Real. Fast. Food.

A couple of weeks ago, Joanna from Joanna's Food gave away cookbooks she no longer needed - understandable with her collection of 100+ cookbooks. I was the lucky girl to get Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food.

I love reading cookbooks just like some people enjoy reading travel books. Maybe it's this feeling you were almost there, almost feeling the warm sand underneath your feet and the gentle breeze caressing your skin. This is what I feel when I read cookbooks. I can almost taste the smoky tenderness of grilled eggplant and the sweet tartness of plump sunripe summer tomatoes. I can almost feel the intricate flavors of a Thai spice mix gamboling on my tounge and the unearthly earthy aroma of dark chocolate melting in my mouth.

I don't follow cookbooks. In fact, I hardly ever follow any recipe, not even my own. Yet sometimes I stare at my pantry, open the fridge and inspect its contents, stare at my pantry again and can't decide what to make for dinner. That's where cookbooks come into play. Cookbooks are what I draw my inspitation from. And, vegan or not, one of the cooks who has inspired me most is Englishman Nigel Slater.

So, what to expect from a cookbook with the term "fast food" in its title? Curious I started leafing through the book and was in for a surprise. Fast food, yes, but not in the sense it is used these days. For starters, it has a bottle of olive oil, blue mussels, and a corkscrew on its cover, three things not ordinarily associated with fast food (read: coke, burger, fries). Nigel presents an amazing collection of real food ready to eat in less than 30 minutes. And he means real food.

The thing that thrilled me most, personally, is the fact that out of the 300 or so pages with recipes, about 120 pages are dedicated to vegetables, pasta, potatoes, and beans, and are either veg*n as is or can be easily veganized. Plus, they are what I call creative, either in their combination of ingredients, or the way they are prepared. And sometimes they are just plain simple and easy. Want a taste?

Hot brown lentils with mint
Grilled aubergine with chickpea puree and harissa
Bubble and squeak (cabbage mixed with mashed potatoes, then fried)
Wholewheat pasta with sausages, mustard and caramelised onions

Or take this: "Serve with a crisp salad, perhaps beanshot, pepper, and banana, tossed with lots of lemon juice." Wow. Talk about creativity. Beanshots, pepper, and banana. Nigel is a genius. I could go on and on and on. Suffice it to say that now I have enough "wanna trys" to last me through the rest of the year. Or more.

And then, the other day, Nigel's book helped me see the obvios. I was at home studying, facing a much dreaded exam the following day. It was lunch time and I was fighting hard to resist the temptation of taking an extended break from torturing myself with monotonous material by escaping to my kitchen and cooking to my hearts delight. No, no, I needed to stay focused. Still I was hungry, so I resorted to Nigel for advice. And the book showed me what I could have seen myself but failed to do so: an avocado sandwich. Duh! Of course I didn't follow the recipe completely, gotta preserve some creativity. Yet without Nigel's book, who knows, I might have ended up doing some real cooking. Instead I had Real Fast Food.

Thank you, Joanna.

Nice Matters

Vaishali over at Holy Cow , a great vegan blog I highly recommend for its awesome Indian recipes, has awarded me with the "Nice Matters Award". I'm thrilled and excited, and very touched. And pretty spechless. I'll get to pass it on to some bloggers myself now. Will have to think about this a day or two, so for now just let me say, Vaishali, I am deeply touched by this award. Thank you so much. You received it first and you thoroughly deserve it for your great blog and simply for being sooooo nice.


Life is crazy these days. As I've mentioned before, I'm doing business school this year, and I'm up to my eyeballs in exams, classes even on Saturdays, projects, papers, reading, studying, and on top of that commuting a couple of hours each day. So there hasn't been much cooking going on lately, and if so, I was too tired/hungry/impatient to wait these two minutes it would take to photograph the plate before polishing it off. So forgive me and keep checking in nonetheless, I promise I'll post on the weekend again.

