders of autumn. In this dessert, tender stuffed apple halves are wrapped up like a beautiful package in buttery phyllo dough. They are as scrumptious for breakfast or brunch as they are for dessert.

Apples:

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon natural sugar

1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice

2 teaspoons agave nectar

2 large McIntosh or other sweet-tart red apples, stemmed

Juice of one lemon

1/4 cup vegan butter

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon natural sugar

16 sheets phyllo dough, thawed

 

Cider Sauce:

3/4 cup apple cider

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup agave nectar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cinnamon stick, halved

 

Optional Garnish:

Cinnamon stick halves

Walnut pieces

 

1. Apples: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a small bowl, combine the walnuts, sugar, apple pie spice, and agave nectar and set aside. Cut the apples in half lengthwise.  Using a melon baller, remove the core of the apples in two scoops to make a generous void for the filling. Rub the cut surface of the apples with lemon juice. Press one-fourth of walnut filling into each hollowed out void.

2. Combine the vegan butter and olive oil in a small bowl. Unroll the phyllo dough and cover with plastic wrap and a damp towel. Remove one sheet of dough to a flat work surface and brush lightly with butter-oil mixture. Repeat with three more sheets, stacking them.

3. Place the apple half, filling side up, in the center of the stacked phyllo. Bring up one corner of the dough over the filling, then the opposite corner. Repeat with the remaining corners, smoothing as you go, to make a tight package.

4. Brush on a little more butter-oil mixture and place the apples, flat side down, on a baking sheet or stone. Brush the top with a little more of the butter-oil mixture, smoothing down the edges of the dough. Repeat with remaining apple halves, filling and dough. Sprinkle each with 1/4 teaspoon of sugar. Bake for 30 minutes.

5. Cider Sauce: In a 1 quart saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes. Cool slightly to serve. Remove the cinnamon stick halves before serving or use them as two of the garnishes.

6. To assemble: Arrange the baked apples on dessert plates drizzled with the Cider Sauce and garnished with cinnamon sticks and walnuts, if using.

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by betsy

Vegan Southwestern Zucchini and Beans with Smoked Paprika-Lime Cashew Cream

I’m a MoFo Virgin.  Hold on…get your mind out of the butter, I mean gutter.  Well, same thing.  Anyway, it’s just that today is the first day of “Vegan MoFo 2011,” that’s “Vegan Month of Food” for any neophytes out there, and it is my very first time to participate.

Click the link to visit the official Vegan MoFo Headquarters where you can learn more and subscribe to the feed…and we do mean feed!

Simply put, Vegan MoFo is a month-long celebration of vegan cooking and eating.  Around the globe, vegan bloggers will be posting as much and as often as they can about vegan food.  And you can be privy to it all by subscribing.  You can also search Vegan MoFo online, as many bloggers, like me, use that category or tag.

Many thanks to vegan guru and cookbook author, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, and her Post Punk Kitchen for launching and maintaining Vegan MoFo.   Isa and her team make it so easy to participate, even providing the cool banner (above) at no charge  and with just a click to download–no copying of code into the bowels of one’s blog program–whew!

And now let the feast begin, quickly before the last of summer’s zucchini had withered up…

Yield: 4 servings (you will have leftover beans and cashew cream, but you won’t mind a bit!)

Plan to start making the Cashew Cream the day before you want to use it, as the cashews need to soak overnight.

Paprika-Lime Cashew Cream

3 cups raw cashews, divided in half  (I buy Trader Joe’s reasonably affordable organic cashews)

1 1/2 cups water

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

Pinch of garlic powder

Sea salt to taste

Pinch of white pepper (black is fine; it just shows up more)

Zest of 1 small lime + juice of half of the lime

First make basic cashew cream:  Place 1 1/2 cups of cashews covered with water in an airtight container and let soak, refrigerated, overnight.  The next day, rinse and drain the cashews in a colander, and place into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade.   Add remaining cashews and process until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.  The processing will take several minutes.  Remove a generous cup of the cream to a small bowl.  Transfer the remaining cream into an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator for another use.  (Adding a little sugar, vanilla and lime zest makes a lovely cream topping for sweet dishes.)  To the cup of cream in the bowl, whisk in the remaining ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Begin making beans early in the day, as they will need to soak;

