The Curveball

Chris Kelly: 2011 In Review: My Fake Favorites In Music, Movies, TV & Books

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:23:47 -0800

Chris Kelly: 2011 In Review: My Fake Favorites In Music, Movies, TV & Books:

Love this

FAVORITE MUSIC:

Thistle - You have to listen to Thistle. It’s two identical twin brothers who live in the woods, and each morning, they chop down a single tree, whittle two ukeleles from it, then record a song inspired by that particular wood. Their music is haunting.

Lady Slit - She…

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 12:01:00 -0800

Mike requested a “lighter” blueberry muffin earlier this week. So, I obliged this morning.

I decided to make them gluten-free and use an alternative sweetener as well. I’m sure they’d work with regular sugar and regular flour, I looked at a few recipes to get ideas and most of them use regular granulated sugar and all purpose flour.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten-free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill brand)

1 Tbsp flaxmeal

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup coconut crystals (also called palm sugar)

1 cup nondairy milk (I used almond)

3 -1/2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 vanilla beans, scraped (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

1-2 tbsp of maple syrup (optional)

zest of 1 lemon

1 cup frozen blueberries (not thawed)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease a muffin pan.

In medium bowl, combine flour, flaxmeal, baking powder, and salt. Mix.

In larger bowl, whisk together the sugar, about 1/2 of the nondairy milk, melted coconut oil and vanilla, until smooth. Add the flour and the remaining nondairy milk, alternating, until mixture is just mixed. Taste the batter and decide if it needs the maple syrup. I decided mine did :-) At this point, you can add already zested lemon peel or you can zest a lemon directly into the large mixing bowl. Add the blueberries and stir until combined. Scoop the batter into the muffin pan - about 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Mike and I ate ours with a little bit of Earth Balance. Mike says they are lighter than traditional blueberry muffins and a little less sweet. The lemon zest and vanilla bean are a great combination.

There's a new squash in town!

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:41:06 -0800

Delicata squash, where have you been all my life? I mean, I’ve tasted you a few times, but never have I realized how easy you are to prepare, how your skin is totally edible and how you taste so delectable!

Tonight’s dinner was simple roasted delicata squash, smoky oyster mushrooms, caramelized onions on a bed of massaged lacinato kale and red cabbage.

The squash was sliced in half, seeds scraped out and sliced into little half moons, then coated lightly in coconut oil and sprinkled with salt. I roasted it for about 20 minutes (flipping once) at 500 degrees on a metal baking sheet to get the maximum caramelization.

I also sauteed some oyster mushrooms with a bit of minced garlic and about 1/2 tsp of liquid smoke.

Basically, it was a completely scrumptious plate of food.

Fancy Nancy and spa water

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:10:38 -0800

For some reason, I haven’t been drinking enough water lately. My already dry skin is drier than normal and I’ve been constantly reminding myself to drink more water (when I remember).

In the midst of thinking about how to be nicer to myself today, I thought “Why not make some spa water?” It reminded me of a children’s book that my niece used to love and, if you have a daughter under the age of 10, you are probably familiar with: Fancy Nancy.

The child in the book, Nancy, likes to make everything in her life fancy. The book follows the adventures of her “fanciness” and her family being taken along for the ride.

I woke up today feeling a bit blue. But the simple act of making something “fancy” in the form of spa water, has shifted my perspective and lifted my spirits.

Do something nice for yourself: Make spa water today!

My pitcher contains a sliced lemon, a sliced lime and thinly sliced cucumber. You could jazz it up even more with oranges or mint leaves, too.

Savory Pumpkin Bowl

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:19:38 -0800

I know you’re wondering “What else can I do with roasted pumpkin besides baked goods, desserts and delicious hot cereal?” Here’s what:

Lately, I’ve been using pumpkin as a canvas of sorts for dinner bowls. I use it in the same way you’d use a grain like quinoa or rice or polenta. I season very lightly with salt, pepper and nutmeg and top with sauteed veggies and a sauce of some sort. The bowl above has pumpkin on the bottom, and a mix of garden fresh zucchini (thank Angie!), caramelized onions, kale, homemade enchilada sauce and avocado.

Last’s night bowl was similar: pumpkin, sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, garlic, kale, topped with marinara sauce from a jar and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.

Super comforting and delicious.

