Pan Roasted Hen of the Woods Mushrooms with Maple Pumpkin Polenta and Tatsoi “Spoon” Mustard Greens

While I owe you guys a recap of my Alternative Thanksgiving talk and demo this past Tuesday night, I just must share this amazing, oh-my-goodness-this-is-the-perfect-autumn-easy-but-fancy-pants dinner. Last week Barbara of Dish ‘n’ That shared the most amazing looking polenta recipe from Cuisine magazine: Maple Pumpkin Polenta. As soon as she posted it, I knew I had to make it. I mean, pumpkin and maple syrup and polenta all in one dish? How much better can it get?! The recipe comes from Gigi Trattoria in Rhinebeck, New York, and all it is is roasted pumpkin (or canned), maple syrup, and polenta. So simple yet so flavorful! I can’t keep myself from scooping up additional servings.

But I needed something to go with the amazing polenta and that’s where, per usual, the lovely Grandin Village Farmers Market comes in handy. Paul Carter of Thistle Dew Farm in Charlotte County Virginia is my mushroom hook-up. He’s the one who supplies me with the utterly amazing (yet sadly now out-of-season) Chicken of the Woods mushrooms. Now, thankfully, Hen of the Woods are in season! For several months Holeman & Finch (my favorite restaurant in Atlanta) had a roasted Hen of the Woods Mushroom with polenta on their menu and I’ve been itching to recreate it for awhile, so now was definitely the time. At $5 a container, they’re not the cheapest items, but freshly foraged mushrooms are my Achilles heel.

Also at the farmers market, I scored a head of Tatsoi “Spoon” Mustard Greens. I was attracted to the mustard greens because 1) I’d never heard of them before, and 2) they whorl around a center stem like baby bok choi, and seriously, how cute is that? I’m such a sucker for cute food. All I did to these lovely greens was chop off the chunky midstem and then saute them in olive oil with garlic. A little bit spicy, a lot green and good-for-me tasting–they were the perfect accompaniment for the mushrooms and polenta.

The best part about this meal is that it’s so easy to whip up. The polenta takes 15-20 minutes and while it’s cooking you can saute the greens in one pan and the mushrooms in another. Plate all the pieces together and voila–one ridiculously good meal. And I must admit, it’s nice to be back in the land of cooking non-Thanksgiving food. I’ve got to get on the breads and pies, but that’s easy…and far less squash-oriented!

For the Polenta
adapted from Dish ‘n’ That/Cuisine magazine/Gigi Trattoria

1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 c ground yellow cornmeal
1 c pumpkin puree (fresh or 100- percent-natural canned pumpkin)
1/6 c pure maple syrup
1 tbsp Earth Balance
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. (CP note: I used the pumpkin juice left over from roasting my pumpkin–the juice you squeeze out when you put the roasted pumpkin in a cheesecloth.)

Add salt and the olive oil, reduce the heat to a simmer and gradually whisk in the cornmeal, a small amount at a time to prevent clumping.

Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring often, until the polenta is tender and is pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 20 minutes.

Stir in the pumpkin puree and maple syrup, and cook for another minute or two.

Then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Earth Balance. Add salt and pepper, if needed.

For the Hen of the Woods Mushrooms
adapted from New York Magazine

1/2 lb hen-of-the-woods mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped into three pieces
1 tbsp Earth Balance
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp fresh-cracked black pepper

Turn mushroom over to expose the stem. With paring knife, remove the core of the stem.

Using your hands, gently break mushroom into pieces. In a 12-inch sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium flame. Season mushrooms with salt and pepper.

Place them in the heated oil, taking care not to overcrowd the pan, and cook for 3 minutes. When the mushrooms have a golden-brown surface, flip them with a spatula and continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add Earth Balance and rosemary, and baste mushrooms for 1 minute. Drain on paper towels to remove excess oil, and serve.

For the Mustard Greens

1 head Tatsoi “Spoon” Mustard Greens
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
fresh cracked pepper to taste

Snap the mustard green leaves and stems off the center stem of the tatsoi head. Rinse the leaves of any grit.

In a pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add the mustard greens and saute for 3-5 minutes until just wilted (add 1 tbsp of water if necessary). Serve!

