Demon in the Kitchen

Quick and Dirty Chickpea Sandwiches

2012-02-02T03:13:00.000-08:00

Sometimes one gets in the mood for a fulfilling meal that doesn't take long and doesn't require many ingredients. For those times, I recommend this lovely recipe. It only takes a few minutes, it doesn't need many ingredients, and it's so delicious!

Quick and Dirty Chickpea Sandwiches

Ingredients

1/2 can chickpeas
4-5 spoons crushed tomatoes
1 spoon butter, margarine, or oil of your choice
1/2 tsp sugar, or to taste
adobo seasoning, to taste
ground pepper, black or Szechuan, to taste
chipotle powder, to taste (optional)
buns or bread

1) In a frypan, melt the butter (or oil, or whatever you use) and place the buns down in it, to cook over medium-high heat. You basically pull the buns apart and toast the insides, where you put the main sandwich. Cook until they are a little crispy, then set aside on your plate.

2) Place the tomatoes in the pan, and add the chickpeas. Using a potato masher, partially mash the chickpeas until the mixture is at a desired consistency. Add seasonings and stir to combine. Cook for 5 or so minutes, until hot and mixture is blended.

3) Serve hot, with fixings of your choice!

Tips and Such

- These are great as a distinctive sort of 'sloppy joe' type sandwich. You can top them with cheese, or even add other vegetables like onions and peppers to the mixture. It's a very versatile recipe that allows a great amount of customisation.

- Because of their nature, these sandwiches work best on buns. Whole grain buns complement the flavour perfectly, and they add another healthy element to the dish.

You should definitely try this marvellous recipe! It takes virtually no time at all, and it's so, so delicious! It's not a junky fast food meal...but it has all the taste of something decadent and sinful. Treat yourself to a pair of these delightful sandwiches today!

};) Dhiar <3

Spicy Sesame Tofu

2012-01-07T03:03:00.000-08:00

It can be overwhelming, that urge to get something delightful and tasty from your favourite Chinese restaurant. But sometimes you don't have the time or money, and you want something now and on-hand. What to do, what to do!

I'll tell you what to do...it's easy! Here we go!

Spicy Sesame Tofu

Ingredients

1 block firm or extra firm tofu, pressed
1 serving noodles of your choice
2 eggs (optional)
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce, or more to taste
pinch sea salt
sugar, to taste
hot chilli powder, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
pinch ginger (optional)
garlic oil and sesame oil for cooking
black and white sesame seed

1) Heat up a little garlic oil and sesame oil mixed together in a wok or frypan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot enough (it should move quickly when the pan is tilted, like water), cut the tofu into bite-sized cubes and add them to the pan. Stir to coat, careful not to break the cubes. Cook until golden.

2) In a small jar, combine 1 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp water. Place the lid on the jar tightly and shake until the cornstarch and water is completely blended. This creates what is called a slurry, which is used to thicken sauces.

3) Take a saucepan or pot and bring water to boil. Add your noodles to the water and turn the heat down to simmer. Follow the directions on the package about how long to cook them; generally noodles should be tender but not too limp. Once they are done, place in a colander and rinse them with cold water. Stir thoroughly, to be sure you have completely rinsed the noodles.

4) Once the tofu is golden, it is ready for the sauce. If you are going to include the eggs, break two eggs and whisk them together until blended, in a bowl. Add this to the frypan and stir to coat the tofu and cook the eggs. Add the sesame seed and stir.

5) Take the jar with the cornstarch mixture and shake it again once more, to be sure it is blended thoroughly. Add the sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic powder, chilli powder, sea salt, sugar, and any other spices you would like, then shake it again until it is blended. You can add a little more water if you are concerned it will not be enough sauce, but be sure not to add too much or the sauce will be too thin. Add it one spoonful at a time, shaking again after each one.

6) Add the noodles to the tofu in the pan and stir, then quickly add the blended sauce, shaking it one last time before it is added. Stir completely, and the sauce will thicken very quickly. Serve while hot!

Tips and Such

- If the sauce doesn't thicken in the pan, make another slurry and add small amounts until it starts to thicken, stirring it into the pan's contents after every addition. If the sauce is too thick, you can just add small amounts of water and stir it around until it becomes more manageable.

- You can cook this dish at lower temperatures, but it takes the slurry being brought to somewhere near the heat needed for a boil, for it to thicken. If the sauce is not thickening, it may simply be that you need to turn up the heat!

- You can add whatever you would like to this recipe, since it is such a simple one. Many vegetables will add a delicious dimension to the taste! Sweet bell pepper, water chestnuts, and peas are just a few tantalising possibilities.

- You can use flour for thickener, but it will impart a certain taste onto the sauce that may not be desirable. Cornstarch does not tend to put very much of its own flavour into sauces, which is why it is preferred; potato starch (called katakuriko in Japanese, as it is often found in Japanese groceries) is also another excellent starch that thickens sauces quickly without changing the desired flavour.

Here are a couple of pictures for you to enjoy! The first is the tofu made with a textured vegan seafood substitute that added a savoury, chewy element.

The second is the tofu with whole wheat noodles, and egg.

As you can see, this recipe is mouth-watering, and it's so easy to make! It takes less than half an hour at most, and you can make it with very inexpensive ingredients.

In this chilly season, it's wonderful to have such a nice simple dish to warm us up from the inside out!

Enjoy your spicy sesame tofu!

};) Dhiar <3

Savoury Barbecue Tofu Sandwiches

2011-12-15T03:43:00.000-08:00

Although this is typically more of a summery dish, the other day I had a craving for barbecue. Luscious, spicy-sweet barbecue that leaves your mouth warm and wanting more...I had to have it! So I came up with an amazing recipe that will delight your tongue and satisfy your tummy.

Barbefu Sandwiches

Ingredients

1 block firm or extra firm tofu
1-2 tbsp barbecue spice (or combine your favourites of garlic, oregano, nutmeg, savoury, paprika, ginger, and others)
1 tsp cumin seed
dash sea salt (if your barbecue spice includes salt, you may want to omit this)
1-2 tsp liquid smoke
1-2 tsp unrefined sugar
1-2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tbsp diced tomatoes and chillies
splash soy sauce
water
1-2 tsp oil of your choice
1/4-1/2 sweet onion
asiago cheese

optional, to taste:

crushed red pepper
extra garlic
extra ginger

1) Press the tofu in a pickle press (sometimes called tsukemono press) or between two weighted plates. Once the tofu has been pressed, cut into four slices and set aside.

2) Combine the barbecue spices, along with the optional spices if you intend to use them, with the sugar and pepper. Mix thoroughly, then add the liquid smoke and soy sauce. Add the diced tomatoes and chillies and stir again, then add a little bit of water if it is too thick.

3) Heat the oil in a frypan and wait for it to get hot. Add cumin seed to the oil and let them sizzle, then place the tofu slices in the pan and coat them with the oil and cumin seed, turning a few times to make sure they are entirely covered.

4) Cook the tofu slices until they are golden on both sides. Then add onion, cooking until the onion has become semi-transparent and reduced.

5) Add the barbecue sauce, spreading around one side, then turn the slices and add the rest, spreading on the other side. Turn down the heat and let it cook until any extra liquid has cooked out.

6) Grate asiago cheese atop the slices, then flip and do the same for the other side, while they are still cooking. It will melt and blend with the sauce, to make a truly amazing taste.

7) Serve hot on buns. Layer the slices with one slice of tofu, a layer of onion, then another slice of tofu, topped by a last layer of onion. Makes two delicious sandwiches!

Tips and Such

- You can substitute nutritional yeast flakes for the asiago. It won't be exactly the same flavour, but it will give a comparable addition to the dish that will be especially delicious and keep it vegan too!

- You can mash the tofu, if you prefer, and simply cook it that way. It will be like a shredded barbecue sandwich.

- Potato side dishes make a perfect complement to these sandwiches, both crisps and chips, mashed potatoes, or whatever you might want to try. Experiment and find a great match!

As you can see, these are lovely and quite a filling meal! It's enough for one person to eat without side dishes, or two to eat with side dishes. This takes virtually no time at all to prepare, so it is an ideal dish for a night where you just want something delicious but don't want to spend a great deal of time in the kitchen. You can so easily double the recipe to feed a larger group, or if you're not very hungry, just refrigerate half of the tofu and onions for up to a week and reheat whenever you please!

Keep warm and happy this chilly and dark time of year. I hope this will help you in that goal!

};) Dhiar <3

Be Corny and Chow Down!

2011-11-29T16:05:00.000-08:00

As the days get colder, warm, comforting foods tend to dwell on our minds. One such food is soup, and one particularly comforting kind of soup is chowder.

Since my chronicler Hushicho had a bad experience with some canned corn chowder that had turned, upwards of twenty years previous, this was a special challenge: develop a recipe homemade that could be duplicated without that same risk! So naturally, as I often do, I rose to the occasion.

The Corniest Chowder Ever

Ingredients

2 C milk or soymilk (or any sort of milk; nutmilks will also work nicely)
1 tbsp butter or margarine
1 baking potato, cubed
1 can kernel corn
1/4-1/2 large onion
carrot, sliced thin, to taste
1 bay leaf

all to taste:

garlic
basil
parsley
sea salt
black pepper

1) In a saucepan, heat the butter or margarine over medium-high heat until it has melted. Add the onion, carrot, and all spices except for salt and pepper, and stir to coat. Cook for 5 or so minutes, until the onions have reduced and are mostly transparent.

2) Add the milk and stir thoroughly. Bring just to a boil, then add the potato. Turn the heat down and let it simmer for at least 10 minutes.

3) Add the salt, pepper, and corn. Stir thoroughly and let cook for at least 5 more minutes, making sure the potato is tender and not hard.

4) Serve hot. This recipe will serve two with a side dish!

Tips and Such

- Cut the potato into small pieces so that it will be sure to cook within the 10 or so minutes. It's also nicer to fit onto the spoon if it's not a huge unwieldy chunk of tater!

- You can add a little hot pepper at the start, if you like a bit of extra heat! Or use Hungarian paprika, which is hotter than the paprika most groceries have. Experiment and play around! You might find something you especially enjoy.

- You can add a spoon of flour at the beginning, coating the onion and carrot, if you like your soup thicker. If you decide later that you would like it thicker, take some of the broth and ladle it into a bowl, then take a spoonful of cornstarch and whisk it together until it is completely blended. Add this back to your soup and stir it completely in. Your chowder should thicken quickly!

- You can add less corn, if you prefer less. Corn makes the dish sweeter and richer, and you will probably find every spoonful of chowder with some vegetable in it.

As you can see, it turned out wonderfully! This dish will make your day on these cold afternoons. When you don't have an Incubus to cuddle, choose the next best thing!

};) Dhiar <3

Incutales Cupcakes!

2011-10-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

So Uhr has been wanting to learn how to cook lately, and I thought it would make things extra-fun if we made an Uhr-themed cupcake, one that reminds of how darling and adorable he is. "But Miester," he insisted, "we must make one of you if there is one of me!"

As a result, we have Dhiar and Uhr themed cupcakes!

Dhiar and Uhr Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 C flour
3/4 C sugar
1/2-1 tsp baking powder
1 stick margarine or butter
2 eggs
milk
confectioners sugar
cocoa powder
vanilla extract
strawberry flavouring
red food colour
red and white sugar sprinkles
baking cups

Cupcakes

1) Preheat the oven to 350 F/175 C. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups.

2) Blend together flour, sugar, baking powder, and then 1/2 stick butter, vanilla extract to taste, and the eggs in a bowl. Mix thoroughly, slowly adding milk by spoonful until batter reaches desired consistency. It should be standard cake consistency, runny but not watery.

3) Pour half of the batter into a separate bowl. In the original bowl, add strawberry flavouring, to taste. Usually around 1-2 tbsp will add a delightful strawberry flavour. Add red food colour to the other bowl's batter and mix thoroughly.

4) Spoon out batter into baking cups. Try to get the same amount in each, but don't worry too much if some have more than others.

5) Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Do not overbake.

6) Set on rack to cool.

Frosting

1) Place 1/4 stick of butter with 3 tbsp confectioners sugar in one bowl. Place 1/4 stick of butter with 2 tbsp cocoa powder and 1 tbsp confectioners sugar in the other bowl.

2) Add 1/2 tsp milk and mix thoroughly. An electric mixer is ideal for this. Mix for a couple of minutes, until the frosting is light and fluffy and does not run. If the frosting is too runny, add more sugar; if it is too thick, add more milk, 1/2 tsp at a time, and blend thoroughly after adding every ingredient.

3) Frost the cupcakes when cooled, using the chocolate frosting for the red cupcakes, and the white frosting for the other cupcakes. Add the sugar sprinkles on top of the white frosting for a festive Uhr-like appearance!

Dhiar and Uhr cupcakes together!

The Dhiarcakes in their sultry chocolate glory!

Uhrcakes are pure and adorable!

Even in cupcake motif, Dhiar takes it off sexily!

Since these are Dhiar and Uhr motifs, they must go together!

Aren't they delightful and fun? You can have an especially exciting Incutales party by making a nice pot of tea and serving these cupcakes. The recipe makes twelve, six of each kind, which is enough for six people each to enjoy one of the Dhiar and one of the Uhr motif. That's quite a nice tea party! Or if you're so inclined, they also go wonderfully with a nice cream liqueur.

So next time you're up for some quick and easy cupcakes, think about making them Incutales style! It doesn't take long, and it's loads of fun to make cupcakes on your own exciting motifs.

Enjoy!

};) Dhiar <3

Quick and Easy Sea Salt Bread

2011-09-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you just need a good loaf of bread. But somehow, many are frightened by the prospect of baking bread. They fear complexity and difficulty in their cooking; they would rather make something that can be thrown together in just a few minutes.