The best husband in the world

I have the best husband in the world. No, seriously. The best. Not only is he a loving, caring, intelligent companion, he is also a talented cook. Today, after another six-day-week of business school, he made lunch for me. The other day we had bought some rice in the fair trade store - but not just any rice: purple rice from Laos. It was white basmati rice mixed with dark grains of a variety that according to the package would turn purple when cooked. We gave it a shot, and really, when we opened the rice cooker after it was done it was a bright amazing purple. Lovely :-)


To go with this bright purple rice he made green edamame, grilled zucchini, and a mustard sauce that he turned yellow and fragrant with a spice mix he brought back from Kenia. This was one delicious and colorful cooked lunch. And to make it even more perfect, today was the warmest day we've had this year so far. It must have been something like 70°F. The normal temperature this time of the year would be closer to 0°F. It was sunny and warm so we had lunch on our balcony. Seriously, in moments like these I'm a big fan of global warming...

When I first met my husband I had just turned vegan - and he was on the continuous quest for the perfect steak. "I'll never become a vegetarian, let alone vegan", he told me. Not too long after this incident he said good by to meat, too, and replaced his quest for the perfect steak with the quest for the perfect slice of fried eggplant (which is just as demanding, I'm telling you). On top of this he cooks the most delicious vegan dishes for me. See, I have the best husband in the world.

For more purple foods check out my Purple Potatoe Salad.

Chickpea Soba Soup with a Secret Ingredient

Last night as dinner time was approaching I was leafing through V-con and the Chickpea-Noodle Soup caught my eye. Unfortunately, I didn't have half of the ingredients and was too tired/lazy/cranky to go shopping again. But I had set my mind on this and was craving it, it had to be a chickpea-noodle soup. Luckily, I happened to have a can of chickpeas and a pack of Japanese soba on hand.



I didn't measure what I put in the soup. I used instant vegetable stock, zucchini (courgettes), chickpeas, soba noodles, a secret ingredient (more of that later), and handful of arugula (rocket). I love throwing arugula into soups. It adds color, crunch, vitamins, iron... and taste :-) I brought the broth with the chickpeas to a boil and added the soba and the sliced zucchini at the same time, and cooked it for five minutes until the soba were tender. The zucchini were still al dente, so if you like your veggies softer you might want to throw in the zucchini first.

I didn't have the miso the V-con recipe called for. So far I have not been able to find fish-free miso here. Once I was in an Asian supermarket and was looking at the misos. I checked the German list of ingredients - all fine- and had the pack of miso in my shopping cart already when I noticed the Japanese inscription on the front of the pack. I turned the pack around again and checked the Japanese list of ingredients. After living in Japan as a vegan, the one thing I can decipher is animal ingredients on labels. There was fish in the miso!

I am still shocked and cannot believe the slack labelling. Food laws stipulate that all possible allergens must clearly be indicated - and fish is one of them. Plus, it WAS clearly indicated in Japanese, but of the 10 or so ingredients in Japanese, only 3 were translated... My trust in labeling of imported food is now a bit shaken...

Anyway, I'm digressing. So no miso. But a mixture I came up with a couple of months ago and which truly takes brothy soups to another level is a 1:1:1 mix of tahini, soy sauce, and balsamic vinegar. With lots of "umami" it makes soups nice'n'creamy. So, this is my secret soup ingredient, and both me and my husband love it.

Now drool over the picture and/or get a copy of V-con as I'm sure that V-con's soup is even tastier.

For more brothy soups check out Japanese Nabe.
For more creamed vegetable soups check out Broccoli-Cauliflower Yin-Yang Soup.

Fat-free depends on the use of fat-free ingredients.
Gluten-free depends on the use of gluten-free ingredients.

Purple Potato Salad

The other day I stumbled across some purple potatoes in the deli section. Their color intrigued me and so I managed to ignore their outrageous price and bought some. I cooked them in their jackets because I was afraid their precious color could fade plus their surfaces were really uneven which would have made it hard to peel them. Then I proceeded with my family's potato-salad recipe, adding a dash of wasabi for extra pizazz.