1 pound bag of Anasazi beans (pinto beans or something similar would also work great)

10 cups of water, divided into 6 and 4

1 tablespoon of salt + more to taste

2 bay leaves

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup vegan beer or nonalcoholic beer (not all brands are vegan)

1/2 cup diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (you can use any chili powder you like, but I am especially fond of the characteristics of chipotle powder)

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1/2 of a medium yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 zucchini

Pinch of sea salt

1 medium tomato, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 cup of Smoked Paprika-Lime Cashew Cream (recipe above)

Optional garnish: vegan sour cream, cilantro sprigs or chopped cilantro, and/or roasted pumpkin seeds

Bring beans and 6 cups of water to boil over medium-high heat in a covered 4-quart saucepan.  Reduce heat and gently boil for 30 minutes.  Turn off heat and let beans sit for about 6 hours.  Add remaining 4 cups of water, tablespoon of salt, bay leaves, and garlic, and gently boil uncovered for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until most of the water is evaporated.  During the last half hour, add the beer, the 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes, and the cumin, oregano, and chipotle chili powder.  Adjust heat as necessary.  The bean mixture should be quite soft and creamy, but the beans should still hold their shape. Check for seasoning and adjust to suit your taste.

Meanwhile, heat the tablespoon of olive oil to shimmering in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion, zucchini, and salt and saute, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until softened and beginning to develop some color.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 2 cups of the bean mixture plus the diced fresh tomato.  Cover and refrigerate remaining bean mixture for another use.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Oil 4 gratin dishes and divide bean mixture evenly among them.  Drizzle-dollop one-quarter of the Smoked Paprika-Lime Cashew Cream over each serving.  Place the dishes on a baking sheet for easy transport, slide the sheet into the oven, and bake for 20 minutes.  Serve hot dolloped with vegan sour cream and sprinkled with cilantro and or roasted pumpkin seeds if desired.

 

For more than 150 additional mouthwatering recipes to celebrate all year long, I invite you to check out The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes.

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by betsy

Vegan Turks Turban Squash with Pepita and Sage Pesto

Photo credit: TheKitchn.com

Yield: 4 servings

They’re so beautiful…who knew you could eat them?!

I have always thought that Turks Turban Squash–called Mexican Hat Pumpkins by some–were strictly decorative.  Their charming form covered by skin that is truly a fiesta–or Turkish bazaar–of color and pattern has always made me smile.

Imagine my smile when someone at my farm market told me on Friday that they are not only edible but really scrumptious.  An elderly customer had just been in touting the benefits of roasting these beauties.  Convinced, I chose a smallish one just in case things didn’t go so well and drove home wondering if I had a knife sharp enough to cut through it.

Turns out that I would have needed a hatchet to hack through it’s tough exterior and an interior that wasn’t much softer.  So, I managed to cut off and discard its top knot which housed mostly seeds and pulp, pierced the body it a few times, and then roasted it at 450 for 30 minutes.  After I let it cool just enough to handle, I cut the base into about 2 x 2-inch chunks and easily removed the skin with a paring knife.

Then I roasted it again in a little olive oil and sea salt for 20 minutes, turning after 10.  Wow…what a beautiful golden crust developed!  And finally, I dressed it with a tiny bit more olive oil mixed with a drizzle of walnut oil and balsamic vinegar.

It is delicious like that–with a flavor and texture that is a cross between a pumpkin and a potato.  But I can ‘t leave well enough alone, and you’ll be glad I didn’t…

I guess because of the name Mexican Hat, I started thinking of Pepitas and wondering if I could make a pesto with them.  And because I love butternut squash ravioli (vegan) with sage butter–and because I just generally love sage in the fall–I decided to add a bit of it from our garden.  As I developed the pesto, I ended up adding a pinch of nutmeg–which I love in the aforementioned ravioli–and a bit of chipotle chili powder as a nod in the direction of Mexico.

