nutty golden muesli

There comes a point in every humanities major’s academic career when you’ve just heard the simple question “WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THAT?” too many times. It is that time that you should retort to  your friendly Econ-major acquaintance: “So you’re going to make loads of dough. What are you going to do with that?”

We all have very different ideas of what contributing to society means, so stop judging me. Come on!

With that said, here’s a bowl of earthy, simple muesli. This endeavor was jumpstarted by the reactionary tendency I have toward preservative-laden grocery-store items, which is that of course, I could make this all the better at home. In this case, I was quite right. This recipe is my own combination I’ve perfected to my taste, but your ideals will undoubtedly differ from mine.

That’s okay. Major in whatever you want, but we’ll all be eating some kind of cereal before work tomorrow morning. I’ll take mine with golden raisins.

Nutty Golden Muesli

inspired by Carly & Jean

Note: This recipe gives you a dry American-type cold cereal, but without the sugar. I add honey straight to my bowl after I’ve toasted the cereal. If you’re looking for a good granola recipe, just add a bit of binder to your oats while baking– virtually any type of oil combined with any liquid sweetener will work to give you those coveted granola clusters.

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats (quick oats are pictured, but I prefer whole oats)
1 cup each of slivered almonds and chopped walnut pieces
3/4 cup each of bulgar wheat and sesame seeds
1 cup of golden raisins
1 tsp each of cinnamon and sea salt 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine all ingredients and lay out evenly on a sheet pan with ridges/cookie pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until oats are just starting to look toasted and nutty. Let cool for 10 minutes, and enjoy with whatever type of milk, yoghurt, sweetener, and/or fresh fruit you prefer.

butter lettuce salad with edamame, cranberries, and pepitas

Happy June, a day late. So far, June has consisted of alabaster relief, crushed red pepper, and Rachmaninoff; however, June is a time to notice the parting of clouds, think about dads, and clean off dusty bikes.

Slip some tender edamame out of its slimy shell, shred the fragrance from ginger root, and gently accept a salad into your afternoon. This is the time to be aware of yourself, and salad can help that sometimes.

Depending on your preference, this could also be just the time for a blue-eyed cheetah sweater. Whatever your stomach or or heart tells you, get June off to a swimming start with some simple salad.

Butter Lettuce Salad with Edamame, Cranberries, and Pepitas

adapted from Trader Joe’s Spinach Salad

7 oz butter lettuce
5 oz shredded carrots
10 oz dried cranberries
6 oz edamame, thawed and shelled
3 oz salted pepitas
2 oz fresh grated ginger

To dress:
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1/2 lime

1 tablespoon honey

a pinch of sea salt

Begin by combining ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together dressing, pour over top of the salad, toss and serve. Comfortably serves 4-5.

vegan date-hazelnut truffles

How many dates have you gone on lately? I’ve gone on many, in fact, because I’m dating someone very special. (That person is not Shelly.) It’s good to go on dates, it’s good to be vegan, it’s good to date vegans, it’s good to eat truffles, it’s good to eat dates, but it’s not a good idea to eat vegans.

Although the photos may not sway you, these truffles were incredible. They boast the familiar soft texture and dark chocolate of truffles with added depth of hazelnuts and peanuts and the natural sweetness from dates and maple. After working all night and sleeping in, Shelly and I happily gobbled up chocolate truffles for breakfast; neither of us had headaches afterwards since these beloved balls of joyous decadence are dairy-free.

Allow a little luxury to creep into your Wednesday, perhaps in the form of a truffle or date, but please don’t do anything you might regret, perhaps in the form of a headache or sugar hangover.

 

Vegan Date-Hazelnut Truffles

1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup hazelnut spread– Justin’s is a good vegan brand; Nutella is not vegan but it’s delicious and these dates will still give you a good break from regular cream-based truffles!
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 cups medjool dates, pitted
4 tbsp dark, dutch-process cocoa powder

Combine peanut butter, syrup, dates, hazelnut spread, and half of the cocoa powder in food processor. Puree until smooth. Shape tablespoon-sized balls between palms, then lightly roll in cocoa powder. Keep refrigerated until serving.

cherry tart with vanilla and lime

Hello! It’s been a busy few weeks for us swampers, my friends. We apologize for our fluctuating presence. Claire and I have been temporarily separated, but look forward to the taco fest that will surely ensue (preferably along these lines) when we see each other again. In the mean time, we’ll try to muster creativity individually, a few states apart.

The last time I saw Claire, we swamped up this delicious treat. It is sweet and light, and in my humble opinion, a rather ideal recipe for that time when the days get just a little longer, a little lazier, and springtime ebbs happily into summer.

