Food and Wine, January 2007

(Photo (c) Quentin Bacon, from Food and Wine, January 2007)

I was cleaning out the basket of magazines this morning and found a copy of the January 2007 issue of Food and Wine. Sometimes I find nary a vegan recipe in this excellent magazine, but this one was a treasure trove. It contained many recipes that could be almost effortlessly veganized by replacing butter with Earth Balance, milk or cream with soy milk or cream, leaving out the cheese, etc., so I suggest checking it out. Or, just go right to these pages, if you don't want to bother thinking that hard:

-Dan Dan Noodles, on page 38. This recipe, contributed by Pastry chef Joanne Chang, owner of Flour Bakery + Cafe in Boston, is quick and easy: Asian noodles topped with peanuts, jalapeno, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, Sriracha, and matchtsticks of cucumber, sliced scallions, chopped cilantr, sesame seeds, and lime halves. Print out the recipe from Food and Wine's website here.

-Virgin Strawberry Bellinis, on p. 44. They call this a "mocktail" for grown-ups and it looks delicious. This one is invented by David Slape of Manhattan's Del Posto. It uses strawberry puree and sparkling apple cider from Normandy, but if you don't have access to such high-flutin ingredients, regular sparkling apple cider will do. This is a good time of year to get it in the grocery store. You'l need fresh strawberries--not the best time to get those--but if you have some good frozen strawberries, that should be o.k., since these strawberries are cooked and pureed. Find it here.

-Bay-Steamed Broccoli, on page 106. This simple recipe does use butter, but when I see butter, I read "Earth Balance." It's easy--fill a pot with water, bay leaves, "butter," salt, and broccoli. It cooks in a quick 15 minutes. This is part of an article on beef, so just try to ignore that part. Find it here.

-Eggplant Caponata Crostini, on page 108. This recipe, developed by Elena Bisestri, executive chef at Palma restaurant in Greenwich Village (in New York City, in case that's not obvious). This luscious recipe is pretty standard caponata: eggplant, red onion, capers, kalamata olives, vinegar, etc. You can also find this on Food and Wine's website here.

-Broccoli Rabe with Garlic and Red Pepper, on page 111. As long as you are on a broccoli kick, try this savory version. It's a pretty classic (dare I say common?) way to prepare broccoli, but that's because it's so very delicious. Blanche the rabe and banish the bitterness. Find the recipe here.

That should keep you busy for awhile. I know it will keep me busy. I'm particularly excited about that caponta, which I will try as soon as I find me a good-lookin' eggplant.