 

Alternative Thanksgiving Tonight!

First of all, I want to extend a warm welcome to everyone who found the site via WDBJ Channel 7 Roanoke’s morning show! If you’re interested in seeing step-by-step instructions for how to construct the Gluten-Free, Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash I demonstrated on today’s show, click here. Other Vegan, Vegetarian, and Gluten-Free Thanksgiving recipes can be found at the top under the Thanksgiving Tutorials tab.

My talk and demonstration will begin at 6 pm at the main branch of the Roanoke Public Libraries at 706 South Jefferson Street. Throughout the event I will discuss the vegan and gluten-free lifestyle, demonstrate one or two recipes, and pass out free samples. Additionally I will answer any questions you might have about what vegans eat, what gluten-free means, and offer suggestions for how to veganize or make gluten-free your own family recipes. Come armed with questions! I’m excited to answer them!

If you missed the WDBJ segments this morning, you can visit WDBJ and see the videos under their Video Gallery or link to them here:
Part 1: The Stuffing
Part 2: The Squash
Part 3: The Gravy

I’m honored to have been asked to be on the show and even though it was the earliest I’ve been up in a long long long time, it was a great experience. I’m looking forward to tonight, and I’ll see you all at 6 pm sharp!

 

Southwestern Cabbage Soup

I’m starting to get a little burned out on cooking right now, just a little. If you head over to the Thanksgiving Tutorials section you’ll find lots of new goodies: gluten-free cornbread, stuffed acorn squash, cranberry orange relish (among others). By this time next week I’ll be in Thanksgiving overload–and it’s only October! It is exciting though, so I can’t complain too much, and thankfully folks managed to eat a huge chunk of the stuffings, squash, and relish last night at a potluck I hosted. As a magnet on my fridge says, “good cooks never lack friends.” So true!

In other news, it’s been cold and wet over here in southwestern Virginia–I know I’m farther north than I used to be, and at a higher elevation, but I wasn’t expecting it to be in the 40s so soon. The weather report says it’s going to warm up again next week, but I’m not sure if I can believe it. My friends who are thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail reached just north of here and have realized that the weather is downhill, as well as their hike, from now on. Thankfully they’re southbound, so they’re not hiking up into New England’s nasty end-of-autumn-beginning-of-winter-weather. Dorian, as you can see, is enjoying the local fauna.

For these cold and blustery autumn days, when I’m not cooking up a Thanksgiving dish or meal for Alternative Thanksgiving, I’ve begun to make a lot of soups. Soup is just so warming–anything that warms my nose back to a regular temperature while I’m eating it gets major points in my book. This Southwestern Cabbage Soup is my answer to a clean-out-the-fridge-and-pantry day: half a cabbage, a can of beans, potatoes, onions, a habanero pepper, chipotle chili powder. Corn would have been nice, but I didn’t have any. So my serving of cornbread on the side had to suffice. The soup couldn’t have been easier or more convenient to make and it definitely warmed my spirits while the rain poured.  As with any recipe like this, mix and match whatever ingredients you have on hand–the flavor builds with almost any ingredient!

1/2 cabbage, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 onion, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 habanero pepper, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
5 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp chipotle chili powder

Warm the olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the salt and potatoes. Cover and cook until they are a bit tender and starting to brown a bit, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the onion and cook for another 5-7 minutes, until the onion softens. Add the minced habanero pepper and chili powder and cook for 30 seconds more.

Add the vegetable broth, beans, and cabbage and bring the pot to a simmer. Let the soup simmer for 35-40 minutes, serve with cornbread.

 

Perfect Vegan Gluten-Free Pie Crust

You know those moments when all of a sudden you realize that you’ve totally rocked something out?  Moments when skipping and singing “by jove, I’ve got it” don’t seem unreasonable, when all things vegan and gluten-free seem possible?  Well, I had one of those moments the other day, and let me tell you, it rocked.

