Book Review and Contest: Local Bounty

With farmer's markets really picking up in most parts of the United States this time of year, Local Bounty seems so timely. I know, out in the Pacific Northwest, farmer's markets are a year-round affair. But many parts of the U.S. aren't as fortunate. Luckily for us, this book makes the most of available produce (any time of year!) and offers suggestions and substitutions when possible. It's no surprise that the author is Devra Gartenstein, who lives in Seattle according to the back cover, where markets abound. She is also the author of Accidental Vegan, if her name rings a bell with you.

Here's the really good news about this book: no matter what the season, this book has you covered. It opens with general thoughts and an introduction about why eating local is so important. Next comes "A Brief Tour of the Vegetable Kingdom" with info on the plant families, including my favorite: a section on chiles. Some guidelines about vegetable cooking round out the beginning of the book, along with a handy dandy seasoning chart. Then we get to the recipes, which are sorted by season.

If you've got a fruit or vegetable, Devra's got a way to cook it. She even has a scape recipe! That's big news to me since it's the first scape recipe I've ever seen in print. Her recipe style is simple and direct, combining the peak flavors of a season to create easy but delicious dishes. This book would be a great addition to any vegan's collection.

And now you've got a chance to win it! All you have to do is leave a vegetable comment on this post along with your email address. Or be sure to check back in case I can't get in touch with you. What I want you to tell me is something about a vegetable. Maybe you could say your favorite veg of the minute, or one you thought you'd never like, or one you still can't cosy up with, or a favorite cooking method... you get the idea. Just make sure you mention a specific vegetable. I'll do the random drawing thing and will get a copy of Local Bounty out to one lucky winner, thanks to my friends at the Book Publishing Company.

Just so I don't leave you without some food, here's a quickie stir fry from the other night. It's just snow peas, tofu, mushrooms, red peppers and the very last of our scapes. I'm sad to see the end of them, but I'm looking forward to the garlic right around the corner.


Ready, Set, Comment! And good luck!

Basil, Basil, Basil!

It's hard to tell from this picture, but that's a beautiful, whopping, 3 cups of fresh basil. Three packed cups, which is probably the most basil I've ever had at one time. It's a ginormous pile that we were given at our trip to Whole Foods! How cool is that?

Here's the story: we were poking around the plants outside the store, admiring the basil. They had extremely vibrant basil plants. The nice lady who works in the flower section was out there, too. We've already got lots of basil planted in pots, but it's at the point where I really can't pinch them back anymore and expect them to survive. So we chitchatted a bit and then went in to do our shopping, plantless. The next thing I knew, the plant lady was giving us this huge bag of fresh basil from pinching back the store plants! She said she couldn't make anymore pesto and nobody at the store would take anymore basil either.

When we got home and got all the groceries put away, I ate a few leaves then I made pesto. It turned out to be the best pesto I've ever made! I'm convinced it's all because it was given to us so generously.

Thank you, Whole Foods Plant Lady!

And...guess what? The next post is going to be another book contest. So get ready!

Happy Almost Weekend!

Food Network Friday: Chickeny Scallopini with Capers and Lemon

Chicken Scallopini with Capers and Lemon

I know, Friday again? These weeks just keep rolling along, don't they?

Here's this week Food Network Friday recipe, originally by Sara Moulton and called Turkey Scallopoini with Capers and Lemon. This vegan version is a keeper! It's fast, easy and delicious. That is, as long as you've got some chickeny seitan cutlets in the freezer like a good vegan would. If not, make the seitan on the weekend and you can enjoy this in no time midweek.

Chickeny Scallopini with Capers and Lemon
Serves 2

2 chickeny seitan cutlets, about 8 ounces
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons oilve oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 tablespoon earth balance
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces spaghetti, cooked according to package

Salt and pepper the cutlets. Dredge cutlets in flour.

Heat 1 tablespoon oilve oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pan fry the cutlets turning as they turn golden, about 3 -5 minutes per side. Transfer to plate.

Add remaining tablespoon oil to the skillet. Add garlic and mushrooms. Stir and cook until the mushrooms are just starting to cook, about 2 minutes, reducing heat if needed so garlic doesn't burn. Add broth to deglaze the skillet, scraping the browned bits off the bottom. Cook until broth is reduced to about 1/2. Stir in lemon juice, capers, margarine and thyme. Adjust seasonings and serve over spaghetti, garnishing with parsley.