Thinking the mixture needed a hint of sweetness, I added a dribble of maple syrup, and then thinking it needed a pop of bright acidity, I folded in a squeeze of lime juice.  And I made sure to add exactly the right amount of olive oil to yield a pesto that would drizzle and not just dab.

I am completely excited to share with you the results that will be on my fall table from now on.

1 Turks Turban squash about 8 inches in diameter, top knot removed and discarded

2 scant tablespoons olive oil, divided in half

1 teaspoon walnut oil (or more olive oil)

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Sea salt to taste

Pepita and Sage Pesto (recipe follows)

Optional garnish: a few roasted and salted Pepitas and sprigs of fresh sage

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Oil a metal roasting pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.  Pierce the squash all over with a sharp knife, place it in the pan, and roast it, uncovered, for 30 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and allow the squash to sit until cool enough to handle.  Then remove and discard the seeds and pulp and cut the squash into chunks, approximately 2 x 2-inches in diameter or just slightly larger.  Remove the skin with a paring knife and discard.

Return the oven to 450 degrees if you turned it off, and place the squash chunks into the roasting pan.  Drizzle them with the remaining 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and toss to coat.  Roast for 10 minutes, turn each chunk, and roast for another 10 minutes or until a beautiful golden crust develops where the squash has been in contact with the pan and the flesh is tender, but not mushy.    When the squash is tender and golden, remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle the squash with walnut oil and balsamic vinegar, toss very gently, and then remove the squash to a serving platter. Drizzle the golden chunks with Pesto, garnish with Pepitas and/or fresh sage sprigs, and serve immediately, passing a small bowl of any remaining pesto.

While squash roasts, make Pesto.

 

Vegan Pepita and Sage Pesto:

1/2 cup roasted and lightly salted Pepitas (I buy Trader Joe’s brand)

1 medium clove of garlic, peeled

8 fresh sage leaves

1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg (freshly grated is especially nice)

1/8 teaspoon of chipotle chile powder

1/2 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon maple syrup

juice of 1/2 of a small lime

Sea salt to taste (I like a “goodly” amount in this)

Place Pepitas, garlic, sage, nutmeg and chili powder in the bowl of a food processor.  Process until a coarse paste forms.  With the motor running, add olive oil in a steady stream until the mixture is pulpy-smooth.  Turn off the motor.  Add maple syrup, lime, and salt to taste, and pulse just two or three times to combine.  Adjust seasoning if desired, and use immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator.  Allow to come to room temperature or heat slightly before serving.

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by betsy

Hello Beautiful!

Minnie's Sunny Siesta--every day after lunch this summer, she would take herself out to go lie in that strip of sun on the deck.

Yesterday, I took Miss Minnie to the vet for her wellness checkup.

When Dr. Smith opened the door to the exam room, he said, “Hello, beautiful.”  And I knew he wasn’t talking to me!

Just look at our gorgeous girl!

And at 88 lbs., our formerly homeless gal can no longer be called “Skinny Minnie.”   Thank goodness.

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by betsy

Go Dairy Free Touts Blooming Platter Vegan Farmstand Fruit Muffins as a Fall Favorite

Alisa Fleming, creator of “Go Dairy Free,” posted a lovely review of The Blooming Platter Cookbook just a little while back.   Her endorsement is very flattering for, through her work, she’s seen more than her fair share of wonderful cookbooks.

But, with the change in seasons, she felt herself returning again to “The Platter” in search of what she calls “that depth of flavor that I love this time of year.”   What she found and dubbed “perfect fall comfort food” was my Farmstand Fruit Muffins.  Follow the link for her intro, favorite apples recommendations, and the recipe.

Thank you, Alisa, for the post and for calling my cookbook a “creative collection of recipes”~enjoy everyone!