Let me tell you a story: Claire and I were wandering around Trader Joe’s a while back (not an unusual past-time for us, honestly). We found ourselves eager to spend the rest of the day in the kitchen, but were unsure of what exactly we wanted to make. So we each picked up an armful of disparate ingredients, brought them back to my apartment in downtown Los Angeles, and decided to see what we could come up with.

And that is how this tart, as well as a few recipes to follow, was born. The key to this tart is poaching the cherries in coconut milk; vanilla and lime round out the flavor spectrum and sweeten the deal. True cherry season may just elude us for now, but there’s nothing wrong with a jar of good-quality morello cherries.

Have a creative and happy Wednesday. Make what you can out of the ingredients in your cupboard, the firing neurons in your chefbrain, and the faith in your heart.

Cherry Tart with Vanilla and Lime

12 oz morello cherries
1 can/14 oz coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
juice of 1 and a 1/2 limes
6 oz mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup reserved coconut milk
1/4 cup sugar

1 tart crust (recipe here)

Prepare your tart crust the night before and let refrigerate over night. See our previous “flaky orange tart with walnuts and goat cheese” for crust recipe (link above). Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Gently arrange pastry crust in spring form pan. Bake the crust separately for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool in the pan.

Pour coconut milk into a medium saucepan, adding vanilla and 1/2 a lime’s worth of juice. Poach morello cherries in coconut mixture for approx. 30 minutes, or until cherries are brightly flavored and just tender. Strain the cherries.

Whisk together mascarpone, reserved coconut milk, juice of 1 lime, and 1/4 cup sugar until blended smooth. Pour and spread out over cooled crust. Add cherries and garnish with lime, or in our case, some fresh jasmine growing outside my window. Let chill before serving, and enjoy!

fennel bulb & gouda gratin

I don’t remember when or why Claire and I became obsessed with fennel, but it has been whirlwind romance. It grows wild in southern california in wet, marshy areas (ie. SWAMPS). We often happen upon it while walking Claire’s lovable pet monster/lamb/dog, Toby.

If you stumble across the fragrant shrub with its characteristic pale green stalks, try pinching off a sprig and chewing it. Wild and raw, it tastes just like black licorice. If it doesn’t taste edible, spit it out because it’s probably not. You could also buy fennel (stalks or bulbs) at your friendly grocer.

After cooking fennel bulbs, the powerful licorice flavor mellows out and they become quite sweet. We were pleasantly surprised to see our fennel preserve much of its crunch. Whether you’re smitten like us or have no idea what fennel is, we’re sure you’ll like this hearty, seasonal gratin.

 

Fennel and Gouda Gratin

2 bulbs fennel- wild if you can find it!
1 cup shredded hard gouda (plus a little extra for sprinkling on top)
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
1/4 cup olive oil
salt + pepper to taste

Chop fennel bulbs and grate gouda. Toss fennel with rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper. Place layer of fennel in 9x3x3 glass loaf pan, cover with cheese, and repeat until pan is full. Top with shredded gouda and a few grinds of coarse black pepper. Bake 15-20 minutes uncovered or until fennel is crispy brown and your entire kitchen smells like sweet anise.

spicy breakfast empanadas

Feliz cinco de mayo, my lovelies. For the holiday, Claire and I decided to try a twist on an old Californian favorite–the breakfast burrito. Prepare for your day of revelries by making these hearty and delicious empanadas.

So there we were, standing in line at the local grocer. Dearly departed, ever-captivating American treasure Michael Jackson was blaring out across what seemed like aisle after aisle of slightly varied species of flaming-hot cheetohs. Leaving the store, Claire and I had only one thing on our minds: making empanadas.

Let me confess something to you, dear readers. Besides tacos, there is little else in the world that is as important to me as the enchanting empanada. Granted, these are strange times in my young, rootless life. But it is comforting to know that if nothing else, I can busy my hands and heart with these precious breakfast pockets.

These guys can easily be made vegan by following the recipe below linked below to a marvelous vegan puff pastry and using soy milk in lieu of the egg wash. We recommend pairing with salsa and ample lime, as you would a tasty breakfast burrito (or, in this writer’s humble opinion, any worthwhile meal). You should try these surprisingly simple treats this holiday weekend–they’re easy as 1, 2, 3.