Notes:

We loved this. Really loved this. But what's not to love about seitan, mushrooms, garlic, lemon and capers? And on top of pasta? Perfection.

This made just enough sauce, but if you like things saucy you might want to increase it a little.

Would I make this again? Definitely. Sara's recipe adapt so well that I'm starting to think she might be a secret vegan. Hmmmmm...."Sara's Secrets" is the name of her show. I might be on to something.

Happy Weekend!

New Lick It! Winner and Cool Cups Review

First off, I'm drawing another winner for Lick It! Instead of managing for myself, I rely on Jim to scan the number for me so I can post it, but he's at work. And I'm impatient, after having our DSL down for 2 days. So now is the time and you're just going to have to trust me. The new winner is #28, For the Love of Guava! Congratulations, G! Please send me your mailing address so I can get your book in the mail. I know you are going to love it!

I'm hoping to host another book contest in the near future, so stay tuned.

Now....A while ago I was contacted by Simon of Cool Cups about sampling their product. Rather than having them ship them, I just picked some up at Whole Foods on my last visit. They're available in 3 flavors: orange, peach mango and black cherry (our choice). If you liked jello, you will love these. They taste exactly like I remember jello and have the exact same wiggly jiggly consistency. They are so much like jello that I had a hard time not thinking about the horrible ingredients in jello. That was a huge hang up for me. I couldn't get over how these are so mind-bogglingly like jello. But they really are fabulous, once I let me mind go. I've got to say, jello has never had it so good.

These have a lot of cool things going for them (pun intended). Besides the obvious vegan thing, they are GMO, preservative and fat free. The website says they are also high in Vitamin C and only 95 calories. These would be wonderful for patients in hospitals (where vegan food is at a minimum) or for kids lunches.

Their website is now offering a new dry mix. Having been vegetarian or vegan my entire (legal) drinking life, I'm curious if the dry mix would work for vodka jigglers. That just might be a great summer experiment.

Coming next: Food Network Friday! See you then!

Garlic Scape Season!

Garlic scapes are finally in season! This is my third (I think) year in cooking with them and I love them more each go around. It's a highlight when we spot them at the Farmer's Market. Most people just pass them by, but a few people have struck up a conversation when they see what we're buying. I think they're pretty, but if I view it totally objectively, they really look a little like overgrown chives without the flowers. They might not be dropdead gorgeous, but they taste incredible.

They are delicious in stir fry's (just dice them) or even basted with a little soy sauce and olive oil on the grill. With some of this week's, I made a big batch of scape pesto, which I ended up in using in several dishes.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Scape Pesto Pasta Salad (with tomatoes, olives and FYH)

"Chicken" Seitan Panini with Scape Pesto Mayo

Scape Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tempeh (and tomatoes)

Roasted Corn with Scape Butter

And this last photo, which I think is my favorite way to use scapes so far this year.

Between you and I, I have a dream of moving to Vermont and becoming a garlic farmer. In truth, I haven't tried planting garlic and am a long way from being able to consider a move to Vermont (let alone a home there with room to plant garlic!), but you just never know. In case you're wondering about the connection, I had the best roasted corn of my life in Quechee, Vermont which was being roasted and sold in the parking lot right by the gorge. I can only imagine it with this delicious scape butter.

Here are the recipes for the Scape Butter and Pesto so you can give them a go for yourself. The scape butter is also wonderful on garlic bread, potatoes (or any vegetable) and I'm planning to try it on popcorn tonight.

Scape Butter
1/4 cup softened earth balance
1 tablespoon minced scapes
pinch red pepper flakes

Combine and refrigerate until needed. It's so good you won't believe it's this easy.

Scape Pesto
6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) scapes, rough chopped
1/2 cup packed fresh basil
1 cup packed fresh spinach
1/4 cup pine nuts
juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup to 1/2 cup olive oil
pepper to taste
1 teaspoon agave (only if you scapes are on the mature side)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth, adding only as much olive oil as needed to get the consistency you want. This may be thinned with broth or dry white wine when using in a dish. (makes about 1 1/2 cups)

Scape Pesto Mayo
3 tablespoons pesto
2 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise
Combine until smooth. Besides being a terrific sandwich spread (try it with grilled eggplant!) this makes a great vegetable dip, too.