One note about the kale: you don’t even need to add it to the pan of sauteed veggies. Kale (and other greens) get steamed simply by adding them to already hot, cooked food and the less we cook greens, the more nutrition we get. I sometimes add mine to the pan after the fire is already off and then just stir with the veggies. They get slightly cooked this way. You can also chop them first, sprinkle salt and a squeeze of lemon or lime juice and massage with your hands to get a steaming effect.

Rainy morning pumpkin muffins

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 11:17:59 -0800

I knew I wanted something pumpkin this morning (shocker), but didn’t know exactly what…I’d talked about making pumpkin french toast, but woke up to rain and decided I felt like baking.

I found this recipe on The Kind Life - apparently an Isa Chandra recipe, which is all I needed to know.

However, 2 loaves sounded like way too much, and I thought I could probably halve the recipe to make muffins instead of a quickbread. The original recipe sounded somewhat sugar and oil heavy as well, so I decided to cut those ingredients a bit and replace some of the all-purpose flour with spelt flour. I was curious about what would happen with all spelt flour or even whole wheat pastry flour, so maybe I’ll try that next time.

Here’s what I did this morning:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup spelt flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1 cup cooked pumpkin

6 Tbsp coconut oil, melted (a little more than 1/3 cup)

1/3 cup light coconut milk

1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray a nonstick muffin pan, or use muffin liners. Put walnuts in dry frying pan and toast over medium heat, watching closely to make sure they don’t get burned. They are ready when you can smell them. (A tip I learned from Rachael Ray!) Remove the walnuts from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add the pumpkin, oil and coconut milk and mix until all the flour is absorbed. Fold in the shredded coconut and walnuts. Spoon mixture into muffin pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

We ate these right out of the oven and they were fabulous. The coconut gives them sort of a crispy texture, and the walnuts add a richness. The cake is not too heavy and not too light. And the level of sugar was also just right in my book. They are sweet, but not cloyingly so. The pumpkin has a natural sweetness which is one of the reasons I didn’t think they needed the white sugar that the original recipe calls for.

For anyone who cares about this stuff - despite reducing the sugar and oil and using some whole grain flour - these are not low calorie, low-fat or low sugar. For me, it’s a small indulgence that I’d rather make myself than purchase at a coffee shop (where I can’t control the ingredients). I calculated the nutritional info:

Per muffin: 248 calories, 13.5 grams of fat, 2.3 grams of fiber, 30.2 grams of carbohydrate, 3.5 grams of protein.

I didn't invent this

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:34:59 -0700

Do you remember Magic Shell? I think of it as a product that doesn’t exist anymore because I last ate it in childhood. I’ve seen a homemade version of the blogosphere and decided to try it the other night. It’s basically just 3 parts chocolate (I used semi sweet chocolate chips) to 2 parts coconut oil. Melt it together on the stove or in the microwave and stir. If you are a salty sweet person like me, I highly recommend mixing in a sprinkle of sea salt.

Pour over your favorite frozen dessert (photo above is banana soft serve). It hardens and cracks just like the storebought variety.

Recipe testing

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:01:11 -0700

I am pretty excited to be a recipe tester for Terry Hope Romero’s upcoming cookbook.

Tonight, I made Terry’s Masala Potato Soup, and it turned out quite nicely. As I was eating it, I was thinking, it would be awesome to be such a talented cook that you could make up something like this soup. So, as Mike said “This one’s going in the rotation.”

Simple Lunch Bowl and working with what you have

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:53:57 -0700

With an onion, a pile of kale, cooked quinoa and leftover homemade enchilada sauce, this bowl was born.

I didn’t have much in the fridge because it’s grocery shopping day, but I knew I wanted something cooked and semi-hearty for lunch today. Didn’t feel like a smoothie. Quinoa cooks up so quickly, so I got that underway, and then chopped an onion into rings and caramelized that over medium low heat.

I then chopped up a boatload of kale and put it in a large mixing bowl with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of sea salt. I massaged the kale for about 30 seconds and then transferred that into another bowl.

When the quinoa was done (about 15 minutes cooking time), I heated up some leftover enchilada sauce, and layered the kale first, then the quinoa, then the onions and poured the sauce over the whole thing. A quick toss and lunch was served! What I liked about this dish, in particular, was how the kale got slightly steamed by the hot quinoa and onions. Sometimes raw kale can be a bit much for some people, but by massaging it and then putting in a bowl with other hot ingredients, you can still reap the benefits of eating it raw without overcooking the nutrients out of it.