Granted, it’s pretty ridiculous since I’d only tried a g-f pie crust once before, but, on my second try, I really really really think I’ve got it.  The crust worked just like any other gluten-filled one–it chilled the same, it rolled out the same, it was pliable and easy to work with, and, after it baked, it flaked just like my favorite recipe (and wasn’t crumbly at all).  It was just darn delicious.  And, as R. pointed out, when you expect second best as a celiac, it’s pretty awesome to eat something 100% delicious by any standards.

I used the pie crust in individual-sized Asian pear, apple galettes.  I’m not sold on the pears, they certainly take longer to cook down, but the combination of flavors worked really well.  For the recipe for the galette, follow this one–the only difference is that I made them individual size (six in total) and I didn’t make the glaze for on top.  Just pears, apples, crust, a little bit of sugar, and a little bit of melted Earth Balance.  I may have eaten pie for breakfast two days in a row…

¾ c Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gluten-free flour
¼ c brown rice flour
¼ c besan (chickpea flour)
¾ tsp guar gum
½ tsp salt
½ tsp raw sugar
½ c Earth Balance
¼- ½ c ice water

::note:: this recipe yields one crust–to make a double crust for an apple pie or something like that, double the recipe.

Mix flours, guar gum, sugar, and salt in a large bowl; add the EarthBalance in tablespoon chunks, and use a pastry blender to blend until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add ice water slowly, while gently stirring with a spatula just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Be careful not to over-work the dough. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Form dough into a ball. Flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour.

Roll out and use as a pie or galette crust!

 

Alternative Thanksgiving

I’m really due to give you another recipe, but first a quick announcement for anyone in the Southwestern Virginia area. Next week, Tuesday, October 20, I will be giving a demonstration and talk on vegan and gluten-free Thanksgiving menus at the main branch of the Roanoke Public Library. The event begins at 6 p.m. and will last for about 45 minutes. During that time I’ll address the two “main” parts of the Thanksgiving meal–side dishes and main dishes (or turkey alternatives as I might as well call it). Through an interactive discussion, I’ll address concerns about what exactly vegans and gluten-free folks eat, demonstrate how to cook one or two dishes, and, hopefully, depending on how the food codes work, pass out samples.  Next month, date TBA, I will give another talk on bread and dessert (oh how I love pies!).

If you don’t live in the Roanoke-area, as most of you probably don’t, you can access my tutorials in the Thanksgiving Tutorials tab at the top of the blog. The recipes include step-by-step photograph instructions in addition to the recipe in order to facilitate an easier cooking time on Thanksgiving day. Currently you’ll find recipes for dishes like collard greens and maple pecan roasted sweet potatoes, as well as staples like vegan and gluten-free gravy. The index will be updated almost daily from now until Thanksgiving, so if you all have any ideas about recipes you’d like to see veganized, let me know at TheCupCakePunk [at] gmail [dot] com.

Hope to see you next week!

 

More RVA Goodness

Saturday morning I headed back to Roanoke, but not before scarfing down a delicious vegan brunch. I dragged my family over to 821 Cafe in the VCU/Fan area. I’d wanted to go to Ipanema’s brunch so so so badly, but they only serve it on Sundays and everyone in my family wanted pancakes and omlettes, so 821 fit the bill. The space was pretty dark, hence the horrid lighting in the photograph, but the food was delish. The coffee while we waited helped too. My brunch consisted of vegan french toast topped with bananas, vegan sausage (I think they make it there), and rosemary potatoes (which I doused in ketchup and Sriracha sauce because that’s how I like it).

The food was perfect for my drive west across the state and, swept up in the beauty of being back in the mountains again, I drove all the way to Roanoke from just outside of Charlottesville on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It only added about an hour and fifteen minutes to the drive and was so worth it for the beautiful reds and oranges and yellows that lined the road’s spectacular overlooks. Richmond was nice, the “big city” vegan food options were de-lic-ious, but it’s so good to be back home!