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by betsy

From My Blooming Platter to Yours: Sweet Potatoes Caribbean

Even though the weather is (finally!) turning cool,  you can put a tropical twist in your fall feasts with my Sweet Potatoes Caribbean.  Though this recipe is featured in my new Blooming Platter Cookbook, I was pleased to share it with the good folks at AltDaily.com who are graciously publishing a Blooming Platter recipe to usher in each new season.

Click here for the recipe, as well as the skinny about my next book-signing on October 15 at the wonderful Old Beach Farmer’s Market here in VA Beach.  For out-of-towners, you will also find alternative purchase information.

Can you believe it’s almost time to start thinking about holiday gift-giving?!

 

 

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by betsy

Vegan Curried Apple-Scallion Fritters with Maple-Chutney Syrup

Y ield: 16 small fritters

 Today is gloriously chilly and rainy; it really feels like fall.   And with the first hints of fall comes my longing for comfort foods.  So by about 11:30 this morning, I found myself feeling a bit peckish, but caught between my desire for something sweetish a la breakfast or more savory a la lunch.

I was leaning toward something with sweet potatoes, but had ideas for them that suited a bigger appetite than I had at the time.  So I decided to save them, but spotted a lone Virginia apple in a bowl nearby and instantly decided on savory apple fritters, the pancakey kind, not the deep fried variety.    

Fritters are so versatile that it would have been easy to load them up with all manner of finely diced or shredded veggies, but I decided to keep the veggie ingredients simple and use some complex spices.  As I inhaled the aroma of the shredded apples, smoked paprika came to mind, so in it went.  And I love curry and apple together in a seitan or tempeh salad, so I decided to add a bit of curry powder.  I then sprinkled in a little turmeric for color and aroma, but the golden batter–made even more so by my inclusion of both flour and corn meal mix–still seemed to need an infusion of “warm” spices on this cool day.  So after perusing my spice carousels, I opted for ground cardamom and mace.   Lovely!

As they cooked, I started fantasizing about what I should drizzle over them.  I love the flavor of maple with both apple and savory ingredients,–who doesn’t!–so maple syrup would be the base.  But what would really tie the syrup to the flavors of the fritters?  Ah, chutney!  And I offer you two different preparations because if one savory syrup is good, two are better.

If these fritters sound good to you, I hope you have time to gather the ingredients together and whip them up for your Sunday brunch.  But, if not, this weekend, then soon while fall apples are bountiful.

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup cornmeal mix (if you use plain cornmeal, you’ll need to adjust the baking powder and soda)

optional: 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

optional: 1/8 teaspoon ground mace

1/8-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8-1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Pinch of sea salt + more to taste

1 cup unsweetened soy milk

2 medium sweet-tart apples, stemmed, cored and grated (I use my food processor with its grater attachment for this task)

4 scallions, thinly sliced (reserve a few of the green slices for garnish)

Canola oil for frying

Maple-Chutney Syrup (recipe follows)

Garnish: vegan sour cream and green scallion rings

Line a platter or plates with paper towel.  Preheat oven to its lowest temperature.  In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients.  Make a well in the center and pour in soymilk.  Use a form to incorporate the soymilk into the dry ingredients.  Fold in apple and scallion.  Check for seasoning and adjust as necessary.  Heat a thin layer of corn oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat.  Place 8 slightly rounded tablespoons of batter evenly spaced into the skillet and fry a couple of minutes on one side or until golden.  Flip and fry an additional 2 to 3 minutes on the reverse.  Adjust temperature if necessary so that fritters can fry at least 2-3 minutes on each side without browning because they may look golden on the outside before being fully cooked throughout if not allowed to cook a sufficient amount of time.  Remove to the lined platter or plates and place in the warm oven.  Repeat with remain batter.  Serve fritters, warm, topped with Maple-Chutney Syrup, a tiny dollop of vegan sour cream, and a green scallion ring or two.
Maple-Chutney Syrup

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons prepared chutney (link a mango variety)

OR

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

1/2 teaspoon (or more to taste) prepared cilantro chutney (this bright green chutney is sold in a jar at Indian markets)

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients until well combined.