Tofu Scramble Empanadas

makes 4 empanadas with extra filling

 

canola or vegetable oil

1 yellow onion

4 red potatoes
6 oz cremini mushrooms
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper
12 oz extra firm tofu

1 sheet conventional puff pastry dough
1 egg
1 lime 

OR, for vegans, follow this recipe for a marvelous vegan puff pastry: http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/pastries/puff-pastry

Coat the bottom of a large pan generously with vegetable oil. Chop potatoes and onion, combine in pan with cayenne, oregano, salt and pepper. Let cook until potatoes are soft and the onion begins to brown, then dice tofu and scramble in pan. Roll out pastry dough (can be purchased at most grocery stores) onto a floured surface, and use any available stencil-like tool to cut large-ish circles, approx. 9 inches in diameter. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Whisk one egg with 1 tbsp water, and brush the egg wash (soy milk wash for vegans; see vegan baking website linked above) onto the open circles of dough. Spoon tofu scramble mixture in the middle of the circle, add a squeeze of lime, gently fold over to create a pocket, and seal edges with a fork. Brush remaining egg or soy wash over the top of each pocket, perhaps add a sprinkle of salt. Bake for approx. 15-20 min at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and enjoy with extra lime and/or salsa to taste!

linguine with braised broccoli, olives, and chickpeas

Today, my esteemed partner-in-crime Shelly Marie turns twenty-one! We celebrate her birthday from afar, and sincerely hope she has a pleasant day. You can count on some type of cake being posted here sometime this week.

While we patiently wait for caketime, there are vegetables to be consumed! Vegetables and cake, cake and vegetables. Much of my eating can be categorized under those two divisions. I can’t say I recommend this, though.

Instead of steaming the beloved broccoli to quick bright green, we give it a quick steam, sautée its friendly neighbors onion, garlic, olives, and marjoram, and then slowly braise it all together for about 15 minutes. While it braises, put a handful of linguine on the stove and call your friends over for a pasta feast.

However you like your pasta, I entreat you to go forth boldly, even if you’re less than sure things will work out and you’re standing alone in your kitchen wondering where life will take you. Happy May, happy spring, follow your dreams and try new things.

Linguine with Braised Broccoli, Olives, and Chickpeas
adapted from Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors

1 1/2 lb broccoli heads
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 one large yellow onion
2 tbsp chopped, fresh marjoram
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/2 tbsp lemon zest
10 kalamata olives, chopped
16 oz or 1 can cooked chickpeas
sea salt & black pepper to taste
as much pasta as you’ll eat… a whole package or pound would suit the amount of vegetables nicely.

Fill a sautée pan with a thin layer of water, bring to a boil, and quickly cover and steam the broccoli heads. Drain and chop the broccoli into desirable-sized pieces and lay aside for a moment. Start over with olive oil in the same pan, add chopped onion, garlic, olives, and sautée until fragrant. Add lemon zest, marjoram, salt and pepper. Fold in in the broccoli and chickpeas, and cover. Let braise for 15-28 minutes. In another pot, bring 2 quarts of water to a rolling boil, and add linguine. Cook for however long the package suggests. Serve the broccoli-chickpea mixture over pasta and enjoy.

layered sweet potato & swiss chard bake

Have you ever been to Switzerland? I have had the great blessing of spending a couple of weeks there. The experience forged a small piece of real estate in my heart for this breathtaking country. Strong imagery remains in my memory involving impeccably clean streets, quiet hikes on cold mornings through the Alps, inspiring wooden playgrounds, and markets filled with blackberries and cheeses.

Now that I’ve got that off of my chest, let’s talk about Swiss chard and Swiss cheese. I don’t know if chard is any more Swiss than toast is French, but it seemed like a good excuse to bring up some nostalgic moments of my personal life. [The cheese is really Swiss, though; Emmental is a town in Switzerland, as my father reminded me.]

This faux-Swiss dish comes together in a cinch. Once again, we find ourselves at the mercy of the almighty surround-sound heat (the oven) to take simple ingredients and transform them into far more than the sum of their respective parts by steaming, roasting, and melting all at the same time .

Raw white-fleshed sweet potatoes, raw chard, rudimentarily sliced or grated swiss cheese (gruyere or emmental), wild, local rosemary, and a bit of olive oil are all it takes. I can’t overemphasize how good this tasted; my mother and I ate two of these dishes within twenty-four hours. Sometime this week, do as the Swiss would do: de-clutter your life with simple, seasonal ingredients. And don’t forget the cheese.*

*next recipe will be vegan– promise.

Layered Sweet Potato and Swiss Chard Bake
inspired by Vegetarian Times 

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4″ slices
15 or so full-size leaves of swiss chard, cleaned, de-stemmed, and chopped
about 1/3 lb emmental or gruyere cheese– sliced, shaved, grated, whatever
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
a few sprigs of rosemary 

Stir the garlic salt and pepper into the olive oil, set aside. Butter the bottom of an 8-inch casserole dish, and layer in a third of the sweet potato slices in concentric circles. Brush a third of the oil onto the potatoes, sprinkle a third of the rosemary, half of the cheese, and half of the chard. Repeat this layer once more. After the second half of the chard has been added, layer the remaining potato slices, brush with oil, and sprinkle the last of the rosemary. This is going to stack quite tall; don’t worry, because the steaming of the chard will cause the whole thing to deflate considerably. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, take off aluminum foil, and broil quickly for about 10 minutes, or until the top sweet potato slices have browned or curled a bit. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

blueberry-poppy seed scones

The honeys are back to swampin’, and we regret what has felt like an eternal absence. Your narrator here is Claire, and from my personal end, I must apologize in advance for compromised posting due to temporary separation from Shelly. There have been a lot of aimless meanderings ’round the local farmers’ markets, waiting for my purpose in life to catch my eye, perhaps in the form of a blood orange or squash blossoms, but without Shelly, it is near impossible to feel so inspired.