Don't worry! This is easy bread. A minimum of ingredients, and good ingredients, make for a delicious breakfast food, a lovely snack, or even a fantastic way to make a memorable sandwich. Try it out! I promise, it's easy.

Sea Salt Bread

Ingredients

2 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 C warm water
1/2 C cool water
1 tsp active yeast
dash sugar
sea salt

1) Whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar, and a dash of sea salt, until it is all blended and the flour is smooth.

2) Add the warm water, a little at a time, and blend thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Once it becomes thick enough, dust your hands with flour and knead the dough until smooth.

3) Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it sit. Preheat the oven to 375 F/190 C.

4) When the oven is ready, uncover the dough and knead it again. Add the cool water and continue to knead until it becomes sticky.

5) Put the dough in a greased loaf pan and shape to the desired appearance. Sprinkle sea salt crystals over the top.

6) Bake for around 45 minutes to an hour, or until pleasantly golden.

7) Set on a rack to cool.

Tips and Such

- You can test to make sure bread is done by inserting a toothpick in the middle. If it comes out clean, the bread has baked throughout. This is helpful so that you don't accidentally take a loaf of bread out before it has thoroughly baked, leaving it underbaked in the centre!

- It is essential that you either have a rack or constantly move your bread so that it can cool. If you don't have a rack, you'll have bread with a soggy bottom. It'll ruin the lovely crisp crust! If you don't have a rack, you can prop the bread at an angle so the steam can escape.

- If you want to, you can omit the salt topping. It adds a zing to the taste, but it's not necessary if you prefer to use less salt.

- Use a bread box or cover the bread so that it doesn't dry out. Freshly-baked bread tends to dry out within a few days, and it becomes largely inedible by itself. You can still use old bread, though, as croutons, to make bread pudding, or to make a traditional dish developed by the French. Called pain perdu, which means 'lost bread', it was developed to make a use for bread that had hardened and become unusable for anything else. Dipped in egg and cooked, it is known to most of the rest of the world as French toast!

I hope you will enjoy my simple sea salt bread. Homemade bread doesn't have to be difficult, and it can bring such a warmth to the hearts of all who eat it. Enjoy some today! It doesn't take a lot of effort or time. And your kitchen will smell wonderful.

};) Dhiar <3

Fakin' Bacon

2011-09-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

Many people enjoy the smoky flavours of things like bacon, but when you don't eat meat, your options are limited. These days you can get pre-made items, which are generally tasty. But what if you don't have any in the house? Or what if you like the taste, but want it on something else?

I have just the thing for you!

Jazz up those veggie dogs, spruce up that falafel! Here's a sauce you can make that you can use for preparing anything with a delightfully smoky flavour.

Smoke Gets in Your Sauce

Ingredients

3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp liquid smoke
1 tsp sugar

1) Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Use as a marinade near the end of cooking, or a dipping sauce.

Tips and Such

- If you want to make facon, as it's commonly called, press a block of tofu and then slice it into thin slices. Cook it in an oil of your choice until it is golden and has become a little crispy. Add the sauce to it and cook it until it is crispy. Serve hot.

- This sauce is best added at the end, when the food is almost finished cooking, but has enough time left to soak in the flavours. You don't want to put it on too early, because the nature of the sauce means that it will cook on quickly and may burn if cooked too long.

- A couple of spoonfuls should be enough for a couple of veggie dogs, so if you have any left, just refrigerate it.

- Be sure to pay attention when buying liquid smoke. Most liquid smoke is made in a vegan style, but not all. Check out the ingredients when you pick up your bottle!

This recipe is quick and easy, and it's sure to please anyone with a craving for that smoky flavour. Try it on some of your favourite foods!

};) Dhiar <3

Tofu of the Mongols

2011-08-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

Admittedly, this isn't an actual Mongolian recipe, but instead it's based around the dishes calling themselves 'Mongolian', primarily in places outside of Mongolia.

Would Genghis Khan approve?

Well, who knows.

But I approve!

Rich Mongolian Tofu

Ingredients

1 block tofu
1 bell pepper (red is sweeter, if you like sweet)
2 eggs
sliced lotus root
sliced onion
soy sauce
hoisin sauce
mirin (optional)
sesame oil
cornstarch
pepper (cayenne, shichimi togarashi, white, or black, or some combination)
water

1) Press the tofu as always, and cut it into cubes. Heat a little sesame oil in a frypan over medium-high heat and, when it is hot enough, add the tofu and stir to coat. Cook until lightly browned, stirring regularly so it does not burn.

2) In a bowl, mix equal parts soy sauce and hoisin sauce with 1 tbsp mirin and 1 tsp sesame oil for every 2 tbsp soy sauce and hoisin sauce. Add 1 tsp cornstarch and blend thoroughly, adding water to mix. It might be a little thin, but it will thicken with cooking.

3) Break two eggs into a bowl and add your pepper of choice. Blend thoroughly.

4) Add the egg to the tofu, stirring constantly to coat, until the egg has cooked around the tofu.

5) Add onion, bell pepper, and lotus root, allowing it to cook until the onion is semi-transparent and fragrant. This should take about a minute.

6) Pour the soy-hoisin mixture over the contents of the frypan and stir to coat. Cook for a few more minutes, so that the tofu can absorb the flavour of the sauce and the sauce can thicken.

7) Serve hot!

Tips and Such

- Many Asian markets will have lotus root already sliced and frozen. This makes it convenient to take what you need and keep the rest frozen, so you don't have to worry about slicing fresh lotus root every time. It also keeps much longer than fresh, which is a consideration if you don't use lotus root frequently. It is arguably the best part of the recipe, so please don't omit it!

- If you want to omit the eggs, that's fine. They add a certain dimension and texture to the dish, but they are entirely optional if you don't like eggs or don't have any on hand. You might substitute textured vegetable protein or various wheatmeats, or any other food you prefer!

This recipe is easy and makes a delicious meal that anyone can enjoy. It may not be Mongolian really, but it's so tasty even Genghis Khan surely wouldn't care.

};) Dhiar <3

Simple and Delicious Udon

2011-07-06T22:42:00.000-07:00

Even in the heat of summer, udon is a welcome and often refreshing treat. The Japanese belief is that if it is hot, eat something that is also hot...it will stimulate sweating and cool you off! So udon is eaten throughout the year.

This is a simple recipe that can be customised to your liking. Give it a try! You'll find its taste and quality is comparable to a noodle shop's.

Simple Udon

Ingredients

futomaru udon (any udon will do, this is just a favourite)
satoimo noodles (I use Malony or マロニー)
kelp (also called konbu)
sesame oil
water
3 tbsp soy sauce
1-2 tbsp mirin
3 cloves of garlic, or to taste
ginger, to taste
thin-sliced lotus root (optional)

1) Use kitchen scissors to cut a piece of kelp that is about 2"x2" at least, or larger to your preference. Cut it into medium-sized strips and place it in a bowl.

2) Heat as much water as you want broth for your udon. Once it boils, take it off heat and pour it over the kelp. Cover the bowl and let it sit for at least five minutes.

3) Heat a small amount of sesame oil (about 1 tsp) in a saucepan. Peel the garlic cloves and slice them into smaller pieces, and add the garlic and ginger to the sesame oil. Saute until it is aromatic, probably about 30 seconds or so.

4) Add the kelp and broth to the saucepan, then add soy sauce and mirin. If you are using lotus root, add it now. Turn to medium heat, to cook.

5) Prepare the futomaru udon by boiling a pot of water and adding the noodles to the boiling water. Keep it cooking steadily for around 10 minutes.

6) About 3-5 minutes before the futomaru udon is ready, add the satoimo noodles to the cooking broth. This will make them ready by the time your udon is.

7) Remove the futomaru udon from water and place them in your bowl. Then pour the contents of the broth over it. You can serve with shichimi togarashi or any topping.

Tips and Such

- If you don't have mirin, simply add some sake and a pinch of sugar to the broth. The sweetness of mirin doesn't really feature in the finished dish, but it does add a contrast that brings out the robust tones of the soy sauce better than if it were just alone.

This is a simple and delicious dish! Everybody loves a good udon. It only takes a few minutes to make, and it is so comforting and yummy. You will feel better after tasting this traditional style udon!

};) Dhiar <3

The Best Sauerkraut Veggie Dogs Ever

2011-07-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

Jager has been making himself comfortable, and it's been an exciting challenge to provide him with delicious vegetarian foods in the style of his homeland. So today I tried a very successful experiment: wieners with sauerkraut.

As some of you may know, not all vegetarian wieners are created equal. Unfortunately there are some that aren't as tasty as others. But this recipe accounts for that, in case you can only put hands on veggie dogs that are okay but not great.

For especially delicious vegetarian wieners, I recommend Veggie Patch or Tofurky. But this recipe is good no matter what kind of hot dogs you use. You may want to keep your Veggie Patch or Tofurky wieners to eat with minimal condiments, and use your less favourite ones for this recipe.

Best Sauerkraut Veggie Dogs Ever

Ingredients

2 vegetarian hot dogs
2 buns
1 can sauerkraut (I like Bavarian-style)
1 tbsp Bavarian mustard (see Tips and Such if you don't have this)
1 tbsp instant mushroom stock
water
dash salt
black pepper, to taste
Hungarian paprika, to taste (optional)

1) Drain the sauerkraut. Rinse it if you find canned sauerkraut too acidic and strong. If you aren't going to prepare the entire can's contents, put the rest in a container and refrigerate.

2) Dilute 1 tbsp Bavarian mustard in enough water to cover the bottom of a small frypan. Place the wieners in the frypan with the diluted mustard solution and roll to cover.

3) Heat over medium to medium-high heat and continue to roll them so they cook evenly, until tender and until the liquid has all cooked off.

4) Place the sauerkraut in a small saucepan and add the mushroom stock powder, salt, black pepper, and paprika. Add a little water and mix thoroughly. If you prefer, instead of water, you can add a splash of beer instead. Or you can even just substitute beer for the mushroom stock entirely.

5) Cook sauerkraut over medium heat until most of the liquid has cooked off.

6) Serve on sturdy buns!

Tips and Such

- Use Bavarian mustard for the best taste. Bavarian mustard is sweet, which balances the sour and salty tastes of the sauerkraut in this recipe. It also gives a gentle tangy quality to the hot dogs, which is something very valuable if they are less than delicious on their own. If you don't have access to Bavarian mustard, use whatever mustard you can find and add a pinch of sugar (like Florida Crystals) and a dash or two of tarragon.

- Make sure the liquid is cooked out of both items so that when you add it, it doesn't make the bun soggy. Soggy buns mean messy hands, because buns just fall apart when they get soggy. I think that is the most absolutely perverted I have ever sounded in my life while trying to give genuine advice.

Quick, a distraction!

This is a quick, easy preparation which can add taste to even the most lacking of veggie dogs! Give it a try, and I feel certain that you won't be disappointed.

Happy Wieners to You!

};) Dhiar <3

Vegan Paprika Wurst

2011-06-02T03:11:00.000-07:00

Today's recipe is a favourite of a new friend and regular to the Incuverse, Jager Rader!

He comes from the splendid Deutschland, a place of savoury cooking and delightful dishes. One of his favourites is wurst, which is available in a variety of ways. But of course, it's not very vegetarian-friendly. So today, we will be making a recipe that is not only vegan, but also delicious, for our friend Jager!

Vegan Paprika Wurst

Ingredients

1/2 C vital wheat gluten
1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C water
1/4 C soy sauce
1-2 tbsp Hungarian paprika, or to taste
1 tsp - 1 tbsp garlic powder (optional)
1 tsp ground white pepper
1/2-1 tsp nutmeg

pinch, or to taste

allspice
tarragon

1) Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Stir, and then add the wet ingredients. Stir thoroughly again. The mixture should be doughy.

2) Let it rest for around 10 minutes.

3) Knead the mixture until it is smooth. You may want to knead it for about five minutes, to be sure it will be nice and smooth and have the right texture.

4) Heat some oil in a frypan to medium-high heat.

5) Pinch off pieces of the dough and roll each one into a ball, then roll them out on a flat surface to a cylindrical shape. Place them carefully, one at a time, in the frypan.

6) Cover and let them cook for about 10 minutes, making sure to flip them during the cooking. Don't let them burn!

7) Serve hot. Makes about 5 medium-sized wurst.

Tips and Such

- Once you have cooked the wurst for about 10 minutes and they seem solid, add onion and cook uncovered until the onion is semi-transparent. Wurst with onion is always delicious, and it complements the flavour of the wurst perfectly!

- Wurst is excellent served with pasta. Spaetzle is ideal, but any pasta will do!

- Once they are cooked, these wurst are fine to be served anytime. Simply refrigerate them or place them in a cool, dry place until you are ready to eat them. They can be enjoyed hot or cold, just like traditionally-made wurst!

- You can alternatively make larger or smaller wurst. If you want to do so, you can make a pair of large wurst and slice them for crackers, pizza toppings, or sandwiches!

A friend prepared a delicious-looking batch of wurst with some peace sign shaped organic pasta! This mouth-watering picture shows you how easy it is to make a delicious and fulfilling meal.

Until next time, happy wursting!

};) Dhiar <3

Super Garlic Parsley Tofu

2011-05-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

Garlic is one of the most delicious and appetising foods in existence. There are few people who can resist becoming hungry when they catch the rich aroma of cooking garlic.

And since we're cooking vegetarian, tofu is an ideal and easy-to-use source of protein and other wonderful nutrition.

This is a delicious and satisfying dish that can be a hearty dinner, or can feed two as an entree with side dishes. You will find it especially flavourful, and you might even want a nap afterwards as you will be so profoundly satisfied by eating it!