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by betsy

Vegan Moroccan Chickpeas and Eggplant Topped with Marrakesh Olive Pesto

An unforgettable dipping sauce for the warm homemade bread at Marrakesh Palace in D.C. inspired this olive pesto, and the pesto inspired the rest of the dish.

I was introduced to the pesto, which has no name that I know of, with my wonderful friend Allison when we visited D.C. in August.  We stayed at the Hotel Palomar in Dupont Circle which happened to be just two doors down from Marrakesh.  On my evening walk, it caught my eye and the posted menu was seductive, so we strolled down for a late dinner at around 9.  (How very cosmopolitan of us.)

We sat on the tiny patio on a perfect night eating when we weren’t talking and talking when we weren’t eating (waking up hoarse the next morning!).  Our lovely meal consisted of the bread and pesto dipping sauce, a flavorful Moroccan/Lebanese white bean dish called Loubia, and vegetable soup with glasses of Ksara.

Though I don’t claim that any part of my dish is authentic, it is delicious.  As far as the pesto, our server told us what was in it, and I made up the proportions.  I can’t remember, though, if onion was one of the ingredients, but fearing raw onion might overwhelm the other flavors, I didn’t include it.

While I could eat my weight of bread dunked in the pesto–and I think I did–tonight for dinner, I wanted something more nutritionally balanced that I could call a meal.  Chickpeas sounded perfect, so I scooped up a can at the grocery store on my way home from school.  I knew that I had an onion, garlic, and a red bell pepper that would be pretty and delicious with the them.  But, much to my delight, I also had an eggplant that I had bought at a farm market during this last gasp of summer.  (Note that, for some reason, I’ve become averse to eggplant skin, as I’ve found it unappetizing in a couple of dishes recently.  So, for this dish, I removed the skin; but if you like it, leave it on.)

One of the most appealing aspects of this dish, both the chickpeas and the pesto–besides the flavor–is all of the fun ways it can be served: as a crostini toppings, as a pita bread or other pizza topping, as a pita sandwich filling, or over a bed of sauteed greens or couscous.  And that’s just for starters.  But the filling and pesto also pairs beautifully in my Taco Morocco!  I’d love to know how you serve it.

Marrakesh Olive Pesto

2 cups pitted green olives

1/2 of a medium tomato, cut into chunks

1 stalk celery, cut into chunks

1 small carrot, peeled and cut into chunks

2 large cloves of garlic

1/4 cup flavorful extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients except olive oil and salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped and pulpy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Add the olive oil, salt and pepper and pulse a few more times until well combine and a bit smoother.  Adjust seasoning if necessary.  Transfer to a serving bowl or airtight storage container.  If not using immediately, store, covered, in the refrigerator.

Moroccan Chickpeas and Eggplant

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 of a medium yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

sea salt

2 cups 1/2-inch eggplant cubes (I peel the eggplant first)

1/2 cup fresh tomato puree

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1/4 cup water or dry red or white wine (the flavor will be different, but still delicious)

1-15.5 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses (available at Middle Eastern or Mediterranean markets)

1 tablespoon agave nectar

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Pinch of red pepper flakes or to taste

Zest of 1/2 of a small lemon (about 1 teaspoon)

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried)

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil to shimmering in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and a pinch of salt and saute, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes or until softened and some golden color starts to develop.  Add the eggplant and remaining tablespoon of oil an saute, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until the eggplant is softened and taking on some color.  Add the tomato puree, garlic and bell pepper and cook another5 minutes.  Add water or wine and remaining ingredients, except lemon zest and parsley, and heat through, stirring continually, until the water cooks down and the mixture becomes very thick, which happens quite quickly.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.  Stir in the lemon zest and parsley and remove from the heat.  Serve warm topped with Marrakesh Olive Pesto as is or on grilled bread as a crostini, as a pizza topping or pita sandwich filling, or over a bed of sauteed greens or fluffy couscous.

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