Yet fear not, my faithful readers. It shall be given unto you that inspiration which has eluded us all from the fall of Adam, which has penetrated my humble mind today not through garish displays of spring produce at the open air market, but through our trusted matronly heroine Martha Stewart. And butter.

My father pronounced this scone the “best thing [I’ve] ever made”. I have an inkling that he’d prefer berries and butter to raw kale and apple cider vinegar anyway, but I will boast that I can’t think of anything I would change about this recipe, except for adding lemon zest. Always add lemon zest. 

If you’ve considered scones to be too complicated, fussy, or just plain out of your league, know now that these perceptions are false. With ten fingers or less, a spoon and an oven, these delectable scones could be coming to a set of taste buds near you in less than half an hour.

In the wee hours of this lonely Wednesday morn with a cloud over the moon and the near-guarantee of rain on the forecast, I suggest we all spend a day hibernating in our kitchens rubbing butter into flour and smelling berries bursting from the sanctuary of the oven.

It’s good to be back. Thanks for being here with us.

Peace, love, honey, and scones to you all.

Blueberry-Poppy Seed Scones
adapted from Martha Stewart

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling tops
1 tablespoon baking powder (yes, really, 1 whole tablespoon)
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, picked over and rinsed
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (I didn’t add this in…but you definitely should)
1/3 cup full-fat greek yogurt
3 large eggs 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt). Rub with fingers, use pastry cutter, knives, even a food processor, or whatever method you prefer to incorporate the butter into the flour. It will still be quite floury, but don’t worry. This isn’t a pie crust. In a  separate small bowl, whisk 2 eggs with the yogurt until mixed well. Make a small well in the center of the flour mixture, and pour in the egg-yogurt mixture. Stir in the zest, blueberries, and poppy seeds, until it is all just combined. Turn out onto a floured surface and gently knead it around once or twice. Pat dough into a 6-inch square about 1 1/4 inches thick. Using a floured knife, cut into four 3-inch squares. Cut squares in half on the diagonal to form eight triangles. Place the triangles on a greased baking sheet. Whisk the third egg (in the cup you previously whisked eggs…save a dish), and brush the egg wash onto the scones. Sprinkle on some extra sugar, and bake for 20-22 minutes. Enjoy with honey [swamped] butter.

chilled beet-rhubarb soup

A good friend of mine wrote me this thought earlier this week:

“Spring seems full of poetry; I think about how determined the flowers are, even if they only bloom for a short time. Spring flowers are the most beautiful ones because of this- they’re eager and willing to come out before the weather stabilizes and often get broken by wind or frozen by cold nights, they are like the first in battle. But they are the most beautiful because they are the first.”

Beets and rhubarb are among the first fruits of all those who slept through the long winter;  their bright magenta hues plunge faithfully through the dead earth, like a blood sacrifice for the hope of spring.

Although it may still seem a little chilly outside to you, the volatile skies of spring will surely bring you a sunny afternoon upon whence you can bestow the gift of the first chilled soup of the warm season.

Chilled Beet-Rhubarb Soup
adapted from Vegetarian Times

1 ¼ lb. beets, stems trimmed and well scrubbed
8 oz. (about 2 cups) fresh rhubarb, trimmed, cleaned and diced
1 large cucumber, cut into chunks
½ cup plain yogurt + more for garnish (entirely optional; a almond or coconut based vegan yogurt is good here too)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Put beets in a large saucepan, and cover with water. Put a lid on pan, and cook beets over medium heat until completely tender, for about 18 minutes. Drain beets, reserving cooking water (which should be bright red).
2. Put rhubarb into a saucepan, and add 1/2 cup cooking water from beets. Cover, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb is very tender. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool.
3. When beets are cool enough to handle, slip off skins, and cut beets into chunks. Put beets, cucumber, rhubarb, yogurt, and 3/4 cup cooking water from beets into food processor, and purée until very smooth.
4. Transfer soup to a large bowl, and add more beet cooking liquid if desired to thin soup. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls, and top with spoonfuls of yogurt, if desired.