Super Garlic Parsley Tofu

Ingredients

1 block tofu
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 bulb garlic
1 tbsp instant mushroom stock
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp margarine
sea salt
parsley
paprika
water

1) First, press the tofu as always, and then cut it into cubes. Peel the garlic and cut into pieces as desired.

2) Heat a small amount of olive oil over medium heat in a frypan. Add the tofu cubes to the oil and stir to coat. Add sea salt and stir again. Cook for 10-20 minutes, until tofu begins to brown.

3) Remove the tofu to a bowl or plate. Add the margarine to the frypan and cook until completely melted, then add the garlic. Cook for around 30 seconds. Add the flour and stir thoroughly, to blend with the margarine.

4) Add about 1 C water, and stir thoroughly to blend with the margarine mixture. Add the instant mushroom stock and blend thoroughly. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the tofu back in. Stir again.

5) Add paprika and parsley, to taste. Parsley has a subtle flavour, so add as much as you like. Add more water if it is not to desired consistency. If it is too runny, just cook until it thickens.

6) Serve hot. This dish goes well over rice or noodles, but it is delicious by itself!

Tips and Such

- If you are using Hungarian paprika, note that it is much more flavourful and hotter than paprika that is typically sold in grocery stores (unless you are in Hungary), so use less.

- Fresh parsley will make the flavour much richer, so if you can get it, it will add a delightful depth to the dish!

- This is based off a German recipe, so you can also serve this over boiled potatoes or egg noodles, which are common in German cooking.

I hope you will enjoy this simple dish! It is thoroughly delightful and oh so fulfilling. It tastes rich, but it is actually quite nutritious and not nearly as indulgent as it may seem.

Guten appetit!

};) Dhiar <3

Take a Little Pizza My Heart

2011-03-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

Ooh, pizza! One of life's greatest and most beloved pleasure foods. It's not the top of the healthy foods list, but it's quite fulfilling and can actually, if you make it right, be not so terrible for you. I'm all about pleasure without guilt!

Pizza My Heart

Ingredients

the crust
2 C Flour (1C + 1C to use later)
1/2 C warm water
1 tsp dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar (I use Florida Crystals)
1 tbsp garlic powder (or more, to taste)
1 tbsp onion powder (ditto)
1 tbsp Italian seasoning (double ditto)

the sauce
1/2 can of diced tomatoes (you can approximate and just add a whole small tomato)
1-2 tbsp olive oil
dash sea salt

the rest
cornmeal
vegetarian protein nuggets
3-5 cloves garlic, peeled
cheese or cheese substitute (optional)

1) First, make the crust by combining the dry ingredients for it. Only use 1 C of the flour to start with, and save 1 C for later. Mix with a wire whisk until completely blended. Then add the warm water slowly, stirring it in thoroughly the whole time, until totally blended. You may have to add slightly more water than 1/2 C, but if you do, it's no sweat. Mix the dough completely.

It should not be runny, but it should be quite sticky. Cover it with a tea towel and put it in a warm place like the unheated oven for around 15 minutes.

2) While the dough is resting, make your tomato topping! Before you start, drain off excess liquid from the tomatoes. Then crush them with a potato masher. Add the olive oil and salt, and mix thoroughly.

3) Once the dough has had a chance to rest, take it out and uncover it. Prepare your counter by scattering some flour on it, and rub it around. Flour your hands as well, then add 1/2 C of the remaining flour to the dough, kneading it and working it in. Turn it out from the bowl once it's not as sticky, and continue to add the remaining flour, kneading it in, until it is not very sticky at all. It can still be slightly sticky, but it shouldn't feel sticky all over.

4) Dust your pizza stone or pan with flour, then sprinkle a handful of cornmeal on it, making sure to scatter it around. Preheat your oven to around 400 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 205 Celsius.

5) Form your dough into a ball and place it on the pizza stone or pan. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a circular shape. Make sure it's not totally flat, but not too thick either.

6) Spread the tomato topping on it, then slice your fresh garlic on top of that. If you are using vegetarian protein nuggets or other substitutes, you can add them now. You can also add various other toppings such as peppers, olives, or whatever you want!

7) Add a couple of handfuls of cheese or cheese substitute, to bring it all together.

8) Bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot!

Tips and Such

- There are many wonderful toppings for pizza. I like to use Nutrela, a delicious textured soy protein from India. These are delicious and actually quite nutritious! They're very popular and you may be able to find them at a local Indian grocery. I prepared mine by soaking them in boiling water for about 10-15 minutes, then squeezing them dry. I added some liquid smoke, which gave them an amazing flavour.

- Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty! Dough is best when it is kneaded by hand.

- Have flour ready in a cup, so that you can add more if you need to. If you're concerned about wasting it, just handle the cup's outside and dust the dough with the flour. Then you can pour the remainder back into the bag or jar if you don't use it.

Pizza is a wonderful food for comfort, but it's also very easy to make, and quite inexpensive! You can make pizza more nutritious by developing your own recipe, with toppings that satisfy you and fulfill your nutritional needs.

A friend of mine decided to try my recipe. I think it turned out delicious. What do you think?

Mouth watering?

Eat well!

};) Dhiar <3

Carbonara Vegetaria

2011-02-09T23:45:00.000-08:00

Sometimes (quite often actually) the love of Italian food cannot be denied, just as surely as the cravings for cuisine of the American South. One of the most beloved dishes is carbonara, which also has about as many different versions as there are people who love it.

This is my recipe for a sumptuous vegetarian version of the dish, and it's especially great if you have some veggie hot dogs just lying around in the icebox, going spare.

Carbonara Vegetaria

Ingredients

Pasta (you can use any pasta; I like fiori) enough for 1-2 people
2 vegetarian hot dogs
1 egg
3 cloves garlic, peeled
Extra virgin olive oil
Black olives
Synthetic bacon pieces
Black pepper
Cooking wine

1) Cook and drain the pasta, setting it aside. You can also do this at the same time as you are preparing the rest of the carbonara if you want.

2) Heat 1-2 tsp olive oil, or more if needed, in a frypan. Either press or cut the garlic cloves into the oil. Use only medium heat; you don't want to cook too hot with olive oil. Let the garlic cook and release its aroma, then add 1-2 tbsp synthetic bacon pieces. Stir to coat with oil and cook it all together.

3) Slice the vegetarian hot dogs lengthwise and then cut them into slices and add them to the oil. Stir again to coat. Cook these for about 5 minutes, longer if desired.

4) Add the olives and stir to coat. You won't need to cook these for as long.

5) In a bowl, blend the egg with pepper and stir until smooth and consistent.

6) Add the pasta to the oil mixture and, as before, stir to coat. Add the cooking wine and stir again, making sure to cook it long enough for the wine to cook out. You want only a hint of it and its roundness.

7) Turn off the heat and pour the egg mixture in, stirring thoroughly and constantly until the residual heat cooks it enough. You want the pasta and the rest to be coated in the egg, not for it to cook itself separately.

8) Serve while hot!

Tips and Such

- You can probably just cook the pasta at the same time as the rest of it, but if you feel like you might make a mistake or feel rushed, just cook the pasta first, drain it, and leave it in its pot. It won't be sitting long enough to get cold, and its heat will be refreshed by cooking it with the oil mixture.

- There are various brands of synthetic bacon pieces. These are commonly found with the salad dressings and fixings in many markets. Make sure to read the ingredients, though, because not all of them are vegetarian! However, many of them are just textured soy protein pieces with smoke flavour. Brands like Bacos and McCormick are, at present, completely vegan and have a circle-U symbol on them.

- Due to the nature of this dish, it doesn't keep very well refrigerated, so try to fix only as much as you intend to eat. If you do end up saving some as leftovers, refrigerate it and try to use it within the next day or two at most.

- If you don't have cooking wine, you can just use mirin and sake in combination. As with the wine, make sure it cooks out before you add the egg.

Ingredient Info

Vegetarian hot dogs are hot dogs, or wieners, that are made with only vegetarian ingredients, typically from soy.

Synthetic bacon pieces are commonly pieces of soy protein that has been textured, coloured, and flavoured with smoke to give it a taste similar to bacon. Several of these are vegetarian or even vegan, but be sure to check the label and, if in doubt, check online or ask around.

Cooking wine is wine that is not intended for drinking, for whatever reason, and so is used for cooking. It can be that the wine is not of a suitable quality according to its vineyards, or perhaps it just didn't turn out the way they wanted. Note that you can use any wine for cooking, but wine that is sold as cooking wine in grocery stores is usually of a quality thought unsuitable for drinking purposes.

Italian food is so romantic! Although if you're having an intimate night, you may want to omit the garlic. But who knows, perhaps if you both eat it, your kisses will be fiery and no-one will try to ease in on your fun!

Buon appetito!

};) Dhiar <3

Country Fried (Actually Baked) Tofu

2011-02-06T19:28:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you get a hankering for some good, old-fashioned homestyle cooking.

Well, that's pretty much every day for me, and it's always homestyle since I make it at home. But there is the desire, once you have had it, for the comforting, delicious, and delightful foods popular in the American South. It comes up every so often, and it's difficult to deny.

Many traditional southern foods, however, have a lot of things that wouldn't agree with most vegetarians, and additionally they tend to be deep fried, which isn't something you want to have too often.

Still, there's not a lot you can do if you have a craving, other than indulge it. If you don't, it just builds up until you're quaking and you go out and eat something you probably shouldn't. What better way to indulge a craving than to do it in a healthier way, and handmade, so you can be sure of what went into it!

Country Fried (Actually Baked) Tofu

Ingredients

The Steaks

1 block firm or extra firm tofu
2 tbsp cornmeal
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
Soy sauce

The Gravy

1 tbsp butter or margarine
milk (whichever kind you want, soymilk works beautifully)
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste

1) Make sure to press the tofu. I know experienced tofu cooks will have already done this, but I can't say it enough. If you don't know what I mean, see my post here about tofu. If you don't press tofu, it retains water. If it's full of water, it will fall apart quicker than the main character of a Lifetime Original Movie.

2) Preheat the oven to 350 F or about 175 C. While you're doing this, mix the dry ingredients for the coating of the tofu. Also while you're at the oven, put a piece of aluminum foil on a cooking sheet. Sprinkle some of the coating mixture onto the aluminum foil, or if you prefer, use cooking spray or brush oil onto it, to prevent sticking.

3) Pour some soy sauce in a bowl, not a huge amount, but enough to cover the bottom of a cereal or soup bowl. You will be using this to dip the tofu slices in.

4) Slice the tofu into thick slices. You can probably get 6 or 7 slices per block of tofu.

5) Dip a tofu slice into the bowl with the soy sauce, and turn it slowly over a few times, to coat it completely. Then do the same thing with the bowl with the coating, making sure it is completely covered all over.

6) Place the slice on the cooking sheet and repeat the process for the rest. You should have some of the coating mix left over, so save it. We're going to be using it.

7) Once the oven is preheated, bake for 15 minutes, turn, and bake for another 15 minutes. Oven temperatures sometimes vary, so be sure to check in and make sure they're doing okay. If they stick to the foil, carefully pick up the foil (the pan and the tofu will be hot, the foil probably won't be that hot) and curl it, working the slice to gently separate it. Don't burn yourself! Use tongs or chopsticks if it's too hot.

8) Once the tofu is done cooking, turn off the oven and leave it in for just another minute or two. Take a small frying pan and heat the butter in it on medium-high heat, until it starts to sizzle. Add the remainder of your coating mixture to it and stir thoroughly; it will become a lumpy mass. Add small amounts of milk at a time and work it to your desired consistency. Add salt and black pepper.

9) Serve the tofu slices covered in your delicious creamy gravy. Eat while hot!

Tips and Such

- Remember to press the tofu! I can't emphasise this enough. If you don't press it, it will be crumbly and will affect the flavour. Tofu can't absorb flavours as effectively if it already is suffused with its own liquid. Pressing tofu makes it more effective to cook with, and much easier to handle.

- Nutritional yeast isn't a necessity for this dish, but it does enhance the flavour and helps to thicken the gravy and give it the right creaminess. You can omit it, but you should add a pinch of turbinado sugar and a little more salt. It won't be exactly the same, but it will do fine! Nutritional yeast flakes are great, even if you don't cook vegan all the time. They're delicious, versatile, and very good for you! They add immense nutritional value to every dish, and they also make a fabulous non-dairy cheese sauce!

- This dish won't keep very well once you've added the gravy to it (unless you made very thick gravy), so if you're unsure that all of the slices of tofu will be finished, just keep the gravy warm and add it when you serve up a slice of tofu. That way, you can save the leftover slices and gravy separately, and heat them up when you want them. Try to use them within a day or two, though. This is a dish best enjoyed as fresh as possible.

- You can add extra spices to the coating mix, if you want. There are plenty of delicious ones that would work, like perhaps oregano, basil, parsley, or even a little ginger! It depends on what your tastes are, so if you have a favourite spice you think might add a dimension of flavour, go for it!

- If you get the gravy too thin, just add a little flour at a time, stirring it throughly, until it reaches its desired consistency. If you get it too thick, a little more milk will help it to thin. Don't add a lot! When heated, gravy tends to thicken naturally.

Ingredient Info

As usual, I'm only covering ingredients that haven't been discussed before, so if you see something in the recipe you don't recognise, look back through my previous entries to find them!

Cornmeal is coarsely-ground corn. It isn't exactly the same as corn flour, generally speaking, and it tends to be rougher in consistency. It also isn't the same as cornstarch, so be careful! Cornstarch is a starch, not a flour, and is basically a thickener. Cornmeal can also be called polenta flour or polenta (which usually refers to cornmeal in a very coarse form) or maize flour or meal.

Enjoy your delicious southern-style meal, and don't forget...baking a meal for someone is like giving them life!

};) Dhiar <3

Tofu - If You've Got It, Flaunt It!