Candy Corn and Adorable Animals

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:58:51 -0700

I love candy corn. There, I said it. This is somewhat difficult for me to admit, as a self-described kale worshipper. I know it’s horrible for you and that many people find it vile, but I love it. For the last several weeks, I’ve been craving it. I’m sure I’m not the only one, as it is the season of candy corn!

I haven’t caved in and bought any though, because commercial, store-bought candy corn contains gelatin (derived from animal skin and bones), egg whites and confectioner’s glaze (derived from bugs). All very un-vegan.

I KNOW that I can make it myself OR order it online, but for some reason neither of these options appeals to me, in part because I am not sure that it would taste the same as the candy corn I love. The truth is, all I want is a handful. It’s not something that I can eat in large quantities and after a handful I’d be done. But, yet, I can’t bring myself to buy even a small bag. So, I’ve been forgoing the candy corn even though it seems to beckon me every day.

This may not sound like a big sacrifice - and of course it isn’t - but it’s a small example of why being vegan is, sometimes, kind of hard. There, I said it (again). I’m coming up on my second “vegan-versary” - I decided to go vegan Thanksgiving weekend 2009 - and for the first year of my vegan adventures, I was determined to show everyone I encountered how easy veganism is.

I realize now that it’s probably more genuine to admit that sometimes it IS hard. My honest opinion after almost two years is that it gets both harder and easier. It gets harder because of little candy corn situations that crop up and sometimes I have to remind myself why I am doing this. And, it also gets easier because of all the amazing, varied food I make and eat, all the new things I discover, and experiences that I have that reaffirm my decision.

One of those experiences was my spontaneous visit to Gentle Barn today. Gentle Barn’s mission is “To rescue, rehabilitate and give sanctuary to abused animals. Through the interaction with our animals people learn reverence for all life.” I met some adorable and sweet animals today, including:

Linus

Stanley

and

Buttercup. It’s hard to tell from this photo, but Buttercup is a beautiful cow who was resting her head on my knee as I pet her!

This was exactly what I needed today. It was heartwarming to see so many animals in a healing, nurturing environment. And at the same time, sad to remember that droves of similar animals undergo torture and mistreatment so that humans can eat or use them somehow. All I need is to look at this photo of Buttercup and be reminded why I don’t really need the handful of candy corn.

Pizza!

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 17:58:26 -0700

One of the places we went to while in Rhode Island was Nice Slice. Check out my field report on quarrygirl.com!

I miss you, Nice Slice.

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Walnut Kale Pesto (+ special dessert!)

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 20:52:22 -0700

Tonight’s dinner was deceptively easy. And rich. And delicious. First, I made pumpkin gnocchi using this recipe (with very slight tweaks). That didn’t take very long because I had already roasted pumpkin ready to go.

I decided to wing it and make a sage, walnut, kale pesto instead of sage browned olive oil (or butter) sauce as the recipe suggests. For the pesto:

2 garlic cloves, minced

juice of 2 small lemons

1 cup walnuts

2 packed cups kale

7 large sage leaves

2 teaspoons light yellow miso paste

Put everything in food processor and process until smooth. I like my pesto on the chunky side but you could add water or oil if you like it more saucy.

Here’s my plate. Of course, it was necessary to serve it alongside some simple massaged kale:

The pesto came out really delicious. I was concerned that the sage would be overpowering, which is part of the reason I added kale (also just because kale rules), but it wasn’t at all. You could taste it, and the flavors were just perfect.

The gnocchi was very hearty and rich but with subtle flavors, which worked well with the brighter pesto. I added just a tsp of dried sage to the original recipe and I think that was a good call.

Here’s Mike’s last bite:

I also made something I’ve been wanting to try for ages, and now that Halloween candy is beckoning me at every turn, I decided to go for it today. Homemade peanut butter cups!

I used Averie’s recipe, and they came out SO GOOD. And they are also very easy and quick to make. Mike isn’t even a chocolate person and he loved them.

There are vegan peanut butter cups on the market (I’m partial to these) but after making them today, I may never purchase store bought varieties again. These are just too easy and delicious.

haleycooks: I make ALOT of popcorn.I mean it’s basically it’s...

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:46:18 -0700

haleycooks:

I make ALOT of popcorn.
I mean it’s basically it’s own food group in my diet.
It’s so easy and when you make it fresh it’s so delicious and yummy.
Every time I make it I do something different.
I use coconut, canola, or olive oil, whatever I feel like, and add spices
So here are some flavour combinations to add to your tasty popped corn.

classic salt & pepper

cinnamon & powdered sugar

chocolate chips & dried fruit

agave nectar

chili powder

crumbled oreos

garlic powder

chai powder

<3

Popcorn is also one of my food groups. But I almost always have to include nooch.