Their color was a big hit at our dinner table tonight, and so was their taste. I served these with an unbelievably good soup (more of that later) and a kick-ass vegan sandwich: I baked a crusty focaccia and put on some ground horseradish, generous amount of hummus, sundried tomatoes, sliced black olives, avocado slices, broiled tofu, loads of arugula (rocket), cucumbers and ketchup. I'm telling you, my husband really loves me now :-) (I mean, he does anyway, but no man can resist good food :-))


Purple potato salad
Serves two as a side

1/2 pound purple potatoes
1 red onion, diced
1 cup strong vegetable broth (instant)
1-2 tblspoon mustard
1-2 tblspoon balsamic vinegar (depending on how vinegary your mustard is)
a dash of wasabi

1/2 juicy, aromatic apple
2 tblspoon sliced pickled cucumbers

Cook the potatoes in their jackets. Drain, and peel the hot potatoes. Bring the broth to a boil, add the onion and cook for a few minutes. Stir in 1 tblsp mustard and vinegar, taste and add more if you want. The dressing should be quite vinegary and salty.

Slice the potatoes into 1/2 - 1 inch slices, dice the apple, slice the cucumbers. Add everything to the hot dressing and turn off the heat. Let sit for approx. 1/2 hour, stirring every once in a while. The potatoes will start absorbing the dressing and the starch of the potatoes will mix with the liquid resulting in a creamy potato salad - with no fat added. Serve at least at room temperature, preferably a little warm.

For more side salads check out Arugula with white beans, cherry tomatoes, and red onions.

Fat-free depends on the use of fat-free ingredients.
Gluten-free depends on the use of gluten-free ingredients.

Susan's Sichuan Tofu

Last night we had FatFreeVegan Susan's Sichuan Tofu with Garlic Sauce. Wow. I'm still speechless. This is arguably the best meal I've ever cooked without that-which-must-not-be-named. I made brown rice and some roasted broccoli to go with it. I didn't have sherry or Shao Hsing wine but I still had a bottle of organic high-quality sake I brought back from Japan that I had been waiting to use. It worked beautifully.


Soon my husband was scraping the empty skillet, giving me this "this-is-good-and-I want-more-of-it" look. Next time I'll double the recipe. Thanks, Susan, for this wonderful recipe.

Spinach-Squash Lasagna

This months topic for Heart of the Matter, hosted by the Accidental Scientist, is Stews and Casseroles. Heart of the Matter is all about heart-healthy food that is delicious without putting your health at risk. Hm, last months topic was soups. I didn't want to make anything that would resemble last months theme, so I went for a spinach-squash lasagna, since lasagna could arguably pass as a casserole.

This lasagna is almost fat-free and 100% cholesterol-free, something your ordinary lasagne is probably not. Still it is chock-full of flavors and veggies: caramelized squash, tender spinach and heart-healthy garlic. This one is a keeper.

Spinach-Squash Lasagna

2 1/2 cups vegan broth
2 1/2 cups soymilk
2 tblsp flour dissolved in some cold water
nutmeg, freshly ground pepper, minced garlic, lemon juice
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes + some more for sprinkling

1 1/2 cup squash/pumpkin cubes, roasted with garlic and sea salt
1 cup spinach (I used frozen thawed)

dry lasagne sheets



Cut the squash/pumpkin into approx 1/3" cubes, toss with some olive oil, season with sea salt and garlic and roast until tender. Defrost the spinach (or wash, cook, and drain fresh spinach).

Bring the broth and soymilk to a boil. Season with nutmeg, pepper and a spritz of lemon juice. Stirr in the dissolved flour and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Then start by pouring a thin layer of "bechamel" in your lasagna form to prevent the sheets from sticking to the bottom. Cover the bottom with lasagna sheets but leave room for them to expand (they will). Top with the roasted squash and a generous amount of sauce. Add another layer of lasagna sheets, top with the spinach and again sauce. If you still have veggies left and room in your form, then just repeat. Make sure you use plenty of sauce because the pasta will soak it up and you want a nice and moist lasagna. The amount of sauce you need will vary with the size of your lasagna form, you may need more or less. Make sure you have one cup sauce left over.

Stirr the nutritional yeast flakes into the remaining 1 cup of sauce, pour on top of the lasagne. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and into the oven it goes. The yeast flakes on top give it this nice crunch that is usually achieved with cheese that has baked for a long time. Bake for approx. 45 minutes until the pasta is tender and the top is nicely browned and crunchy.

This was the first time I've attempted to make a non-tomato-based lasagna and I was really surprised at how rich and creamy it tasted. The starch of the pasta makes for very creamy results even though this is almost fat-free. Serve with a BIG salad, lambs lettuce is in season plus it tastes divine.