2011-01-13T21:37:00.000-08:00

One staple of most vegan and vegetarian diets is tofu. It's nutritious, it is pretty much completely healthy and good for you, and it's great for texture. It's something especially precious to the diet, and anyone can enjoy it.

However, a good many people don't really know how to use it, and that is a pity. Many a dish has been ruined by simple bad preparation, or lack of knowhow. So today, I will let you in on some great secrets of preparing tofu and cooking it to the best!

Choose wisely! Select the right tofu for your recipe. If you don't know what you're going to make, choose firm or extra firm tofu; these are best for dishes where you're going to be putting cubes of tofu with other foods, or eating it on its own. Many dishes you can quickly throw together are best when firm or extra firm tofu is used for them.

Press your advantage! Tofu is not ready, right out of the container. Open the container, pour all the water out, and take the block of tofu out of the container.

Get a bowl with a mostly flat bottom, turn it upside-down and set it in the sink, and place the block of tofu on it. Then put a plate on top of the block of tofu. Now it should be positioned between two flat surfaces that will press it. Leave it there for at least half an hour, ideally a few hours.

You may need to add weight on the top. If so, a mixing bowl or something should do nicely. Just make sure you balance it well so it doesn't topple over.

You can actually use an upside-down plate for the bottom, just make sure it's not something where water is going to pool under the tofu. If water pools under it, you've just defeated the purpose of pressing it.

Pressing tofu is important, because it is suspended in water. That water takes on a strong tofu taste and aroma, and it also makes the tofu flimsy, since it's waterlogged. Even soft tofu should be pressed, unless it's already prepared.

Use it, don't lose it! You can preserve tofu by keeping it in water and changing the water regularly. However, it's best just to use all the tofu after opening it. There's always leftovers! Fried tofu keeps quite well refrigerated, as well.

A watched pot never boils! And it may seem like you've been cooking it forever, but cook it a little bit longer. Tofu needs to be cooked in a frypan until it is golden if you're just cooking it with oil. It must have sufficient time to cook.

A marinade is as good as a smile! If you have the time, press the tofu and then marinate it. This will enhance the flavour and make it even more enjoyable. Tofu absorbs liquid easily, which makes it especially easy to season for its part in your dish. Since it is so absorbent, you don't need to marinate it for a long time. You can just marinate it for an hour, and you'll see the immediate enhancement!

Freeze in a flash! Even many people who use tofu regularly don't know this handy secret, but actually, freezing tofu makes it easier than ever to use.

To freeze it, open the container and pour out the water. Squeeze as much water as you can out of it without crushing it or causing it to collapse. Put it in the freezer for a few hours, until it is completely frozen. Then take it out and let it thaw.

The tofu will change texture, and it will also be easier to squeeze the water from it! It is perfect for many dishes, because it is easier to use without falling apart. Freezing and thawing tofu gives it a different, slightly chewier texture. It is still supremely absorbent. It's much easier for beginning tofu chefs to use.

I hope these tips will help you as much as they have helped me in my tofu journey! Tofu doesn't have to be bland, crumbly, damp, or unappealing. It just happens that many people don't prepare it properly and don't know that they're doing anything wrong! And so, as a result, they believe -- and mistakenly! -- forever that tofu is something to be avoided. In actuality, tofu is nutritious, delicious, versatile, and an absolutely amazing food that can be used regularly in a healthy diet. You could have a tofu dish every day for a month and never prepare it the same way twice in a row!

I hope you will enjoy your newfound joy with tofu!

};) Dhiar <3

Abekawa Mochi

2010-11-05T00:48:00.000-07:00

Ahh, sweet memories of the Abekawa. Relaxing by the river flowing through Shizuoka, nibbling on the delicious mochi, rolled in sesame flour...

Autumn and winter are the perfect times to enjoy mochi. It's a chewy, rich treat that is difficult to describe to someone who hasn't had it. You could call it a cake. Plenty of people do. But it's not really the kind of cake that you might expect. It's not like, say, a chocolate cake. It's chewy, but not like caramel. It's both light and heavy at the same time.

The most typical of mochi, mochi daifuku, usually comes stuffed with an, which is a sweet red paste made of red beans. It's also called anko, because just saying 'an' can be confusing in a language where it's also an article! It's a little difficult to get stuffed mochi down if you've never made it before, or even if you have. You have to gauge the temperature and make sure you do things right so you don't hurt yourself or ruin the daifuku. It's also a more involved recipe.

However, abekawa mochi -- named after the Abekawa, or Abe River, that flows through Shizuoka -- is a very simple recipe that anyone can do. It was made popular during the Edo Period, a romantic period in Japanese history.

Some of the ingredients may be a little exotic, but fortunately they're not particularly perishable. So you can always order online with confidence that they won't be ruined by adverse weather conditions or lengthy shipping.

Abekawa Mochi

Ingredients

2 C mochiko
1 C sugar
1 3/4 C water
pinch salt
kinako

1) Combine the dry ingredients thoroughly. You may even want to run your fingers through the mixture and make sure there are no clumps.

2) Stir the water in gradually, and mix completely, until you have a silky batter.

3) Preheat your oven to 350 F or about 175 C. Using a cooking spray or oil, grease your pan. It should be a small, square pan. You can also use a muffin pan if you know how much you want. Note that mochi will not rise, so however tall the batter is in the pan, that's how thick the mochi will be.

4) Pour the batter evenly into the pan and let it even out.

5) Bake for 30 minutes to 1 hour. This baking time depends heavily on how small the pan is and how thick the batter is. If you bake it for longer than an hour, it will be dry on the top (though still moist otherwise) but some prefer it this way since the dry side is not sticky and doesn't generally interfere with the taste.

6) Remove from the oven and let cool. Turn it out on a plate and take a handful of kinako. Generously rub the kinako all across the moist mochi, careful to cover all surfaces of it.

7) Slice into however many pieces you like. Store in airtight container. Keeps for a few days.

Tips and Such

- If you find the mochi are too sweet for your tastes, reduce the sugar but be sure to compensate by adding more mochiko.

- Mochi are best enjoyed with sencha, Japanese green tea. It is a robust tea that is made without grinding the leaves, so the tenderness and richness is preserved. Although sencha is a favourite tea for mochi, most teas will complement the taste wonderfully.

- Mochi are best enjoyed soon after preparation. The taste of fresh mochi is incomparable. Though they can and do keep for quite some time, like most foods, they are best fresh.

- Mochi may be stored refrigerated, but this will make them firmer and harder to chew. They can be heated lightly to restore their tenderness.

- Do not leave mochi out in the open air for long periods of time. This will cause them to become tough or even rock-hard, which is not what you want...for teatime treats, anyway!

Ingredient Info

Mochiko is a flour made of glutinous rice. It is a great thickener that isn't a starch powder, but it is extremely sticky. It generally can't be used in the same way as wheat flour, which is the most common flour in much of the Western world.

Kinako is a powder, or flour, made of roasted sesame seed. It is extremely rich and fulfilling.

I hope you'll make and enjoy mochi this season! The cooler seasons are always perfect for its unique taste and texture. Enjoy abekawa mochi with a cup of delicious sencha and think of those lazy days by the river in Shizuoka...

};) Dhiar <3

Plastic, Storage, and Considerations

2010-08-31T12:41:00.000-07:00

Plastic containers are pretty much everywhere. You can't get away from them. Many manufacturers use plastic because it's inexpensive, difficult to break or damage, and easy to seal in a way that's clear to see. Unfortunately it's also something that stacks up pretty fast and needs to be recycled, reused, and in general reduced. So many foods come in plastic containers. I would wager to say even that most food at any grocery is packaged in plastic.

However, most plastic is recyclable. Be sure you know where there's a recycling centre in your area, or recycling bins. If your service for rubbish or garbage accepts recyclables, look into their recycling programme. You can find plenty of information on recycling programmes near you simply by using your internet savvy and doing a search! Most places will have an accessible area for the public to bring their recyclables. If not, get some like-minded people together and appeal to the city to have one. Every place should have one. Now, more than ever, recycling is essential to the world and everyone and everything in it.

You can also reduce plastic waste by reusing plastic containers after they are emptied. Tubs of butter or margarine are easy to clean and keep, and they make great containers for holiday sweets, to give to a friend! They're also perfect economical storage for leftovers.

If you use plastic bags to store things, don't just throw them out or recycle them after one use! These can easily be cleaned and reused many times. If gently used and not used for particularly aromatic things for long periods of time, plastic bags can be used effectively for months or more.

But there is one thing you must never do, and it's true with glass containers as much as it is plastic and others:

Never store empty containers with their lids on!

You may have heard that plastic absorbs scents and flavours easily. It's true, it does. However, glass also has a memory of certain things stored in it, and if it's stored empty with a lid on, the aromas have time to waft around inside. This makes the scent much stronger, and it may affect food stored in it afterwards.

By storing containers with their lids stored separately, you reduce this. Be sure to keep the lids close by and make sure they're organised so that you can find a lid when you need one. But don't even place them over the top of the container; it will still trap in air and still make it stale and quickly scented. And that can affect the longevity of your containers.

Similarly, don't store plastic bags sealed, because the air can become stale in them, and if they ever stored anything with much of a scent, it can enhance that scent and make it difficult to get it out.

However, even if this happens, there are ways to work around it. For example, if you store something in a plastic container and the container is affected with the scent, store the same thing in it next time. It's especially handy if you regularly eat this food or use this ingredient. You can have containers dedicated to its storage!

If oil is left behind in a container, hot water will generally cut through it, with a good soap. You may have to soak some containers for a little while before washing. The hotter the water is, the better! But don't go to boiling, because some plastic can be melted if it becomes too hot. Glass, however, can be completely cleaned and sterilised by boiling it, just make sure the container is safe to be boiled. Most of the time, boiling glass containers will also eliminate any scents clinging to them.

So many things can be reused, again and again, before recycling. By reducing our consumption and by using things that we have, instead of continuing to buy more things we don't need, we'll help everyone and everything.

Just remember: lids don't belong on empty containers!

Until next time...

};) Dhiar <3

Natto, Miracle Food

2010-07-06T02:20:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of great foods out there, it's true. But one of the very best is natto.

Never heard of it? That's because it's well-known mainly in Japan, and even then it often gets a bad reputation because people don't give it a fair chance.

Natto is fermented soybeans, and it is well known for being stringy and having an odd texture to it. It has incredible health benefits, especially for vegetarians, but really natto is for everyone. If eaten only a few times a week, one can enjoy its amazing benefits. There has been an immense amount of research into this miraculous food, and everything has shown how fantastic it is.

One site online with more information about natto can be found here. You can make natto easily enough at home, but it's even easier to buy commercial natto. I would recommend going for Shirakiku brand with 'ﾀﾚなし' which is to say, 'no tare'. Tare is a word meaning the sauce that is usually included with natto. Oftentimes the tare includes fish, which is something that isn't too good for those of us avoiding it. Usually it's limited to being a part of the sauce, which is contained in a separate packet and not pre-added to the natto (because the natto ferments in the package), but it's best to avoid it altogether. You can use your own preferred soy sauce, and then you'll be used to that aspect of the flavour already!

Shirakiku, as well as some other brands of natto, include a packet of mustard as well. Japanese mustard is different from Western mustard, and it has a different taste to it. I also find that Japanese mustard, mixed with natto, completely neutralises the flavour. It has pretty much no taste with the mustard mixed in, so the flavours must cancel each other out. It's very strange. But if you find yourself overwhelmed by the taste of natto, try adding the little mustard packet to it.

One thing that is important to note is that natto is best when it is cooler than room temperature. Natto is best not warmed, which is what some people don't understand. Even many Japanese people will traditionally heat natto. But it is best cool, from the refrigerator. Many people are turned off by the strong scent of natto when it is heated, but it need not be heated to be enjoyed. Greater nutritional benefits are said to be derived from cool natto.

Another thing to remember when you are first trying natto is this: do not stir it. At all. Eat it directly as it is. It may be stringy, but the strands are easily whipped around your chopsticks. Stirring natto makes it more gooey, which can be appealing to some. But it is an acquired taste and texture when stirred, whereas it is much easier to adjust to when not.

Opinions vary on how many times to stir natto. Some say that 30-50 times will produce an ideal natto texture. Others have insisted that 424 times will produce the best natto. If you want to try, you'll be sure to get some exercise out of it!

One way to serve natto that is very popular in Japan is to break a raw egg atop it and stir it all together. This reduces the gooey texture of natto and also complements the flavour. Typically soy sauce is also added to this. It is an even more nutritious dish when served this way, but remember not to heat the natto and not to let the egg get to room temperature. If you must try this, make sure your eggs are refrigerated and make sure your natto is chilled below room temperature. It is very important to take every care when consuming uncooked foods.

Natto has been called a 'vegetable cheese', which is essentially what it is. It has a rich taste that is especially enjoyable once one becomes accustomed to it, and it is a nutritious and exciting dish for breakfast or any time of the day. It is so healthy and so fun to eat...I hope you'll give it a try!

Just remember my tips and give it a chance. You don't have to eat all of it at one time. Eat it chilled, unstirred, and slowly ease into any other way of eating it. Add mustard if the taste is too much, at first. Don't forget to add soy sauce too, because that will round the flavour nicely.

Enjoy your healthy food!

};) Dhiar <3

A Big Thick Slab of...Well...

2010-05-05T23:25:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, and I know I am, you like sandwiches in summer. It's one of those times of year where you get a craving for something fulfilling yet convenient, easy to put together, and generally healthy. It's something you can put together with whatever ingredients are on-hand.

But when you're a vegetarian or a vegan, it can be difficult to round off the ingredients. After all, most sandwiches have things we don't eat as ingredients. So it can be really frustrating. Even though it's easier and easier to find more substitutes in stores, most of the especially delicious ones -- like salami, which almost always works well as a substitute -- are rare, perpetually sold out, or not stocked.