Now for a little business:

Are you interested in being a tester for my upcoming cookbook? I could use a few more people. If you'd be willing to test 2 recipes a week, please email me. You can find the address on the right.

Lola, please send me your mailing address! If I don't hear from you by the time I post again, I'm sorry to say I'm going to draw another winner.

Coming soon: another book contest! Keep your eyes open! I'd like to get back in the swing of Food Network Fridays, but it probably won't happen until next week.

If you've got some favorite ways that you use scapes, I'd love to hear about them!

Waffles from VB, Ice Cream and Hello, Strawberries!

Second Quart of the Season

That's right, it's strawberry season! I think strawberries might be my favorite fruit. Then again, I feel the same way about peaches. And blackberries. And really good blueberries. A nice, crisp apple straight from the tree....so you get the idea. I'm fickle about fruit. But since the seasons are spread out, I can enjoy them all and love each and every one the very most.

The first quart was eaten in the car on our way home from getting them. But the second went to the wonderful Old Fashioned Chelsea Waffles from Isa's Vegan Brunch. I was really lucky to be a tester for that book and you can see a lot of the stuff I made here. Jess of Get Sconed is always so amazing to post all her tester stuff in one ginourmous blog post....maybe I should do that, too. But in the meantime, there's that link.

It's so much fun to see what other people are making now that the book is out. What surprises me is the people who say they aren't 'brunch people' so haven't gotten the book. I'm here to tell you that almost all (if not all) of those recipes make great dinners! Don't miss out! And besides, aren't weekends made for brunch?

Old Fashioned Chelsea Waffles

And here's some delicious strawberry ice cream. I'm still tweaking the recipe a little, but let me tell you, it's another great way to start strawberry season.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Speaking of ice cream, lola, please get in touch with me to claim your book! I'm not able to email you through your blog. My email address is in the column at the right. Please send me your address so I can get Lick It! out to you! If I don't hear from you in a few days, I'm going to have to draw another winner. (Pssst...in case she doesn't see this, you can still comment on that post. Just be sure I can get in touch with you if you win!)

What's your favorite way to eat strawberries?

Winner of Lick It! And a Few Unsolicited Reviews

First up, the winner of the contest is lola! Congratulations! I'll try to contact you through blogger, but if you don't hear from me, please send me your address.



You may or may not have realized it, but we've been out of town. Like any good vegan, we explored co-ops and natural grocery stores for some cool food finds. We had some hits and a miss.....the miss first, just to get it out of the way.

Admittedly, I'm probably in the majority on this one. Apparently, Coconut Bliss isn't my thing. We got the vanilla because I have an ice cream theory. Yes, you read that right. My theory is that you always have to try vanilla first because it is the hardest one to make. Sure, you can add all kinds of berries or fudge or exotic ingredients, but without a good base it just won't cut it. So we got the vanilla and I'm sorry to say that it tasted like sun tan lotion to me. Keep in mind that I don't like coconut. I thought it would be more like like the V'con ice cream where even though it's coconut milk, you'd never ever know it. I was wrong. That said, I think it's probably extremely high quality, had an awesome mouth feel and would make any coconut lover dance with glee.

Next up: Tofettes. My mother in law picked some of these up and we had them in wraps. She got the teriyaki flavor and they are actually quite good. I haven't seen these in Ohio before, or if they're here, I've overlooked them. They've got a cool texture that is much firmer than regular tofu. They're little marinated, compressed squares of tofu.

I saved the best for last, 'cause I'm just like that. Sheffield Seitan! No photo, but it looks like seitan. It's made locally in Lyndon, Vermont and it's used in most restaurants up there. We picked some up at a co-op in New Hampshire and it was $7.00 for a pound. The packaging was minimal and it tasted great. If I could buy this around here, I'd probably make my own seitan a lot less frequently.

More of a travel wrap up is still to come but with summer around the corner, I wanted to get Lick It! on it's way. Congratulations again, lola!