Serves two.

Spaghetti with Caramelized Veggies in Creamy Red Wine Sauce

Susan over at the FatFree Vegan Kitchen is again hosting Vegetable Love. This is an event where she collects fat-free, vegetable-centered, healthy, sexy recipes for Valentine's day. So, what is the most sensual thing to eat with candlelight, a glass of good red wine, and subtle music? Think Lady and the Tramp.... It's spaghetti. Seriously. Comfort food that a simple sauce can transform into an aphrodisiac and which will still retain its simple, sensual appeal. And if that sauce is veggie-based it meets all the other requirements above. So here I give you the recipe for our all-time favorite pasta. Sweet caramelized onions, earthy mushrooms, and tender courgetts with perfect al-dente spaghetti enveloped in creamy, aromatic, red wine sauce. (Picture of Lady and the Tramp: Disney).

Spaghetti with caramelized veggies in creamy red wine sauce

Serves two plus leftovers

2 cloves garlic, minced
3 red onions, halved and then thinly sliced
4 courgettes
8 oz brown portobellos, sliced
8 oz shiitake, sliced

3/4 cup soymilk (see note)
3/4 cup red wine
3/4 cup vegan stock (instant)
salt, freshly ground pepper, fresh thyme

Lovingly set the table with flowers and candles and put on romantic music.

Cut the courgettes in half lenghtwise, then shave them with a potato peeler into thin slices.

Ligthly spray a non-stick skillet with olive oil. Gently fry the garlic for a minute over medium heat. Add the onion slices and cover with a lid. The onions will now start cooking in their own juice. Stirr frequently, adding 2 tblsp of water if the onions start browning too much or sticking to the pan. After about 20 minutes the onions should be tender and caramelized.

Turn the heat to high and add the mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes on high until the mushrooms start exuding their juices. Add the courgette slices together with the soymilk, red wine and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, cover again and cook for two minutes. Uncover and stirr. The steam should have softened the courgette slices, they are so thin that they will cook in no time. Cook for one or two more minutes of needed. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and sprinkle with fresh thyme. Add more liquid if needed.

Pour over your steaming hot spaghetti and serve to the one you love. Slurp on the same strand of spaghetti. Kiss.

THE END


Mmmmmmh, can you smell it? Mmmmmmh... :-)

For more yummy pasta recipes check out Spaghetti with arugula, garlic, and grape tomatoes

Note: If you are not concerned about fat-free, use soy-creamer.

Fat-free depends on the use of fat-free ingredients.
Gluten-free depends on the use of gluten-free ingredients.

Photo Blog

I've started to like taking pictures and I'm taking more and more non food-related photos. I didn't want to cram them into my food blog so I've started a photo blog. Nothing to do with vegan food, just the joy of capturing beautiful moments as best as I can. Check it out: Learning to See.

Japanese Nabe

This is the story of a very traditional Japanese dish and what I made of it. First of all, I took out all that crawled before. And second, I cannot find half the original ingredients over here in Germany, so I had to make some adjustments. Even so, nabe is one of my all-time favorite soups. It is quick, easy, warming, and in its vegan version almost fat-free.

Nabe is a traditional winter dish. It is cooked at the table in a wide flat pot. The ingredients are nicely arranged in the pot, the longest cooking go in first, the most tender last. Then everybody takes out some of the food, and new ingredients are placed in the broth. This goes on until everybody is full. Now you have a deeply aromatic broth left. Enter the rice. On festive occasions in Japan, rice is usually served last. Maybe it is because this is the weekday staple, and on special days people want to fill up on something else. The cooked rice (some Japanese also use soba) is placed in the rich, fragrant broth, left there to soak up the liquids, and then enjoyed at the close of the meal.

I remember cold cold winter Sundays in Japan when I was out all day. When I got home I only wanted to do one thing: curl up on my heating carpet and slurp hot nabe soup until my bones were thawed again. Also my Japanese friends frequently invited me for nabe nights - evenings full of laughter and playing cards - and eating lots and lots of nabe.

Back here in Germany, I don't have a nabe pot, so I make it on the stove like a soup. I love how the flavors play together. The pumpkin and cabbage lend it some sweetness, chrysanthemum leaves have a delightful bitterness in them, lotus root adds some crunch, and the mushrooms and tofu are heavenly tender.