 

Richmond, I love You

Crossroads’ Vegan Tofu Scramble Breakfast Burrito with Vegan Cheese and Vegan Sausage and a side of hash browns (cup of coffee behind)

I lied, I have internet and delicious vegan brunch in my belly. Richmond, fair city, I love you.  And Jessy, thank you thank you thank you for all the yummy suggestions!  I’m so stoked after Crossroads; can’t wait to check out more RVA vegan awesomeness.

p.s. that was totally my first in-restaurant photo-taking for the blog.  It wasn’t too scary, maybe I’ll get more into this!

p.p.s. Legends Brewery’s Oktoberfest and Capital Ale House’s beer list blew my mind too.  At Capital I had the Allagash Fluxus 2009 which features sweet potatoes and black pepper (peppercorns in the beer!  Oh my!), Ace Pear Cider (tasted like a pear! not just sweetness), and the Blue Mountain Brewery Rockfish Wheat (a local VA wheat beer, tasted ok).  Surprisingly, no hangover…it must be something about the quality of the beers.  PBR and I should really take a hiatus–so not worth it!

 

Best Salad Ever

I’m a bad MoFoer, only a week in and I’ve already missed two days.  And I’m probably going to miss tomorrow too!  But, other than yesterday, the missed posts were/are due to traveling–first Houston, now Richmond this weekend.  So excited!  I’m going to meet up with my mom and her fiance who are going with my chef uncle to the Richmond Folk Festival.  While I’ll be hitting up a few stages with them, I’m really more interested in just spending some time with them and going to Trader Joe’s for a case of wine.  (smile)  As for yesterday, well, sometimes things go down and the only way to respond is to go to your favorite dive bar and drink one too many PBRs.  Those nights happen and then MoFo posts don’t happen.  But, on the bright side, since I’m feeling the need to detox my body a little, you guys get a super delicious I-wish-I-could-hand-you-a-plate-of-it salad!

Yup, you read right, a salad!  If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, you probably know that I’m not a big fan of salads.  It’s not that I don’t like salads–I think they’re great.  It’s just that I don’t tend to go to the market and buy up a ton of different veggies to throw together in a bowl and then smother with some dressing.  It all just seemed like too much work to me.  So when I do make a salad, it normally looks like this or this: romaine lettuce, croutons (lots and lots of croutons), and a tasty dressing.  Pretty uninspired, no?

Thankfully, I have friends who love the humble salad.  They love tossing together whatever fresh, local veggies they have on hand with nuts and seeds and other goodness and then topping it with the simplest “dressing” ever–nutritional yeast, salt, and olive oil.  And, working in my favor, they love spreading the love.  I think my life is officially changed thanks to this, R.’s, beautiful, local, delicious, simple salad.  I mean, I woke up this morning hung-over and miserable and instead of wanting a cup of coffee, I wanted a heaping plate of this salad.  To me, that’s revolutionary.  And also makes me wonder if I were abducted by aliens during the night and someone else, a salad lover, was dropped into my body…

R.’s Salad (aka the Best Salad Ever)

1 bunch of green kale (locally grown, if possible–mine’s from Waterbear Farm)
handful of arugula
1/2 yellow onion
4 small carrots or 1 large carrot
handful of cashews
handful of sunflower seeds
4 dried figs
salt
nutritional yeast
olive oil

Coarsely chop the kale into biteable pieces.  Finely chop the onion.  For the carrot, cut in half, flip 90 degrees and cut in half again (to quarter it).  Then chop into small squarish pieces.  Chop the dried figs into small squares.

In a large bowl, toss together the kale, arugula, onion, carrots, cashews, sunflower seeds, and figs.

Plate individual servings.  Then sprinkle a pinch or two of salt, some nutritional yeast (1/16 cup), and drizzle olive oil on top.  When you mix it together with your fork, the oil will bind the nutritional yeast to the salad.

Voila!

Serves 4.

 

Rice Macaroni Noodles

Happy National Noodle Day everyone!  Aren’t food holidays hilarious?  I mean, really, who needs a noodle day?  Every day is noodle day for me!  But it is a good intro to a planned post I had archived for MoFo.  And I’m not willing to be the one to bash a food holiday.  Anything that celebrates the preparation and pleasure of cooking is a’ok in my book.

