The first several times I made the chocolate chip cookies from Isa’s Vegan With a Vengeance I was thoroughly perplexed. Despite the fact that I followed the recipe precisely–er, at least after that first disaster of guesswork & overconfidence–the dough was maddeningly crumbly! So crumbly, in fact, that I had to Hulk Smash it between my palms to get it to hold any kind of shape–and even then it was tentative at best.
My solution was to add some soymilk as a binder. But it was no solution! It sort of helped with the shaping issue…but the cookies came out so flat & chewy that they were only suitable for cookie sandwiches. (Mmmm… cookie smammiches). I got online to see what other VWAV readers had tried–and sure enough, many of them complained about the mysteriously crumbly dough. Even a friend in my vegan co-op dinner rotation, Suzanne, mentioned that she’d attempted the repair the weird recipe by adding soymilk.
Most recently I skipped the soymilk and, fingers crossed!, gingerly placed the misshapen lumps onto the cookie sheet. Guess what? They came out perfectly:
Here’s the deal. I, apparently among many, am an amateur cookie (& food science) enthusiast–and so I totally missed the fact that the VERY HIGH PROPORTION of fat (in the form of a quarter of a container of softened Earth Balance) would actually melt & meld the cookies together in the baking process, giving them a lovely shape & texture after ten minutes. Instead of exercising patience, I felt I had to “fix” the crumbly dough by adding soymilk. Don’t make the same mistake! Just Hulk SMASH your cookies & wait for the magic!
Thanks & credit go to “el-grimlock” at deviantart.com for the awesome base Hulk image.
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NoMoCoFo: an absurdity characterised by the long o, or the new theme for this month’s blogging adventures? If you guessed both, then you are correct–welcome to November, the Month of No-Mo’(re) Costly Food! (Technically NoMoNoMoCoFo, but I’m cutting myself a break.)
My November blogging project concerns itself with reigning in my (and my household’s) food expenditures. Whether this comes as a result of relying more heavily on pantry and freezer stores, or by taking up offers to potlucks more frequently, or by not eating out, or through a combination of these and others, I’m setting out to save money this month and I want to keep you updated re: what I encounter and learn.
As a practical note, we’re closing in on day six now–which means I’ve got a bit of backtracking to do. I’m going to start by describing tonight’s dinner and then move on to writing some new, yet back-dated, entries on what I’ve been up to for the past couple days. (If you’re interested in good vegan eats in Chicago, be sure to scroll down a bit further, as I’ll be highlighting a great Indian buffet as well as panning another place.) This’ll be a slow game of catch-up, but it will happen–so check back.
Tonight I turned to one of my most favorite cookery books, The Grit Restaurant Cookbook, for their “Spicy Thai Noodles” salad. It wasn’t very spicy at all (owing, I think, to subbing chili oil for the chili paste) but it was packed with flavor. Whether they sing in the butterbeans or zing in the collards or ding in the noodle dishes, flavors in Grit recipes hold their own. There’s not a lot of room for subtlety–but then again, I like that. This recipe doesn’t call for it, but I punched up the protienaciousness with a block of tofu and added some peppers for color:
This dish was cheap, in part, because I relied on noodles I bought at the B&D for 80 cents, noodles that were just languishing in the cupboard. I had all the materials for the sauce on hand, too.
Come to think of it, there’s not a cookbook that I’d recommend more highly than The Grit’s. (No, not even VWaV, though it is definitely up there.) Many of my “signature” recipes–for gravy, chocolate cake, southern-style vegetables–have been adapted from the ones in this book. Over half of the recipes are vegan and many of those that aren’t can be easily veganised–think subbing Earth Balance (eBal) for butter. The Mock-Cream of Chicken Soup is a divine wonder of vegan trickery; the “Ted Bread” and Old-time Grit Buns always come out perfect; the “Chicken” Salad will earn you instant celebrity at any Fourth of July picnic.
Not to mention this: the first time my momma (think Steel Magnolias) ever ate the butterbeans (“Baby Lima Beans” in the book, but I use fordhooks), she swore up and down that there must’ve been a hambone in there. Well, perhaps not quite that dramatic–but she was astounded at the depth of rich flavor…and had a second helping. If that doesn’t convince you that you need The Grit’s cookbook, I have no idea what will.
Available at Amazon.com and BetterWorldBooks.com.
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Since I didn’t attempt anything awesome in the kitchen today, I’m cheating and doing Whoa Wren’s VeganMoFo2009 survey.
1. Favorite non-dairy milk?
N & I drink Kroger’s Naturally Preferred Organic Red Box Plain soymilk pretty much exclusively. It’s organic, tastes great, and costs $5.00 a gallon (regular price $2.50/half gallon). With Silk climbing as high as $3.89/half gallon in this area, it’s the most economical.
NOTE: We love soymilk so much that, upon being asked at a job interview what he’d do with two million dollars, N said he’d secure a lifetime supply of the stuff for us. (To be fair, that was the “selfish answer”; he also answered magnanimously.)
2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?
Kale creations, bhindi masala, baked winter squash (or spaghetti squash concoctions).
3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
The master recipe is thus: stove-top-popped corn with about a tablespoon of melted earth balance drizzled over it, then tossed, then drenched in Bragg’s aminos from the spray bottle, then tossed, then tossed with white pepper, then tossed with about a third a cup of nutritional yeast. It is so good, sometimes we eat this as a meal…because just thinking about it makes us crave it unbearably…okay, I’m pretty sure that I’ll soon be typing with nutritional yeast breath.