However, it's not hard to make your own delicious meat substitutes, often called 'wheatmeat', right there at home! It also tends to be cheaper, and it works out saving you money anyway for not having to constantly ride the roads to check all the area supermarkets to see if they've actually managed to get in stock and keep in stock a single pack of veggie lunch meat you like that they won't have the next time you check.

And so, without further hesitation, I give you...

A Big Slab of Vegstrami

Ingredients

1 1/4 C vital wheat gluten
1/4 C nutritional yeast flakes
5-6 tbsp crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
2 guajillo chillies
1-3 Asian chillies (optional)

splash balsamic vinegar
splash tamari

water, to desired consistency

to taste:

garlic
cumin
paprika
allspice
mustard seed
black pepper
white pepper
liquid smoke

1) Reconstitute any chillies that are dried. Drain and set aside.

2) Mix the dry ingredients together thoroughly in a bowl. Preheat your oven to 325 Fahrenheit.

3) Mix together oil, vinegar, tamari, and liquid smoke in a bowl that will hold your wet ingredients.

4) Puree tomatoes and all chillies together. If you would like a milder taste, empty out the seeds before you puree. Make sure they are smooth enough and mostly liquid, and add to the tamari mixture. Mix thoroughly.

5) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend as thoroughly as possible. Add small amounts of water, a spoonful at a time, to desired consistency. It should be stretchy and not runny at all. It may help to simply knead it with your hands, to combine it thoroughly.

6) Shape the mixture into a cylindrical shape, as thick or as thin as you would ideally like. Wrap it tightly in tinfoil and twist the ends to be sure it's very tight, like a holiday cracker.

7) Bake at 325 for 1 1/2 hours.

8) Remove from the oven and let cool momentarily. When you are able, remove it from the foil and set it on a cooling rack.

9) Once the pastrami has cooled completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or in a plastic bag. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours, or ideally overnight.

10) Serve on crackers, sandwiches, or eat it by itself!

Tips and Such:

- Try to knead the mixture for at least a minute, not only to make sure you have everything mixed, but also because it helps to improve the texture of the finished dish. You'll find that kneaded substitute is generally more appealing than that which has barely been kneaded.

- Guajillos are notoriously tricky to get reconstituted. They're usually sold in big bags full of the dehydrated peppers. You can either soak them in boiling water for around 30 minutes to 1 hour, or you can just toss them in a pressure cooker with enough water to cover them. Wait for the cooker to whistle a couple of times, then take it off heat. Let it cool down and, when it's ready, remove the peppers. The stems should come off easily and the peppers should be tender and able to be pureed.

Don't try to puree them without reconstituting them, because dried guajillos are very tough and not at all fit for consumption. Once they're reconstituted, however, they're full of delicious taste but only mild heat.

- Asian chillies are known by a variety of names. Sometimes they're Indian chillies, sometimes they're called Korean chillies -- they're small and usually in a variety of red and green, but typically mostly red. You can find these in any Asian grocery. They are rather hot, but they become less so if the seeds are emptied out, which is easy enough.

You can keep them in a paper bag in the refrigerator, and they will keep indefinitely. However, they do dry out after a point. If this has happened, simply throw them in with the guajillos to reconstitute them, and they will also easily become tender again.

- Like salsa and various other savoury foods, this pastrami is best when it has been allowed to rest and 'cure' for a while. If you can, leave it in the fridge overnight, wrapped in a plastic bag or plastic wrap. This will allow it to even out the flavours and to become more consistently delicious.

- If you don't have access to tamari or don't like the taste, substitute soy sauce. However, use more soy sauce than you would tamari, because tamari has a stronger flavour presence and a more robust addition to the overall taste.

Ingredient Info

Vital wheat gluten is basically natural protein occurring in wheat. Some people are allergic to gluten or omit it from their diets for personal reasons, but for most vegetarians it is an extremely nutritionally valuable substance. Many meat substitutes, or 'wheatmeats', are made from wheat gluten; in some cases these are called seitan, which is perhaps surprisingly pronounced pretty much the same as 'Satan'. Vital wheat gluten is typically added to bread dishes, to make them puff out more impressively and to give them a generally more attractive finished look. Because gluten is made up primarily of protein, it is a great substance to have around and it also serves very well as a substitute not only in taste and texture, but nutritionally as well.

Guajillo chillies are moderately hot peppers that are actually rather mild on the heat scale, and they can be made even milder by removing the seeds from them. Because they have a thick, tough skin, they have to be soaked longer than most dried peppers in order to reconstitute them. They have a delicious flavour, however, and are more than worth the trouble. They are especially good in salsas, and that is also where they are commonly found.

So there you have it! It doesn't have to be difficult at all to make your own wonderful meat substitutes at home. You can enjoy this pastrami on its own, on sandwiches, crackers, or pizzas! Let your imagination run and enjoy the versatility of a simple, rewarding ingredient.

Plus, you don't have to scour the vegetarian food section at the grocery store and groan in anguish that they don't stock one of the few really good ones...just make your own! It's easy, inexpensive, highly nutritious, and the best part of all...you have full control over what goes in it. If it's too spicy, reduce the chillies next time. If it's not spicy enough, add more. If you want to throw in some citrus zest, do it!

And that's one of the best parts of cooking things yourself. You call the shots, you know what you put in your food, and it's all for you.

So get in the kitchen and get ready for sandwich season! I'll bet your mouth's watering already!

};) Dhiar <3

Eggless Egg Salad

2010-02-19T12:09:00.000-08:00

Just because I did an article on eggs doesn't mean I've forgotten everyone who doesn't eat them. So today I thought I'd throw together a recipe that could satisfy all of those who still crave this comforting dish, yet don't want to take a chance on the eggs they get at their local grocery.

It's really easy to make, so without any further delay...voila!

Eleggant Salad

Ingredients

1 block firm or extra firm tofu
celery
onion (sweet is best)
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp olive oil

splash tamari

to taste:

cumin seed, crushed
mustard seed, crushed
turmeric
red chilli (cayenne) powder
black salt (kala namak)

1) Drain the water from the block of tofu and freeze it for only about 2-4 hours. When it seems a little frosty on the outside, remove it from the freezer and transfer it to the refrigerator until it has thawed. You can alternatively set it on the countertop to thaw quicker.

2) Using a food processor or a good sharp knife (be careful!) and a cutting board, mince a few stalks of celery and 1/2 to 1 whole onion, depending on your tastes. Place them in a mixing bowl.

3) Squeeze as much water as you can from the block of tofu, then cut it into cubes, adding it to the bowl.

4) Use a potato masher to mash the tofu. Don't get it too smooth -- chunky and rough is what we're looking for here, to give that eggy texture.

5) Add olive oil and spices, to taste. Keep in mind you're going to need probably at least 2 tbsp of each to add sufficient flavour, and possibly more.

6) Mix thoroughly, until a uniformity is achieved.

7) Place in covered container and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Tips and Such:

- Although black salt may take a little more effort to find, it's worth it. Its sulfurous bouquet adds a very authentic eggy element to the mix, making it an extremely true taste.

- Letting mixtures like this salad and salsa, for example, rest in the refrigerator will enhance their taste. The longer mixtures like this are allowed to sit, the more the various seasonings are able to mingle and absorb. It should be left to rest for at least one hour, but ideally the whole morning, afternoon, or overnight.

- Because of the turmeric, the colour of this dish is also very true. For an extra added touch of authenticity, garnish with paprika sprinkled along the top.

- If you want a hint of sourness, try adding a little dash of your favourite vinegar. Malt vinegar works beautifully with this, and rice vinegar is also an ideal option.

Ingredient Info

Tamari is a type of soy sauce that is typically made without the wheat-soy mixture that goes into regular soy sauce, also called shouyu. Tamari is much richer and has a more intense, fuller flavour, so a little goes a very long way.

This recipe is so easy to make. It takes only about 10 minutes at most and can be prepared quickly the night before and left to let the tastes mingle. It's fantastic comfort food, just like the original recipe, but it's much healthier overall. The ingredients all have something to contribute, and they all have health benefits that cannot be denied. Comforting and healthy...you can't go wrong!

So I hope that all of you will give this a try. Even if you're a big fan of its eggy cousin, my eleggant salad is a great alternative when you're watching your diet. You can guiltlessly enjoy a whole sandwich of it without being too worried about what you're eating.

So there you have it. Options for everyone, healthy meals for all!

Until next time, happy cooking as always!

};) Dhiar <3

Tofu Lettuce Wraps

2010-02-05T23:47:00.000-08:00

Light and easy recipes are always great, especially since so many are health-conscious and diet-conscious these days. And that's great! Add 'inexpensive' to the formula and it's a guaranteed winner. This recipe is all those and more.

This is a truly simple dish to prepare beforehand and finish just when you want it. You can get everything ready in just a few minutes and then keep it refrigerated for later enjoyment, whenever you want. It's so quick and easy to fix that it even serves well for an unexpected guest!

Tofu Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients

1/2 block firm or extra-firm tofu, frozen and thawed
Leaf lettuce
3 flour tortillas

marinade:

Sesame oil
Soy sauce
orange juice
cumin powder
garlic
chilli (cayenne) powder
ginger
black salt (optional)

1) Drain the water from the tofu package and then freeze it. Once it has frozen, thaw it.

2) Once the tofu has thawed, squeeze out excess water. After tofu is frozen and thawed, you should be able to do this easily enough with your hands as long as you apply even pressure.

3) Cut the tofu in half and save the other half for later, refrigerated. Slice the remaining half into smaller pieces, cubes or strips. Place in flat dish.

4) Mix the marinade together, mixing the dry ingredients together to taste, then adding little sesame oil, a splash of soy sauce, and the remainder with orange juice, until there is enough to pour over the tofu pieces. Mix thoroughly.

5) Let the tofu mixture soak up the marinade, spooning it over the tofu pieces every few minutes. The longer you let it soak, the more flavour it will have.

6) Cook the tofu pieces with the marinade over medium to medium-high heat until the marinade is cooked in. Serve warm on shredded lettuce rolled in flour tortillas.

Tips and Such:

- If you can't get black salt, you can always use regular salt or tamari. Black salt, however, has a unique and robust taste that adds a great deal of substance to this dish, and it contributes beautifully to the marinade.

- You can use whatever lettuce you like, but don't omit it. The lettuce adds the perfect light crunch, the perfect background for the rich, robust tofu. Fresh, cool lettuce is best for this recipe, absolutely ideal.

- If you don't want to use flour tortillas, you can use sandwich wraps. Use a flat bread of some kind that won't overpower the flavours mingling with this dish.

And there you have it! These wraps are fantastic alone, but they're superb paired up with a nice pickle, a refreshing salad, or some light crisps. They're wonderful in winter, spring, summer, or fall, and they're so simple and inexpensive, yet always fulfilling for a meal.

I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I have.

Until next time!

};) Dhiar <3

Nest Eggs

2010-01-14T14:46:00.000-08:00

I do try to keep this blog vegetarian and vegan-friendly, so before I get started on this entry I'll explain why I'm featuring eggs.

Lately there have been more and more people who are taking care of chickens themselves and personally overseeing the process of egg-laying, discovering as well how intelligent and interesting chickens are. With the immense recent push towards local, organic, free range, and ethical farming -- rather than the horrible factory farming that has been so widespread for so long -- it is becoming easier to find eggs that aren't tainted with guilt and cruelty.

I will say that if you eat eggs, avoid factory farms and avoid, above all, eggs from battery hens: these are immensely cruel and completely unethical. True free-range eggs should generally note this on the package, but you can do research into any company online and see if they're free-range and ethical, or not. It is the age of information, so please take advantage of that information at your fingertips. There's an immense amount of data out there for you to enjoy, which wasn't so readily available even a mere two decades ago.

That having been said, if you have access to some cruelty-free eggs and want to put them to good use, one of the simplest and most delicious methods is a fried egg, ideally over medium. 'Over medium' means that the egg is fully cooked, but the yolk is still a little bit runny. It's thick, however, and not watery. That's generally the ideal. Serve two of these with a little salt and pepper, and you've got breakfast in five minutes.

Fried Eggs

Ingredients

2 eggs

1) Break the eggs into a bowl. This is so you can inspect them easily for any kind of impurity. Blood in the yolk, burst yolk, and so forth will mean you need to discard the egg. However, small impurities like a little shell fragment can be picked out and the egg salvaged. Handle them gently.

2) Oil a medium-sized frypan. You can also use cooking spray. Heat it to medium-high heat. When it's hot enough (it should take a few minutes, you can start it heating while you prepare the eggs), pour the eggs in. The whites should become...well, white...immediately.

3) Cover the frypan and let cook for 3-5 minutes.

4) Remove lid and inspect. Yolks should be golden yellow, and you should be able to touch the top of the whites at any point and not have it come off on your finger or spatula.

5) Remove from heat and slide them off onto a plate, carefully using a spatula. Garnish with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, because they cool quickly.

Tips and Such:

- It's best to use eggs that aren't fresh, when you're doing almost anything with them. Fresh eggs are harder to break and the yolks are easier to burst. Let eggs sit refrigerated for a couple of days before using them.

- Never let eggs sit out too long. Certain cooks call for them to come to room temperature, which is fine as long as you use them immediately. If you break open an egg, use it as soon as possible.

- You can use two separate small bowls or individual cups to break the eggs into, to avoid having to throw both away in case the second one is bad. If you break an egg directly into the frypan, you will run the risk of having a bad egg (no pun intended) cooking the moment it hits the surface. You'll have to throw out whatever's in there and wash the frypan, and start over, which takes time and wastes materials.

- If you cook the eggs for too long, the yolks will look milky. They aren't bad, this just tends to mean that most of the yolk has been cooked and will be solid. These are called 'over hard'...so naturally I can get behind that!