Seaweed Salad

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:26:36 -0700

Another thing I’ve been obsessed with lately is seaweed salad. I love the kind you get at Japanese restaurants or in prepared foods sections of grocery stores. A few months ago, I decided I wanted to start making it myself.

My first attempt was ill-fated. I went to an Asian market near my house and bought what I thought was the right kind of wakame to make the salad. I soaked the dry wakame first. Let’s just say that in addition to increasing exponentially in size it also smelled extremely unappetizing. While I normally hate wasting food, this just had to be dumped in the compost bin.

After asking around, I went to a Japanese market and asked an employee who worked there for recommendations (based on that restaurant quality I was looking for). On a side note, one thing I learned is that places like Whole Foods get their seaweed from distributors, who often have it shipped from Japan. I bought a few packaged seaweed mixes from the Japanese market and the salads I made with those were much better.

Recently, I discovered a brand by SeaSnax called “Sea Vegi.” They sell it at Whole Foods. It’s a little more expensive than the kind I bought at the Japanese market, but includes wakame, agar, suginori, tsunomata, and mafunori (not really sure which is which except for the wakame and agar). The combo of all these sea veggies most approximates the seaweed salad I love from restaurants.

Today I made a dressing of miso, sesame oil, brown rice vinegar, coconut crystals, water and black sesame seeds. I soaked the Sea Vegi mix for about 10 minutes in cold water. The package say is serves 5, but I ate the whole thing. I sprinkled with some dulse flakes. Delicious, with a multitude of flavors and textures: sweet, salty, umami, sour, tangy, bitter, chewy, soft, and just a bit crispy (from the sesame seeds).

Seeds

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:01:13 -0700

To continue with my pumpkin theme (still not sick of it!), I saved my pumpkin seeds from all the sugar pumpkins I’ve been using over the last couple of weeks.

I’ve never made roasted pumpkin seeds before. I think I was intimidated by the amount of seeds in a carving (big) pumpkin, but the truth is, it’s much easier when you use a cute little sugar (pie) pumpkin.

After scraping all the seeds out of the roasted pumpkins and rinsing them, I found an easy way to dry them out: spread them on a baking sheet and then stick the sheet in the oven for a few hours (or overnight, like I did). The seeds come out nice and dry and ready for roasting.

Then, I just melted a couple tablespoons of Earth Balance, and added the seeds to the bowl to coat. Putting the seeds back on the baking sheet, I sprinkled them liberally with sea salt and baked at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. I meant to stir them once, but forgot about them (!) until almost 30 minutes later. They turned out fine. No need to stir. They remind me of movie theater popcorn.

I’m sure these would be great spiced up (cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, etc.) but I wanted to keep it simple this time.

There may or may not be yet another pumpkin-related post tomorrow…stay tuned.

Some of Tuesday's eats...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:09:13 -0700

Over the weekend I made these and peanut butter and jelly cupcakes from this cookbook. I brought the first ones to some friends and the second to a birthday party. I highly recommend both!

Today, the pumpkin obsession continued…It was an overcast drizzly morning and I wanted a comforting breakfast. Naturally, pumpkin pie in a bowl was in order:

Trader Joe’s oat bran, almond milk, water, canned pumpkin, a dash of stevia, vanilla extract, sea salt, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon. After cooking, added a scant scoop of pea and rice protein powder and stirred well. Finished with a sprinkle of coconut crystals and chopped pecans.

Dinner was kale and sweet potato enchiladas from Veganomicon. These were amazing.

The original recipe calls for regular potatoes, but I think sweet potatoes pair so nicely with the yummy ingredients of these enchiladas which include lime juice and pepitas. The enchilada sauce was so good when I made it the first time that I knew I needed to make a double batch - and Mike and I like things extra saucy!

I served it with a romaine, cabbage and carrot salad (and a dollop of guac on top of the enchiladas). Snapped a photo after I had already started chowing down:

And lastly, I felt the need to bookend the day with more pumpkin:

This was very simple: 1 package of Mori-Nu silken firm tofu, 1 package of the vanilla Mori-Nu Pudding Mates, about 2/3 cup of canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and 3 Tbsp of water - whirred in the Vitamix. 4 servings. I chopped up a date on top.