Above are two pics I took in Japan of my beloved pot and what it looked like in the soup bowl. Below the instructions for my westernized veganized Nabe. I give you the original ingredients first, and in parentheses the possible substitutes if you have trouble finding things.

Japanese Nabe
Serves two

vegan nabe broth (or vegetarian yeast-based stock or vegetable stock)
vegan Japanese sesame dressing to taste (or 1:1:1 tahini + balsamic vinegar + soy sauce)
1-2 cups Japaneses mushrooms (shiitake, king trumpet mushrooms (eryngii), enoki)
1/2 cup fresh lotus root (or water chestnuts)
5 oz firm tofu
1/2 small kabocha pumpkin
1 small Chinese cabbage
1 cup bean sprouts
a good handfull of chrysanthemum leaves (or arugula (rocket))
1 oz rice noodles (original: Japanese rice or soba)

Cook the rice noodles (or Japanese soba or Japanese rice) according to instructions on the pack.

Place the stock and some of the sesame dressing to taste together with the tofu, the pumpkin, the mushrooms and the fresh lotus root in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until the veggies are tender. Add the Chinese cabbage and the sprouts and simmer for a few more minutes. You do not want the cabbage to overcook. Taste and adjust spices. Add the arugula (or better: chrysanthemum leaves) and the rice noodles and serve, the heat of the soup will wilt the arugula to perfection.

For more easy but impressive soups check out the white and green Broccoli-Cauliflower Yin-Yang soup.

I'm making my veganized Japanese Nabe my contribution to "No croutons required" which is hosted by Lisa from Lisa's Kitchen and Holler from Tinned Tomatoes - this month centers around vegetable soups.

Fat-free depends on the use of fat-free ingredients.
Gluten-free depends on the use of gluten-free ingredients.

Veganomicon

Veganomicon. It was praised as the ultimate vegan cookbook. After practically every vegan blogger seemed to have a copy of it I got curious and ordered one, too. Then I had to wait for it for three weeks since it is shipped to Germany from the US. Let's not talk about the shipping costs... Suffice it to say that for the shipping costs alone I could have bought another cookbook.

So I was really excited when it finally arived today. Would it be worth the money spent?

I started flipping through it, reading here a bit, looking there at a recipe - starting to look at recipes closer, reading more, reading more.... An hour later I was still marvelling at the recipes, trying to decide if I should start with the Hot and Sour Soup with Woodear Mushrooms or with the Kabocha-Udon Winter Stew. I must confess I'm sold. This book is brilliant.

I don't think there is anyone except for me who didn't buy it yet, but if there is still a soul out there who has not yet read THE BOOK - go get it. You won't regret it. Hundreds of wonderful recipes, mouthwatering photos, and the part I love best is the index. You can search recipes by soy-free, gluten-free, low-fat, under 45 minutes... Finally a really helpful index.

Verdict: Worth every penny (cent) spent - and much more. Wonderful job, Isa and Terry.

Potato Gratin "Heaven and Earth" with Lambs Lettuce

My contribution to the Paper Chef #26 - The Return. The four ingredients to be used were potatoes, bacon, swede/rutabaga and plum tomatoes. Ilva urged us to get creative so I was trying to think of of something a little more... out of the ordinary.

There is a dish in North-West Germany called "Heaven and Earth". It is basically mashed potatoes (earth) with cooked, mashed apples (heaven). I had never actually had it myself but had heard its praises sung so much that I decided to try a hommage to Heaven and Earth by including apples in the gratin.

So, how was it? It was WOW. I'm glad I tried what when I first thought of it seemed crazy and probably inedible. It was heaven, so to speak. The mealiness of the potatoes was perfectly complimented by the swedes' texture, and the apples contributed sweetness, a little tartness and juiciness (duh). All in all the comfort of a gratin with an interesting zing. I am definitely making this again.