- Use exotic spices to make them even more enjoyable.

I hope you'll enjoy this quick little recipe. You can easily prepare eggs anytime, for a quick bit of nutrition and taste. Although you may not get them perfectly over medium the first time, with practise and experience you'll be able to make a perfect egg without even thinking. It's a quick, easy breakfast or dish any time of the day!

Until next time, keep on cooking!

};) Dhiar <3

Khatti Dal

2009-12-17T13:28:00.000-08:00

Hello again everyone!

Namaste and greetings and such!

Winter is upon us, and it's this time of year that we all really want something fulfilling, warming, and pleasing. Right? And what could be more fulfilling, warming, and pleasing than a Punjabi dish?

Well, there are lots of great dishes the world over. But khatti dal is one of the most wonderful that I can think of.

A pressure cooker is suggested for the preparation of this dish, but you can actually do it without; however, you will have to cook the lentils for 2-3 times as long. The use of a pressure cooker saves energy and time, and it also renders your lentils absolutely perfect for the dish.

You can get most, if not all, of these ingredients at any Indian grocery. You can also order them online; there are plenty of Indian grocers online that would be happy to ship the food to your door! And as always, feel free to substitute if you don't have something on hand.

Above all, don't panic! There's a lot left to taste here (but it's clearly noted in the recipe), and there may be some unfamiliar terms. I will, as always, let you know what these mean and what to look for. You can do it!

Khatti Dal for Catty Dolls Like Us

Ingredients

1C masoor dals
3C water
1 tsp ghee
2-3 dried chillies

to taste:

cumin seed (at least 1/2 tsp)
mustard seed (at least 1/2 tsp)
garlic
ginger
turmeric (at least 1/2 tsp)
red chilli powder (cayenne)
corriander leaves (cilantro)
black salt (kala namak)

1) Mix together the garlic, ginger, and kala namak with a few drops of water, to make a paste. You can use powdered garlic and ginger or minced. You will only need a pinch or two of kala namak.

2) Add the dals, water, the ginger-garlic paste, corriander leaves, chilli powder, and turmeric to the pressure cooker. Stir to blend.

3) Close cooker and bring to heat. Immediately remove from heat once one whistle sounds. This is when the vent itself (the thing with the weight on it) actually releases steam. Let the pressure go down by itself, then open the pressure cooker.

4) Put pressure cooker back on the stove on medium heat, to keep the dal mixture warm while you complete the dish.

5) In a small frypan, heat the ghee over medium to medium-high heat, careful not to let it smoke. If it smokes, discard and start again with new ghee. Break open the dried chillies and add them to the ghee. Add mustard seed to the ghee once it has heated, and let the mustard seed pop. Then add cumin seed and let it sizzle and crackle.

6) Remove the chillies from the mixture and discard them. Pour the ghee and spice mixture over the dal mixture, and blend thoroughly.

7) Serve hot, ideally with rotis, parathas, nan, or even toasted pita bread or tortilla chips.

Tips and Such:

- If you don't have ghee or don't want to use it, you can substitute oil instead. Choose an oil like grapeseed oil, since you'll need to get it to a sufficient heat to pop mustard seed. You can use any oil you like, as long as you take care in heating it so that it doesn't smoke. Smoking oil is never good news!

- If you can't get black salt, just use regular salt, to taste. Black salt will impart a greater taste to your dish, however. You may even try adding a dash of soy sauce or tamari if you wish; the richer bouquet may make up for the absence of black salt.

- If you don't have a pressure cooker, simply cook the lentils until the water has fully been absorbed and cooked, stirring so that they do not stick. Add more water wherever necessary; the final product should resemble a thick gravy. If you prefer yours thinner, add more water; however, too much water and you'll be eating it with a spoon instead of with bread.

- You can prepare the lentils and refrigerate them ahead of time, then finish the dish with the ghee garnish whenever you please. Just do steps 1-3! When you're ready to eat, simply heat up the lentils to desired consistency again, then prepare the ghee and spices mixture fresh. Combine it as in the recipe, with the lentil mixture, and serve hot.

Ingredient Info

Masoor dals are covered in a previous post, but I thought I'd mention them again here because they haven't been used in a recipe. Dal refers to a pulse, which is a split legume. Masoor dals are orange in colour and very flexible in use, plus they're delicious and one of the most nutritionally-rich kinds of dal. They're my favourite kind, and I tend to use them in every dal dish regardless!

Ghee is clarified butter, which is the most common in most Indian recipes. Several studies have indicated that ghee is healthier even than many margarines, but a little of course goes a long way, just like any kind of butter or buttery product.

Turmeric is a spice derived from a root. It's actually really useful in herbal medicine as an anti-inflammatory and is seen in many, many Indian dishes. It is also a potent dye and can impart a warm golden colour. But be warned if you use white washcloths to wash your dishes -- if you have lingering turmeric, you can come out with pretty golden washcloths afterwards!

Black salt, also called kala namak, is a kind of salt that is lower in sodium than most table salt and has a distinctly sulfuric bouquet. It is full of flavour and is used in many Indian dishes. It is named 'black salt' because in its raw form, the crystals are reddish-black. However, when ground to the powder used in cooking, it becomes a pleasant pink.

I hope you'll enjoy this super-easy and super-quick recipe. It's got massive amounts of nutrition, plus it's warming, nourishing, and feels good. It's especially comforting in these cold winter months. So I hope you'll take advantage of this dish and enjoy it while it's especially nice! In my opinion though, lentils are always delightful.

Until next time...happy cooking!

};) Dhiar <3

Olive My Love

2009-12-05T19:26:00.000-08:00

I know olive you are big fans of my recipes so far, and I hope everyone will let me know how they like the recipes when they try them.

If you've been paying attention to my puns (and why wouldn't you), I'll bet you've guessed what today's recipe is. That's right...it's an olive-based recipe! It's called olive salad, and you can use it on virtually olive your meals.

Olive My Salad

Ingredients

1/2 can black olives (somewhere around 3 oz.)
5-10 green olives, stuffed with pimientos, or to taste
2-3 stalks celery, or to taste
handful baby-cut carrots
generous tbsp parsley
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tbsp black olive brine
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

to taste:

sea salt
black pepper
vegetarian ham substitute (optional)

1) Using a food processor, a blender, a grater, or some other method, chop everything up into very small pieces. Do not liquefy.

2) Combine all ingredients carefully in a large mixing bowl. Stir until completely blended. Add olive brine or water to reach desired consistency. The mixture should be moist, but not wet.

3) Transfer to container and store refrigerated for at least one hour before serving.

Tips and Such

- This olive salad makes a delightful sandwich. Simply spread atop a slice of bread and enjoy it open-faced! Couple with perhaps a pickle and some fresh vegetables for a filling and nutritious meal.

- You can make a mean omelette with olive salad, whether you use eggs or egg substitute! It adds plenty of flavour and nutrition.

- The salad, like salsa and other uncooked mixtures, tends to taste best after it has been allowed to rest for an hour or more in a container. This allows the flavours to mingle and settle into the ingredients. You don't have to let it rest; if you need it urgently, just mix it up and take it along with you, letting it rest in the container on the way.

- This can be used as a perfect dip for chips, if you're looking for a quick and easy vegan recipe to take to a party.

Ingredient Info

Olives are fruit of the olive tree, a magnificent plant beloved of the ancient Greeks. Everything about the tree could be used: the wood, the bark, the fruit, the oil of the fruit...it was one of the most valuable plants to that civilisation. Olives come in a variety of colours and preparations, and the place where they are grown also contributes to the flavour.

Celery is a prized savoury vegetable, with extremely powerful-tasting seeds. Traditionally, in ancient Greece, celery was highly esteemed, and champion actors were awarded crowns of celery. Apparently we're hitting all the ancient Greece vegetables this time!

Baby-cut carrots are carrots -- a sweet and savoury root vegetable -- cut to be very small, bite-sized. They are convenient for many recipes since they do not require peeling and can also be enjoyed raw very easily.

Parsley is a relative of celery and actually gets its name from -- that's right! -- ancient Greek, in which it means 'rock celery'. Italian parsley is the most flavourful and less bitter, although parsley is a very subtle flavour in general. Commonly used as a garnish, it is actually an extremely nutritionally rich herb.

Balsamic vinegar is vinegar that has been aged in a certain special way. It is generally regarded as sweeter than other vinegars, and a little can go a long way in cooking and especially in garnishing.

Vegetarian ham substitute is available in a variety of styles. Many Asian supermarkets will have this in loaves (catering to Buddhist patrons) along with other meat substitutes. You can also find vegetarian ham substitutes in many Western grocery stores. If you can't find anything, use the imitation bacon pieces you can get -- make sure they're vegan, as most are -- for salad accents. You can also omit this ingredient if it's too troublesome; the olive salad has more than enough taste without it.

I hope you'll enjoy this recipe. It's a great one for when you just want to have a nice, simple meal. You can just spread some on bread and instantly you've got a sandwich. Or get some chips and you can have a party! Roast some pita bread and use it to dip, or make a creative omelette, or crepes! The choice is yours for this diverse dish.

I hope to see olive you here again for my next recipe! And do be sure to read the other entries, because they're all good...olive them.

};) Dhiar <3

Almost All-Purpose Sauce

2009-11-21T11:19:00.000-08:00

Have you all been cooking? Yes? Good! This is the time of year when it's so much fun to cook and bake and share with others.

Today's recipe is a simple enough one that is ridiculously easy to throw together when you get an urge for veggie burgers, tofu, or, well...just about anything you could think of! It takes all of 30 seconds to get ready, so you have no excuse not to use it.

Almost All-Purpose Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 tbsp sesame oil
2-3 tbsp applesauce
splash soy sauce

to taste:

garlic powder or minced garlic
chilli powder (cayenne) or shichimi togarashi

1) Mix all ingredients together in small bowl.

2) Spread over food and cook it in!

Tips and Such

- This sauce does a great job on plain vegan veggie burgers. Just spread some on the top of the frozen patty and turn it over to cook, then spread it on the other side while the bottom cooks. Keep doing this until you've used it up; you'll have a super-tasty treat. This makes the patty moist and full of flavour. If you don't want to use it all, you can keep the remainder for up to a couple of days, but stir it before you use it.

- Because this has oil in it, that means you don't have to oil the skillet. Keep the burgers flipped regularly and you'll come out fine!

- You can use 1 tbsp of water instead of one of the tbsp of applesauce to make a thinner sauce, for dipping.

- You can use this as a topping or garnish after cooking.

Ingredient Info

Sesame oil is oil made from sesame seed. It is an immensely flavourful oil, so a little goes a long way. Like olive oil, it has been noted to have significant health benefits. Cooking at medium temperatures is generally best with this oil. Don't deep-fry with it or anything.

Shichimi togarashi is a Japanese pepper blend. It's very tasty and also incorporates sesame seed. Make sure to read the label, since some manufacturers put in MSG. But that's lesser and lesser anymore.

I hope you'll enjoy this simple and quick sauce! It's great when you want to soup up some plain burgers. It's immensely satisfying...maybe even surprisingly so!

Until next time...happy cooking!

};) Dhiar <3

Salty Rods

2009-11-10T21:03:00.000-08:00

Ciao! And that is Italian for 'hello' (or 'goodbye' or about a dozen other things, colloquially), which fits in with today's fabulous recipe!

This one is actually a dish that I consider my grand prix (and that's pronounced grahn pree and not grand pricks, however tempted you may be) of baked goods, as it is one of the most popular and requested things I have ever made. It doesn't take a lot of time, it's pretty easy to do, and even if it has a few steps, they're very simple steps.

Just take them one at a time, and you're fine! You'll surprise yourself and all your friends when you produce this mouth-watering dish, and you'll find they ask you -- sometimes repeatedly -- when you're going to make them again!

Spiced Pretzels (also known as Salty Rods, but you don't have to make them rods)

Ingredients

1 C flour
1 C flour (again!)
3/4 C lukewarm water
2 tsp dry yeast
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

to taste:

Italian seasoning
garlic powder
mustard seed

salt, preferably coarse kosher or sea salt

1) Stir the water to blend the sugar in, then add the yeast and blend as thoroughly as possible, stirring gently. Don't overstir it. Then let it sit for around 15 minutes at room temperature.

2) While you're waiting, crush the mustard seed into a powder, using a mortar and pestle. Add this and the Italian seasoning and garlic to the flour, and stir with a wire whisk. Make sure to get it all thoroughly blended.

3) Once the yeast mixture has sat for the necessary amount of time and risen (you can see foam on it!), slowly add it to the flour mixture. Stir it gently in with a spoon and blend it all together. Add the olive oil and then 1/2 of the other cup of flour.

4) Knead the dough gently as you add the flour, until it is of a good consistency and isn't too sticky. You may not have to add the whole other cup of flour; if you have some left over, reserve it for later.

5) Cover the mixing bowl with a tea towel and place it in an unheated oven for 10-20 minutes, so the dough can expand. Once it has expanded, remove it from the oven and uncover. You can knead it again at this point, which will make the pretzels smoother, but you don't have to.

6) Fill a saucepan halfway with water and mix in the baking soda. Heat the water and bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat so it stays hot.

7) Flour your hands, then pinch off pieces of the dough and roll them into rods. You can also make the traditional twists, but this will take a larger amount of dough than a rod. Carefully place each pretzel into the boiling water, and remove it when it floats, draining off the water.

8) Set the pretzels on a greased baking pan and sprinkle with salt. You can also use different salts for different tastes, such as black salt, or even other spices like pepper.

9) Bake at 400 F/200 C for around 15-20 minutes or until golden.

10) Place on cooling rack and serve warm!

Tips and Such

- If you don't have a mortar and pestle for your kitchen, it really pays to get one. You can find them at many kitchen stores, and many Asian groceries will also carry them. It's great to have one because it's best and most flavourful to buy whole spices and then grind them whenever they're needed.