Still not sick of pumpkin…

Thai Veggie Burgers

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:45:00 -0700

I just made some delicious veggie burgers from Peas and Thank You. These are Thai Veggie Burgers and as you can imagine have thai flavors including peanut and lime juice. Without giving away the recipe, I will say that I didn’t have cilantro so I used fresh mint (which worked beautifully)…

Here they are in the pan:

Here’s Mike’s plate:

He ate his open faced style on a spelt english muffin with avocado and sriracha.

Here’s my plate:

I made a salad of kale, romaine, broccoli slaw, fresh mint and spicy peanut dressing topped with my burger.

These were some of the best veggie burgers I’ve ever made. While the flavors were totally scrumptious, the standout feature of these burgers is definitely the amazing texture. They held together beautifully and were not the least bit mushy when done, which is a tough thing to achieve when you make a veggie burger.

I am so glad I tripled the recipe :-)

Pumpkin spice soft serve

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 22:01:46 -0700

The obsession continues:

From what I gather, I’m not the only one in the blogosphere with this obsession. This bowl contains: ice, roasted pumpkin, Trader Joe’s coconut beverage, pumpkin pie spice, sea salt, stevia and a pinch of xanthan and guar gum (for thickening and making creamier). I cinnamon’ed it up a bit more and topped it with a bit of granola before diving in.

Squash obsessed

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:46:39 -0700

This morning I roasted a mini sugar pumpkin so that I could make some pumpkin pie in a bowl, inspired by a recipe from this delicious cookbook. There is leftover pumpkin in the fridge, so this recipe will likely be re-visited later in the week.

Then, I proceeded to peel, chop and roast 2 large butternut squash that are going to be used for another Autumn Pasta Bake that am bringing to a potluck tomorrow night.

There are two drawbacks with the peeling, chopping and roasting of a butternut squash:

1) ”butternut squash hands” - I have this wierd orange film every time I chop up a squash. It doesn’t come off very easily…

2) when I roast a squash for a recipe, it’s very challenging to not eat the delectable caramelized chunks of squash straight from the baking sheet.

But because of the yumminess you will experience, the drawbacks are totally worth it. If you have never roasted a squash, you must try it. I deeply implore you to buy a squash and peel and chop yourself. The pre-cut squash (in my opinion) does not taste the same or get that delicious caramelization in the same way.

My method is to coat the chopped squash in a bit of coconut oil and sea salt (you can use pepper too and/or whatever spices you like) and roast on a metal baking sheet at 500 degrees for about 40 minutes tossing the squash at the halfway mark. You can throw it in salads, add it to a pasta dish, blend it into grains like quinoa or brown rice or even use it in tacos .

Just beware of squash hands.

Tuesday night soup

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:26:00 -0700

I love making food for people I love. Most notably, cooking for the person I live with is a total pleasure because he’s such a fan of most things I make. I had already eaten, but Mike hadn’t and I asked him “Can I make you something?”

Mike: “Like what?”

Me: ”What are you in the mood for?”

Mike: ”Soup.”

Me: ”OK.”

I looked in the cupboard, fridge and spice drawer thinking about the flavors that Mike generally likes. Here’s what I came up with:

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 medium yellow onion

1 rib of celery, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

2 cloves fresh garlic, grated (or minced)

dash of chipotle chili powder and smoked paprika

Maldon sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 can of kidney beans

1 can of chickpeas

1 vegetable bouillon cube

tomato paste (from a tube)

dash of liquid smoke

2-3 cups of chopped kale or other dark green veggie (chard, collards, spinach)

Saute the chopped onion in the coconut oil over medium heat. Add spices, salt, pepper. Then add carrot, celery and cook for a few minutes. Grate garlic directly into pot (or use minced). Add a few squirts of tomato paste and the rinsed and drained beans. Meanwhile, dissolve the bouillon cube in about 2 cups of boiling water (or use boxed or homemade veggie broth or plain water). Add liquid to soup pot, dash of liquid smoke and bring to boil. Cook for several minutes, until veggies are softer. Turn heat off and use immersion blender to partially blend. (Mike liked this somewhat chunky). After a “rough” blend, Add chopped kale to pot, it will wilt on its own in the hot soup, no need to turn on the stove. Serve garnished with chopped avocado if desired.

P.S This took less than 30 minutes. I think the key to making a rich, comforting soup in a short amount of time = the immersion blender. Blending the ingredients melds all the flavors together so it tastes like it’s been cooking for a much longer period of time.