4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
Devastatingly, I recently F-ed up two desserts in one night. Sigh.
5. Favorite pickled item?
Okra! And, you know, boring old cucumbers.
6. How do you organize your recipes?
The cookbooks are on shelves under the microwave. The printed-out collection resides messily in a structurally-unsound plastic folder-type thing. I also love to tape recipes to cabinets so that I can read them easily while working.
7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
Compost. Thanks to our landlords, we have a super composter.
8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?
1) Stevia, because I’m addicted to it, but since it probably doesn’t count as a food per se I’ll name three more 2) Onions 3) Mushrooms 4) Watermelon
9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
My mom’s cabbage; my dad’s everything-in-the-cupboards vegan vegetable soups; any of the insane birthday cakes mom designed and ordered for me. She did not mess around with the cake.
10. Favorite vegan ice cream?
(guest written by N): Purely Decadent COOKIE AVALANCHE by SO DELICIOUS/Turtle Mountain
One cannot understand the Avalanche of Cookies without appreciating the taxonomy and characteristics of the manner of things one can find in such an Avalanche.
Surely, one does best when one encounters a veritable King Cookie (gendered bias intentional) in the course of Avalanche consumption. To qualify as Kingly, this nugget of wonder must be of sufficient size; say, approaching roughly half the size of a double stuffed oreo. Such a joyous event happens only about once per carton (so buy several cartons at once).
Princely cookies, thus, are chunks of delicious that are only about a quarter the size of a double stuffed oreo. These are still noble finds and a lucky consumer should enjoy three or four of them per carton.
We suggest giving your Avalanche lots of attention; excavate it carefully by digging in your spoon and flipping over big hunks to seek Kings and Princes jutting out. Then gently carve out the findings and enjoy.
Truly, you will discover that the thrill of cookie archaeology makes the Avalanche the most compelling and fabulous of all vegan ice cream delights.
–N
11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
this one bowl that is perfect for containing things made with the hand mixer. Okay, not actually an appliance, but it facilitates an appliance!
12. Spice/herb you would die without?
I use a lot of salt, thyme, tumeric, coriander and cumin.
13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
I grew up with my mom’s Southern Living Annuals. Of my own, probably Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini by Elizabeth Schneider. I wish everyone could have a copy of this insanely expensive but gorgeous book.
14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
Black raspberry from the Amish
15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
The GRIT’s vegan chicken salad (featuring GRIT yeast gravy & GRIT viniagrette)…it went over tremendously at a fourth of july get-together. Or anything smothered in GRIT gravy.
16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
I love seitan (especially Isa’s recipes!!) when I can get it, but I mostly cook with TVP from dixie diner and tofu.
17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
time: when I’m not hungry.
18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
10 boxes of Kashi cereal (Richmond Kroger is closing ‘em out at $2 a BOX!!); two bicycle helmets; a pair of bicycle gloves; two rolls of unbleached recycled paper towels; dust bunnies
19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
Uhm, not to brag, but I can name basically every item in my freezer without looking. There’s a pound of quinoa, two pounds of Bob’s Red Mill vital wheat gluten, wheat flour, six quart freezer bags of whole raspberries from Michigan, several pounds of butter beans, a bag of Recipe Beginnings peppers, lots of dried Frontier herbs, a 6-lb block of SoyBoy tofu, two loaves of banana nut bread, blueberries from Monica’s great-grandparents’ house in PA, two boxes of Boca burgers, some homemade veggie burgers, bread flour, sesame seeds, frozen peas…the list goes on. Hm, now that I think about it, it’s actually kind of embarrassing to have all that food stored up. Good thing I’ve planned November’s blogging project to be eat-from-the-cupboards!
20. What’s on your grocery list?
I went shopping yesterday and today; yield: Mori-Nu tofu, granola bars, organic olive oil, organic water-packed extra-firm tofu, cereal, soymilk, onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, pickles, veggie burgers, and mustards.
21. Favorite grocery store?
Not too many alternative choices in Richmond. I love our Co-op, but it’s currently in transition and closed. Nature’s Nook is good for hard-to-find ingredients, but not really food. Meijer has a great fresh organic section but it also uses old-fashioned open freezer cases and for that reason I routinely boycott them. Embarrasingly, Kroger is really my BFF. Cheap soymilk, tofu, a decent natural foods section and tons of good manager’s specials.
In Atlanta: Your Dekalb Farmer’s Market & the Buford Highway Farmer’s Market!
22. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet.
ANGEL FOOD CAKE. I purchased Bryanna Clark Grogan’s recipe but I haven’t taken the time to make it yet. Maybe this month…?!?!
23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa’s because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?
Probably Kittee’s because she encouraged me in this whole VeganMoFo thing. And Bryanna’s Vegan Feast Kitchen. To be honest, I’m still finding my way in the vegan blogging community.
24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
Catbar by Endangered Species chocolates; coconut marshmallows by Sweet & Sara. Ritter Sport marzipan.
25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
The aforementioned 6 freezer bags of Michigan raspberries I brought back from the visit with Jiji.
26. Ingredients you are scared to work with?
xantham gum, especially after Kittee’s post about it.
THE END
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