Potato Gratin "Heaven and Earth"

2 pounds mealy potatoes
1/2 pound swedes
1 apple
some fresh thyme

1/2 cup soy creamer
1 1/2 cup vegan stock
2 bay leaves

1 tblsp flour, dissolved in some water

some lemon juice, nutmeg, freshly ground black pepper

Bring the soy creamer and stock with the bay leaves to a boil, stirr in the dissolved flour and stirr until it thickens slightly. Season with freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, and lemon juice and add salt to taste. You want to be a little on the salty side since the potatoes absorb a lot of flavor.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Peel the potatoes, swede, and apple and slice approx. 1/4 inch thick. Layer nicely in a flat, wide gratin form, tucking in a slice of apple here and there, and sprinkling it with some fresh thyme. Gently pour the sauce over the veggies. Bake for approx. 30 minutes or until the veggies are tender and nice and golden. If it starts browning too much, lower the heat to 350°F (170°C). Serve with Lamb's Lettuce, Plum Tomatoes, and Faux Bacon.


Lamb's Lettuce, Plum Tomatoes, and Faux Bacon

Cut 2 ounces of extra firm tofu into small cubes. Heat some olive oil in a pan, add the cubes and fry until they are crisp and golden. Add a generous splash of soy sauce. This will give the cubes a deep dark color and give them this savory, salty touch.

Wash lambs lettuce (between the two of us we eat 5 ounces), slightly salt it and give it a generous splash of good balsamic vinegar and fruity extra virgin olive oil. Toss. Add plum tomatoes and "bacon" pieces.

Gluten-free depends on the use of gluten-free ingredients.

Thai Curry with Spelt-Basmati Rice

A couple of years ago shortly after going vegan I took a trip to Thailand. I was shocked by the fact that in tourist restaurants they seemed to offer meat only, and thrilled when I found a little eatery that had vegetarian options on their menu, most of them vegan. There I had some of the most flavorful dishes I ever tasted.

Fast forward: Some months ago I was browsing the shelves of an Asian supermarket in the nearby city and stopped dead when I saw a vegan Tom Ka paste. Lovely. I've been cooking not a soup but more of a curry based on this, and both the husband and I really have to fight this urge to lick our plates after dinner... This curry is pretty heavy on Chinese cabbage, but then again Chinese cabbage contains loads of calcium.

As for the rice: I've recently discovered that brown rice when cooked tastes as good as white rice, only it contains so much more that is good for you. And my latest discovery: adding a few spelt kernels to the rice is an awesome thing to do. I love the crunch the spelt adds, not to mention the added nutrients. All in all this was one nutrient-packed Sunday lunch. Um, have I mentioned it was yummy?

Thai Curry with Spelt-Basmati Rice

1 large king trumpet mushroom (eryngii) (approx. 4 ounces), sliced
7 ounces extra firm tofu cut into 1/2" pieces
1 14ounce can light coconut milk (or coconut water to make it fat-free)
1/2 cup water

1 dry red chili (or a lot more, depending on how spicy you like it)
2 bay leaves
2-3 tblsp vegan Thai tom-ka paste
spice mix, containing galangal, lemongras, kaffir lime leaves, coriander root

1 small Chinese cabage (approx. 1 pound), cut into bit-sized pieces
1 1/2 cup shiitake, stems trimmed, sliced

splash of lime

Bring the coconut milk together with the water and the spices to a boil. Add the tofu and the sliced trumpet mushrooms. Let simmer for a few minutes so the mushrooms can soften and the tofu can absorb the flavors. Add the remaining ingredients, simmer for a few more minutes. Adjust spices, add a splash of lime. Done.

I bought the spice mix ready assembled in a bag, it's called Tom-Ka spices. I bet their fresh counterparts will give this curry even more flavor but here in Smalltown, Germany, I consider myself lucky finding dried exotic spices. So if you get a chance to buy fresh galangal, lemongras, kaffir lime leaves, and coriander root you should definitely go for the fresher taste.

1 1/2 cup organic, fair-trade, brown basmati rice
1/2 cup spelt (leave out to make it gluten-free)
4 cups water

I cooked the rice in my rice cooker, ignoring the water marks and using 2 cups of water for every cup of brown rice.

Serves two.

Bonus pic: Look at this beauty! This is the orchid my brother gave me for christmas. Lucky me :-)

Gluten-free depends on the use of gluten-free ingredients.
Fat-free depends on the use of fat-free ingredients.