Like pretty much everyone else on the planet (although I did meet someone once who hated noodles), I adore noodles. They’re just so easy to cook up and with the various sauces and veggies and goodness you can mix into them, they’re on of the most versatile ingredients. Out of all the noodles, I’m a huge fan of rice noodles. Ever since I figured out how to cook them properly I’ve been eating them as much as I can (which always depends on my proximity to an Asian market). Fortunately (unfortunately?) I live fairly close to one (or five) here in Roanoke, so I can keep my fix. Generally I find that rice noodles come in the various regular forms–vermicelli, wide, and thin–but the other day I came across a new kind: rice macaroni noodles. Oh my cuteness! I had to buy them.

The rice macaroni noodles cooked up easily enough–just throw them in boiling water and wait till they’re cooked through–and tasted delicious with Vegan Yum Yum’s Hurry Up Alfredo sauce. With some local purple broccoli and salty, delicious capers thrown in, the meal was perfectly satisfying, not to mention quick and easy–and inadvertently gluten-free too!

 

Gluten-Free Buckwheat Crepes & Cinnamon Spice Apples

I’d give you a Houston recap, but there’s not much to recap.  No offense to anyone in Houston but I think the city is the worst one I’ve ever visited.  The bus system was practically useless, the sprawl is out of control, and the degree of commercialism is unhealthy.  Even though I was staying in the “cool” 20-30 something area of town where all the hipsters live I had a hard time finding anything to eat.  Luckily Rice University fed me well during the conference so I was left to eat a plain bagel with nothing on it only once!  One of these days I’ll make it to Austin, one of these days…

But thankfully I make delicious food for myself!  Last week before I left town I finally tackled Monica’s buckwheat crepes and guess what!  After three years and 2 crepe cakes later, I think I finally learned how to flip a crepe!  God bless my cast iron skillet.

The first batch of buckwheat crepes I filled with sauteed local baby portobello mushrooms (marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, basil, and oregano) and garlicky kale.  Unfortunately I didn’t grab a photo of this awesome, lip-smacking, so-easy-it’s-not-even-funny filling because a surprise visitor caught me cooking in my PJs and I had to rush around to finish them in time.  Thankfully I was making the crepes for him, so it was fine, but I didn’t grab a photograph.  The second batch I filled with cinnamon spice apples for a sweet, yet filling breakfast.

I have to admit, although I wasn’t expecting it, I’m becoming a huge fan of buckwheat.  I had the flour sitting around forever, used some up in the sun dried tomato and fresh herb buckwheat rolls, and then had no idea what to do with it.  With gluten-free experiments on the rise I’ve found that I’m turning to the flour more often than not.  The density makes it extraordinarily filling and the texture is pleasant once I’ve gotten used to it.  It’s grainy.  Like grains.  Like flour used to be and, as I’m beginning to think, as it should be!  If anyone has any favorite buckwheat recipes, send ‘em my way.  Thus far I’ve only made rolls, crepes, and pancakes, but there’s got to be more out there!

adapted from SmarterFitter

For the crepes:
1 1/2 c + 2 tbsp soy milk
1/4 c water
1/2 c buckwheat flour
1/4 c all purpose gluten-free flour
1/4 c chickpea flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
olive oil

Whisk together all of the ingredients Let the batter rest for at least an hour.

Lightly oil an 8- or 10-inch nonstick skillet (CP note: after years of trying various nonstick pans, crepe-specific and non, I’ve found that my cast iron skillet works like magic) and place over medium heat.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of batter into the skillet. Swirl it around so that it forms a thin layer on the bottom of the pan. (If the crepes aren’t thin enough, add a little more milk to the batter.)

When the top of the crepe is dry, after about a minute, flip and cook the other side for 15 to 30 seconds. (The crepes should brown only very slightly and not be at all crisp.)

Stack the crepes on a plate as you make them. You can keep them warm in a low oven while you make the remaining crepes. Or freeze the leftover crepes, separating each crepes with a piece of parchment paper.

For the Cinnamon Spice Apple Filling:
2 apples, cored and chopped into 1/2″ squares (I used 1 granny smith and 1 red unknown variety)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp raw sugar
1 tsp olive oil

In a nonstick (or cast iron) skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the apples, cinnamon, and sugar. Stir to combine.

Cook for 5-10 minutes, until the apples begin to soften and get juicy and the sugar begins to caramelize.

Remove from heat, then fill the crepes.