- To extract the pretzels from the water, use a slotted spoon or slotted ladle, like the kind you might use in a deep fryer. This will allow you to drain off the excess water before placing them on the baking pan.

- You flour your hands when dealing with most breads, because if you have flour on your hands, the dough will not stick to you. You may need to reapply flour between each piece that you roll into a rod. This also works with surfaces like your countertop; if you apply flour to the countertop, it keeps dough from sticking to it. This is why in cooking shows and perhaps your own family's kitchen, you will often see a cook spread flour all over his countertop. It isn't just for the sake of being messy!

- If you have yeast in packets rather than a jar, just use a whole packet of yeast on this recipe. I recommend a jar, however, because it's less wasteful in terms of packaging. Besides, you're going to bake a lot with my recipes!

- The sugar is added to the water so that the yeast will have something to feed on, so that it can expand. You need this to happen, and that's why there's sugar in it. It doesn't take much, and it really doesn't contribute to the finished dish, but it is an essential part.

- When trying to get your water lukewarm, a good thing to remember is that lukewarm should be obviously hotter than your body but not so hot it burns you. It shouldn't hurt, but it shouldn't feel cold or the same temperature as your body. Lukewarm is a bit higher than body temperature.

Ingredient Info

As usual, I'm only covering the new things here. If you see something in the recipe that isn't covered here, read up in the older recipes! They're lots of fun and well worth your time.

Italian seasoning is a blend of spices commonly used in Italian cooking. Oftentimes it includes the standards of oregano, rosemary, marjoram, savoury, thyme, sage, and basil. Yours may vary, but the blend is quite a flavourful one, and a little goes a long way.

Mustard seed is, quite naturally, the seed of the mustard plant! This seed is full of flavour and really wonderful at adding subtle taste to dishes. You can use it whole or ground in many dishes. The popular and seemingly ubiquitous condiment mustard is made in large part from mustard seeds, ground into powder and mixed with other ingredients.

As always, I hope you'll let me know about your experiences making and enjoying my recipes! I'd love to hear how you like the pretzels, and of course I'd love to hear how you like all of my different dishes. Make my day and comment!

Until next time, happy eating!

};) Dhiar <3

Dhiary Starry Night Cookies

2009-10-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

Since it's Halloween/Samhain/Equinox, I thought it would be apropos to share a particularly sweet and indulgent recipe. It's not so bad, especially compared to most cookie recipes out there, but this is still not something you want to make all the time.

In the holiday spirit, I give you...Dhiary Starry Night Cookies! So named because, well, they look like delicious little representations of the starry night sky.

Dhiary Starry Night Cookies

Ingredients

1 C flour
1/2 C cocoa
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp applesauce
1-2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp vanilla extract, or to taste
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
pinch salt
handful pecans, crushed
handful cashews, crushed
white chocolate chips, to taste

1) Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Grease a baking sheet and set it aside. In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients except for the nuts and chips, and mix thoroughly.

2) Add the wet ingredients slowly, mixing them in and blending thoroughly.

3) Take the nuts in your hand and crush them (this will be the only circumstances where you ever see me say this) roughly, so that no huge pieces remain. Add them to the batter and mix. Then pour in the chips; you probably won't need more than 1/3 C, but go with your own preference.

4) Mix all ingredients thoroughly. The batter should be quite stiff (oo-er), but if it is too stiff for your liking, add water or soymilk 1 tbsp at a time until it reaches desired consistency. The batter should not be runny, or else you're going to get Dhiary Starry Night Doilies.

5) Spoon onto baking sheet at desired size, leaving room between the batter. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

6) Take from heat and let cool on rack.

Tips and Such

- Be sure to remember to grease the baking sheet, and if you need to bake two batches, be sure that you've re-greased it between batches, otherwise they may stick.

- If your arms aren't up to mixing such stiff batter, use an electric mixer. Cookie batter is generally pretty stiff.

- If you're allergic to nuts, just omit them and add perhaps another kind of chocolate chip, or some other delightful little ingredient. If you like fruit, you could even add small pieces of dried fruit. Just about anything goes nicely with chocolate!

Ingredient Info

I won't cover the ingredients that I have before, so if you're desperately curious, look back over the previous recipes. They're pretty awesome, so I hope you will anyway!

Cocoa usually refers to the dried, fermented, powder derived initially from the seed of the cacao plant. Various circumstances depend on what it's called, such as Dutch-processed or whatnot. For baking purposes you will want to get unsweetened cocoa. This isn't the same thing as hot cocoa mix...if you want to make hot cocoa with baking cocoa, you have to add sweet and spice! I repeat: baking cocoa is not sweet!

Extra virgin olive oil is the best olive oil to use, because it retains the most nutrients and flavour. 'Extra virgin' means that it's the first pressing of the olives, which is why it's so vivid in taste and fuller of valuable nutrition. It's a pretty funny term, though, I've got to admit. When I hear 'extra virgin', I think of Revenge of the Nerds.

Applesauce is what you get when you make a paste from apples. It's basically like mashed potatoes, but with apples instead of potatoes. If you can't find applesauce in your area, it's pretty easy to make, so just take a peek on your search engine of choice for a recipe or, if you can't find one, comment here and I'll post one for you!

If you want to make this recipe without sugar, just add more applesauce. It is naturally sweet and makes the batter smooth and rich.

Rice vinegar is, well, vinegar made from rice. Vinegar is a substance that is created when what amounts to wine is fermented a second time, in a way. That's basically it in a nutshell: fermented wine. Even the name comes from the French for 'sour wine'! Vinegar is amazingly versatile and can be used in a number of ways, and not only in cooking; it's pretty amazing all around the house. Rice vinegar has a smooth, mild taste and aroma that makes it great to use in cooking.

In this recipe, the rice vinegar helps the baking powder to react, plus it adds a certain smooth richness to the taste that can't be beat! Don't worry, you don't taste the sour.

Cream of tartar is a semi-neutralised but still acidic salt. It's useful for making things fluffy. There's a big explanation behind it, but it's just confusing so I'm not going to go into it right now.

White chocolate chips are little chips made of white chocolate. White chocolate is not strictly an actual chocolate because it doesn't generally contain chocolate liquor. However, it does usually contain cocoa butter, sugar or some sweetener, and other flavours. While the standard white chocolate chips have milk solids, you can get vegan white chocolate chips, making this entire recipe a vegan paradise. Just look around online for them. You can see one store's offering here! And as you may notice, the price is pretty much the same for vegan as it is for regular.

And there you have it! I hope you'll enjoy these night-themed cookies. They're always a big hit here at Phantasies, and they're rich enough that you'll be satisfied by just one or two. What's great is that they really don't have nearly as much sugar as most recipes, plus you can actually make it without any sugar at all.

Like all sweets and slightly naughty treats, be sure to handle these in moderation. Make them last...you won't want to run out in just a day or two, after all!

These are fantastic with tea, or delightful just by themselves...

Indulge! Halloween only comes once a year, after all, and it's this time of year that we start to feel the night's presence more and more. Celebrate the warm protectiveness of the dark by making a delightful batch of cookies!

Until next time...eat heartily!

};) Dhiar <3

Something Exotic, Yet Comfortingly Familiar

2009-10-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

As Autumn -- which is my favourite season -- presses on and gets chillier, it's the kind of season where you sometimes just want a nice bread for breakfast. Banana bread is wonderful, but not everyone can get bananas, and in any case it takes time to age the bananas properly. What to do?

As you know, I'm a tea fancier and one of my favourite teas is chai. I always have some chai around, whether it's my own blend or someone else's. This recipe is especially convenient because you can get everything in it at most grocery stores.

It's quick, it's easy, and it's a good breakfast food that you won't feel too guilty about.

Exotic Yet Familiar Chai Bread

Ingredients

1 1/2 C flour
1/2 C sugar
1 C (soy)milk
2 eggs or egg substitute
1 tsp dry yeast
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
2 bags chai
handful cashew pieces

1) Preheat oven to 350F/175C. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Stir thoroughly, then add the yeast and blend it in.

2) Heat the milk over medium heat until it is hot enough to steam, then take the pot off heat. Place the two bags of chai in the milk and cover. Let steep for 10 minutes.

3) Add the milk gradually to the dry ingredients, stirring it in. Add the two eggs, stirring them completely, and then the cashews. Last, add the vanilla extract.

4) Once everything is smoothly blended, cover the bowl with a tea towel and let sit in a warm place for 15-20 minutes.

5) Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for one hour, or until golden brown on top and knife blade inserted in centre comes out clean.

6) Turn out onto rack and let cool.

Tips and Such

- You don't have to have a rack to cool a loaf of bread, but it helps if you do. This is because after baked goods like breads finish cooking, they release steam. It usually isn't obvious to the eye, but it collects and condenses into water. If you just set bread on a plate, it will absorb all that water back in and give it a soggy bottom!

If you don't have a rack, prop it diagonally so that the majority of the bottom isn't directly touching the plate or tray. You can also do this with a baking sheet. All you need is a gentle angle, and it will have enough room so that the bread isn't moistened to excess.

- After the first few hours, you'll want to place your bread in a breadbox or some other kind of container. You might even want to refrigerate it, for freshness; if you leave it out in the open air, it will gradually become more rigid and, in time, inedible. Although hardness is great for some things in life, bread unfortunately is not one of them.

- The reason why you place the bread somewhere for around 20 minutes, covered, is to let the yeast have time to start getting active and get the bread fluffier, with whatever you've used to help it to rise. You don't have to; if you don't mind a more condensed, solid loaf that is shorter, you can bake it directly.

Ingredient Info

Flour is grain ground into a powder. I use King Arthur brand because it's never bleached and isn't subject to a lot of the things that other flours are. There are plenty of very worthy, unbleached and unadulterated flours out there, so look at your local store and find a good one for you!

Sugar is usually derived from cane, although not always. See the previous entry on sugar for more information about sweeteners you can use.

Milk or soymilk are the nutritional byproduct of animals or soybeans, respectively. Soymilk is a great and nutritionally sound substitute, but for cooking purposes be careful not to buy a soymilk that has a distinct flavour added to it; just buy plain. You can also buy ricemilk or a variety of nutmilks, which are different and interesting themselves.

Eggs are yet another nutritional byproduct of animals, and they are very useful in cooking, to add fluffiness, nutrients, and as a binder for ingredients. You can, however, find vegan egg substitutes, or you can do what I do when I don't want to use eggs in baking: combine about 1-2 tsp baking soda with about a tbsp vinegar. Add the baking soda with the dry ingredients, add the vinegar with the wet. You can probably even omit the yeast if you don't want to bother with it, as long as you add the baking soda and vinegar. It's not that important in a bread like this, anyway.

Remember those volcano things people used to make when you were younger? This works on the same basic principle. Vinegar and baking soda together help to make a reaction that lets the bread rise, without the need for the eggs to make the dough fluffy. During wartime and other times where people were forced to do without their usual dairy, they developed recipes that used this combination instead. Give it a try!

Dry yeast is an ingredient used to help bread to rise. You can get this in packets or in jars, but I prefer to use jars since it's less wasteful than the paper for individual packets. Plus the jars have a really cool design that you can reuse for other things after you've emptied them, so that's an added bonus. I'm all about recycling through reuse! If you're only starting to use yeast for the first time, get used to measuring it by spoons instead of packets, and you'll always be able to gauge!

Baking powder is a convenient combination of baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. It is easier to use baking powder instead of those ingredients separately, although for many recipes it's recommended to use another pinch of salt or perhaps a little more baking soda sometimes. It's up to you.

Vanilla extract is the liquid extract of the vanilla bean, one of nature's most sensual and flavourful substances. Pure vanilla extract is typically suspended in alcohol, which is why for a while it was hard to get at times (although Chana has always had it handy), but there's also an imitation vanilla extract if you like. Personally I recommend getting real vanilla extract and not imitation. Be careful to read the packaging...sometimes they put 'imitation' in teeny tiny letters!

Chai is a kind of blend of spices and black tea. It was originally developed in India as a medicinal tonic for the nobility, but its popularity spread and now many people all over the world enjoy chai. It's very healthy by nature, and it can be helpful for a variety of reasons.

Cashews are seeds from the cashew tree, also called acajou. Isn't that a romantic-sounding word? I love to say it. ~Acajou~ Anyway, they're actually seeds that are attached to the bottom of the cashew apple, which is a fruit that is enjoyed in some parts of the world. For many regions, though, it's all about the nuts, which is a sentiment I can understand.

You hush up that giggling.

Cashews are really great nutritionally and have an immense amount of flavour. They make a fantastic nut butter and are also superb in sweets. They also absorb and enhance flavours, which is why they're ideal for a bread like this.

Note that people who are allergic to tree nuts can, however, omit the cashews and the bread will still be tasty!

Well, I hope you all enjoy this bread! It's great as it is, or toasted and lightly brushed with ghee, or just toasted and eaten dry. You can enjoy it with fruit or tea, or coffee. It also provides a lovely mid-afternoon snack when you can't eat dinner yet but you're hungry enough to need something.

What's especially nice is that it's really a very good bread and isn't full of things that are bad for you to eat. I'm not suggesting you eat a whole loaf at once, of course, but you shouldn't feel bad about indulging in a couple of pieces for breakfast! It's a good way to start the day and wake your taste buds, whilst being subtle enough not to jar you into the day.

Please do let me know how you're enjoying it!

Until next time, keeping cooking and doing your best. You can do it!

};) Dhiar <3

An Interesting Article!

2009-10-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

I recently was shared a pretty interesting article about a man's journey from horrible, toxic foods, to healthier and more nutritious ones. It raises some really good points, and since I know some of you readers of my blog have found it hard sometimes to make the shift, I'd like to share it with you:

Here you go!

I hope you like it. It's really very interesting and talks about how the taste buds are conditioned, how going 'cold' might not be the best approach, and how it is generally better to do a gradual, steady transition. Little bits at a time.

If one particular kind of food or style isn't keenly enjoyed, try another. If one dish isn't so popular, try a different one. Variety is a very good thing, and of course everyone doesn't have the same tastes and won't, even with adjustment of the taste buds and preferences.

I hope you find this article as interesting and as valuable as I did! Maybe it'll help some of you who want to eat healthier but find it daunting or unappealing. It's just a matter of approach.

Until next time, be healthy and happy!

};) Dhiar <3

Burritos! Ole!

2009-10-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

Bienvenidos everyone! This time, it's time for a recipe!

I'll give you the recipe first, then afterwards I'll tell you more specifics, including cooking tips and other fun facts about the ingredients. Ready?

Let's go!

Dhiarling Vegan Burritos

Ingredients

1 can (425g/15oz) black beans
1/2 can kernel corn
1/2 block tofu
2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
flour tortillas

to taste:
cumin
garlic
cayenne/red chilli powder
corriander
paprika (optional)

1) Rinse the black beans and the corn and combine them in a pot. Lightly mash them, but only enough to mash some of the beans. Don't make them into a paste.

2) Open the tofu and drain the water. Slice the block in half and store the other half. Gently squeeze the half you're using, but don't worry about draining it completely. Place it in another pot and mash it thoroughly.

3) Add the nutritional yeast flakes and paprika to the mashed tofu. Blend thoroughly. If needed, add a little bit of water so that the flakes can be blended. Put on medium-high heat and stir regularly.

4) Add the rest of the spices to the bean mixture and stir thoroughly. Put on medium-high heat and stir regularly.

5) Once the tofu has fully heated, turn off the heat and keep stirring so it doesn't stick. Wait for the bean mixture to heat thoroughly and then pour the tofu mixture into it. Stir them together, blending them completely. Continue to heat.

6) When the combined mixture is sufficiently cooked, spoon it out onto flour tortillas. Roll it in the tortillas and place them in a baking pan, packed together.

7) Place under the grill/broiler on low. Alternatively you can heat them at around 300F/150C or so. Let them brown only slightly and then remove from heat.

8) Top with your favourite salsa or shredded corriander leaves! This recipe makes enough for 2-3 people.

Tips and Such

- Folding tortillas is really easy. If you don't know how to do it, I'll teach you!

First, you'll want to be sure not to put too much filling on each tortilla. Maybe about 1/4 of the size of the tortilla, and leave enough space from the sides, measure by about the top half of your thumb. Place the filling near the bottom, closest to you.

Tuck the sides of the tortilla inwards, towards the filling. Then, with your thumbs, move the bottom end of the tortilla up and over the filling. Tuck the bottom flap under the filling as you roll, and keep rolling until you have a cylindrical burrito!

It's basically kind of like making an envelope!

- 'To taste' means to add however much of the spice you like. You can even omit spices you don't like, or substitute ones that you do.

- If you want the tofu 'cheese' to look cheesier, add a little turmeric for a golden colour.

Ingredient Info

Cumin is basically the spice that gives most chili its distinctive taste. Cumin seed is typically used in Indian cooking, whereas cumin powder is more common in Western. It adds a dimension of heartiness to any food, although it is highly flavourful. Less is often more with this spice.

Corriander, also spelt coriander, is actually the same plant as cilantro. Cilantro is the Spanish name, and in casual cooking conversation it usually refers to the leaves only. Some people love the leaves, others are not so fond of them. The seed, which can be bought whole or in a powder, gives a refreshing sort of taste to dishes and is sometimes referred to as 'citruslike'.

Cayenne, or red chilli, is a kind of hot pepper. You can use whatever you want in place of this or, if you don't like heat in your dishes, just omit it. Comparable to cayenne in taste would be the elegant Japanese shichimi togarashi (a pepper blend) or white pepper.

Paprika is a kind of pepper as well, although its taste is comparatively mild. It is often used to give a colourful accent to foods, rather than to give it much flavour.

Garlic is an extremely popular savoury spice. Its health benefits are many, and its aroma makes most people's mouths water. Although it can override more subtle flavours if used in excess, generally garlic is a welcome enhancer of taste in most dishes. It does, however, linger as an aftertaste in some dishes.

Nutritional yeast flakes are a kind of nutritional supplement. Full of valuable nutrients, they are helpful to anyone on a special diet. However, that aside, they also have a very cheesy, enjoyable taste that allows even vegans to enjoy a completely guilt-free 'cheese'. Be careful not to get brewer's yeast or anything like that...only nutritional yeast flakes tend to have the buttery, cheesy flavour. Many of the rest have a bitter taste.

Tofu is soybean curd. It has been used for centuries in many kinds of food, and it is often used as a good source of protein for vegetarians and vegans. You can get it in a variety of firmnesses (oo-er), but I tend to use firm or extra firm. For 'cheese', you might want to get soft, since it is smoother.

Black beans are a type of bean that is often used in 'Southwestern' dishes and is popular in many Mexican dishes too. They have a distinctive flavour that lends itself well to other common ingredients of this sort of cuisine, plus they're very nutritious.

Kernel corn is corn that is, naturally, in the kernel. This is different to creamed corn.

So I hope you'll all enjoy this recipe, and I hope you'll let me know how it goes when you try it! It's a simple recipe that can give you a lot of enjoyment, as well as a lot of nutrition. The beans, tofu, and nutritional yeast flakes make it an excellent choice for anyone, but especially diet-conscious veg*ns.

Until next time...keep it cookin'!

};) Dhiar <3

Gimme Some Sugar

2009-10-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

If you're vegan, you're no doubt familiar with shopping for ethical foods. Since vegans don't eat anything that contains or is produced by animal by-products, there are more than a few foods on the 'no-no list'.

A lot of people are surprised to find out that sugar is actually one of these!

The reason why is, there are still companies that use (shudder) bone char to whiten their sugar. Most of the time it doesn't get into the finished product...but it's a pretty gross way to go about just making something whiter. So how to shop for a more ethical alternative?

Just do a little research! There are plenty of companies that are ethical in their sugar. Companies like Florida Crystals and Sugar in the Raw never use bone char. There are more and more companies, these days, turning to less objectionable methods, since more people are willing and able to write and communicate their distaste. Since there are so many special diets out there now, they are finding it less and less commercially viable to keep turning to potentially unappealing practices. Which is good, because it makes things healthier and better for everyone involved.

What about if you don't want to use cane sugar? Maybe you just don't want to fool with all this research rigamorole, and that's okay too. There are plenty of ways that you can do that.

Beet sugar is one way you can do this. Sugar that is derived from beets is not bone char-whitened and tastes just the same as cane sugar. Beet sugar was used to sweeten things for ages in Europe and so on before sugarcane was discovered and trade made it possible to use worldwide. Or, more accurately, before people from Europe discovered that there were other people in the world and that they were using a different sweetener.

Brown rice syrup is a syrup that is made from rice and adds a nice sweetness. It's one of the healthier sweeteners out there, and it's being seen in more and more stores.

Stevia is a natural sweetener that is generally always vegan-friendly in its preparation. It can be made into a syrup or a crystalline powder. It's got a great track record, having been used for decades in Japan since the country outlawed artificial sweeteners after health controversy. Stevia is a better choice for people who need to monitor sugar intake carefully. It's got a lot of really great qualities that make it an ideal option for careful diets.

Liquorice (the herb, not the candy) is another very sweet thing, but people who have kidney problems, cirrhosis, or high blood pressure need to be careful with it. Liquorice is actually several hundred times sweeter than sugar, and it's an extremely health-beneficial herb. But its intake needs to be very limited, especially if you have health problems that might be made worse by it. It's rare for it to have side effects, but better safe than sorry!

Agave nectar is nectar from the agave plant, naturally! It's a pretty succulent plant, like aloe. Agave nectar is nice and smooth, and it has a lot of qualities that make it similar to honey. A lot of people like to use agave nectar to sweeten drinks, because it's really good with tea and coffee. Be careful though, some companies add corn syrup to theirs. That's why it's always good to read the label!

And if you don't mind cane sugar but just would rather not have that gross bone thing going on...

Turbinado sugar is less processed sugar. Sugar in the Raw is turbinado sugar, and turbinado sugar doesn't require bleaching, which cuts out the whole icky 'bone char' thing.

Organic evaporated cane juice and dehydrated cane juice and organic cane sugar should not be exposed to bone char.

However, like any conscientious shopper, double-check! Use the internet, it's a great tool. If all else fails, write to companies or visit their websites; there are lots of them that list on their site whether or not their products are vegan and vegetarian-friendly, like Sugar in the Raw and Florida Crystals. It's a pretty big thing these days, and a lot of people are interested in it now.

So there you have it! There's also a really useful page here for you to look over. When you make the choice to be an ethical shopper, there is a lot to think about! But hopefully I've made it just a little easier for some of you.

So until next time...to your health and mine!

Love,
};) Dhiar <3

Chickpeas and Dals -- Nutritional Goldmines!

2009-10-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

As you know, my sister's name is Chana. What you may not know is that her name means 'chickpea'! She was named that because she is a valuable treasure, and always appreciated.

In a similar way, chickpeas are a valuable treasure trove of nutrition, as are dals (or just dal), which are a kind of bean used very commonly in Indian cuisine. Basically, dals are lentils, peas, beans...legumes, for short. There is even chana dal, which consists of small chickpeas split and polished. Dals are great because they're easy and relatively quick to prepare.

The fact is, there are a lot of vegetarians in India. And dals have been used as a great source of protein for literally ages. Chickpeas were also always really popular, even from the ancient cultures in Mesopotamia.

What's great about chickpeas is that they have phenomenal amounts of protein, fibre, and things like that, while also having negligible amounts of fat and cholesterol. They're also incredibly versatile and make a great medium for all kinds of things.

Dals are also unbelievably nutritionally valuable, and there are so many different kinds with so many different, distinct flavours that they all bring something very different and very valuable to any meal. My favourite is masoor dal, which are often accurately called red lentils. They have a really gorgeous reddish-orange colour, and I like to run my fingers through the dried ones.

Yeah, I know, we all have weird habits. I'll bet you liked to stick your finger in the sugar when you were younger too, so don't laugh!

The reason why it's so important to be conscious of things like dals and chickpeas is because legumes give so much valuable protein, fibre, and other nutrients that everyone needs. Vegetarians especially are always in need of a good and reliable, healthy source of protein. But the added fibre is also really much-needed in most diets. In particular North Americans are often dangerously low in dietary intake, which can be disastrous for the digestion!

The savoury and rich, fulfilling taste of both dals and chickpeas is another asset to vegetarian diets. Having a fulfilling meal in terms of taste is important in managing a healthy diet. If a meal is fulfilling as well as being filling, you won't be tempted to eat more than you really should. If you eat unfulfilling food, you might feel you need to eat more in order to gain satisfaction. It's one of the major reasons why a lot of people's diets fail...it's because they don't feel satisfied by what they do eat, so they overeat.

How to Use This Stuff!

It's pretty easy to use dals. As long as you get split dals rather than whole, here's what you do:

1) Put out as much as you need in a bowl. Go through the dals and make sure there aren't any bad ones or little pebbles or anything, because sometimes they get in there.
2) Add enough water so that it is an inch over the dals. You may have to mix them up with your hand so that they all sink.
3) Cover with a tea towel and let sit for at least 2 hours.

If you have whole dals, you'll probably need to let them sit for about 8 hours, or overnight.

Canned chickpeas are awesome because you can just open them and voila. However, dried chickpeas are good too if you know how to handle them, because you can store them easily and buy them very inexpensively.

To prepare dried chickpeas, you can either soak them overnight (which isn't always overwhelmingly successful) or try this method:

1) Put out as much as you need in a pot.
2) Add enough water to cover them by an inch or two.
3) Bring to a boil and let boil for 1-5 minutes.
4) Take off heat and cover, letting sit for at least 1 hour.

Some recommend boiling in salt water, which adds a bit more taste and takes away some of the edge that dried chickpeas can have.

Another especially good method to use is a pressure cooker. If you cook dried chickpeas for about an hour in the pressure cooker, it is probably the best and most flavourful method of rehydrating them and preparing them for cooking.

So there you have it! Two really valuable and very affordable foods that anyone, regardless of diet, can enjoy. These will help your health and thrill your tongue!

I'll be providing you with some personal favourite recipes including chickpeas and dals soon. Since they're some of the best and most nutritious, fulfilling foods out there, you can bet you'll see them again in Demon in the Kitchen.

Until next time...

}:) Dhiar <3

Welcome to My Kitchen

2009-10-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my kitchen. I am Dhiar, an Incubus with a love of good food.

An Incubus, you say? A demon? Well yes, that too. But we're not exactly what you may think. For example, most all of us are vegetarians because of what humans would call extrasensory perception. We're all about the guiltless pleasures...and eating is such a wonderful one of those!

For more about me, you can always go read Incubus Tales. But just take my word for it: I love to cook!

So why a blog? Well, why not? This way I can share my unique experiences in the kitchen with all of you. There'll be cooking tips, shopping tips, nutrition and diet pointers...we can't all be demons with full control over every aspect of our appearance, after all!

Even if you're not vegetarian, don't think for a moment that the food here would be anything less than delicious! It's good health and good taste I'm after.

Last, but certainly not least of all, you can find a list of Delicious Destinations to the side here, which are sites that I personally recommend. If you'd like to be listed in those sites, please let me know! I'm sure we can work something out.

Maybe we can't all be a Demon in the Kitchen...but you can have the benefit of my experience as one!

Until there's more to say...I bid you...adieu!

For now.

};) Dhiar