Midwest Living March/April 2009

photo from the March/April edition of Midwest Living
The new issue of Midwest Living has a few gems inside. Sure, the Midwest loves meat, but we midwesterners also love our home-grown produce and lots of flavor.

A harbinger of spring here in Iowa is, undoubtedly, the appearance of rhubarb stalks in backyard gardens. Midwest Living apparently agrees. Check out the Rhubarb Crunch, which is entirely vegan since we all know that "butter" actually means "Earth Balance."

In a more savory mood? Then look for the Italian Rice Salad, featuring a garlic vinaigrette plus sweet peppers and artichoke hearts. This recipe comes from Bev Shaffer, a natural-food store cooking teacher in Ohio, according to the magazine.

The issue also features colorful decorating ideas and cool Midwestern trips, so check it out. And be patient--spring really will be here soon and we can all start eating local again.

Saveur February 2009

Photos by Andre Baranowski.

The new issue of Saveur rocks, and they are not paying me to say this. It's a veritable vegan paradise. Sure, it has bound-and-gagged chicken on the cover, but it is the home cook edition, which has some excellent articles about tools and pantry staples, along with some really great basic have-to-have-it recipes inside that can greatly enhance your cooking efforts. You'll refer back to these again and again, I'm guessing.

First, check out page 35, for a list of the best sugars, and page 39, for a run-down of superior olive oils. Learn more about salt on page 57, and get a lesson on bartender techniques on page 79.

If you don't mind that Guinness may or may not be vegan, check out the Spicy Guinness Mustard recipes on page 47.

Then it gets serious. Check out the fantastic recipe for Harissa on page 50 and you won't ever have to buy the jarred stuff again.

Or shun those big ketchup companies and make your own from the ketchup recipe on page 52.

On page 56, find a recipe for Worcestershire Sauce (just skip the 1 anchovy). If you look closely you can find a recipe for Couve (sauteed Collard Greens) on page 62.

Jazz up your food with Sofrito from the recipe on page 63, which comes from Oswald Rivera, who wrote Puerto Rican Cuisine in America. Then find a great recipe for Hot Sauce on page 64. Douse your tofu in this and never look back.

On page 69, check out Zuppa di Grano Cuturru (Sicilian Greens and Bulgur Soup). Just use veg broth instead of chicken and skip the totally unnecessary garnish of pecorino. Leave out the fish sauce and make Gaeng Pet (Thai Red Curry Paste) or choose a recipe where you don't have to leave out anything and make Spaghetti with Oven-Roasted Tomatoes and Caramelized Fennel from page 75.

I know this issue will keep me in the kitchen for awhile.

Cheers! Holiday punch from Saveur

(Photo by Landon Nordeman from Saveur Issue #116)

The latest issue of Saveur is pretty meaty (not in a good way), but if you can overlook the big slab of beef on the cover, flip to page 68 for the article on "refreshing, refined, and eminently festive" retro holiday punch recipes.

First is Captain Radcliffe's Punch, with lemon, white wine, brandy/cognac, and a dash of nutmeg.

Next, find Flaming Punch, aka Punschglu:hbowle, with red wine, arrack (or cachaca), and seville orange.

Regent's Punch is infused with green tea and contains chunks of pineapple along with citrus, brandy, dark Jamaican rum, arrack (or cachaca), and brut champagne.

The article also has a helpful sidebar on muddling.

Enjoy, and happy holidays!

Vegan cookies in the Washington Post

(Photo by Dominic Bracco, for the Washington Post, Dec. 10, 2008. Cookie photos below by Julia Ewan, for the Washington Post)

I just love it when mainstream newspapers use the word "vegan," especially in an article title. Check out this great article about pastry chef Hareg Messert of Chez Hareg and her delicious vegan cookies in the Washington Post. The article includes a recipe for Chocolate Ginger Biscotti, and another one for Pecan Snowballs. Yum! I will be making these for Christmas.

Gobi Manchurian, from Saveur No. 108

(Photo by Andre Baranowski, in Saveur Issue #108)

Saveur always has such interesting short articles about little-known foods and ingredients. My uncle gets me a gift subscription every Christmas so I keep an eye on it, and found this delicious recipes for Indian-Chinese Sweet and Spicy Fried Cauliflower on page 46 in issue No. 108. It contains ingredients easy to find in the winter, like cauliflower, chile powder, ginger, onions. It's a simple but spicy recipe and just the thing for a warming winter meal. No veganizing necessary, this recipe has nary an animal ingredient.

If you get thirsty from all that spiciness, try the Fresh Lime Soda, on the same page. (And on the previous page, check out a guide to common weeds that you can eat. Just ignore the part about sauteing them with bacon.)

Spiced Bannock in Mother Earth News, December 2008/January 2009

Mother Earth News isn't exactly a mainstream magazine, but it's certainly not a veg magazine, so I say it counts. Last night I lay in bed, cozied up to my latest issue. I bought it because of teasers on the cover: "Back to the Land," "Easy Crusty Bread in 5 Minutes a Day," "Tap the Culinary Wisdom of our Ancestors," and "Anyone Can Raise Chickens." I've always dreamed of raising chickens and goats...having a hobby farm...living off the land and off the grid...but I digress. It's a great issue and I highly recommend it. However, this post is not an ad for Mother Earth News. It is a celebration of a recipe in an article on enjoying the winter: a recipe for Spiced Bannock.

This morning, we woke to a pelting icy rain...and that much dreaded/much anticipated (depending on if you talk to me or the kids) phone call announcing that school is cancelled. What better morning to try making Bannock? Bannock is a Scottish sort of pan scone. I cooked mine in a small flame-colored Le Creuset cast iron skillet on the stove.

You can find the recipe here. I made a few adjustments, however. I used whole wheat pastry flour and upped the sugar (I used evaporated cane juice crystals) to two tablespoons from the 1.5 listed. I also added half a cup of dairy-free chocolate chips (Tropical Source) and about 1/4 cup sliced almonds instead of the suggested 1/4 cup "chopped nuts and/or raisins and/or dried fruit). I used the full 1.5 cups of water and greased the skillet with canola oil.

The result was a biscuit-y, scone-y, just slightly sweet cake that was a bit burned in the center but otherwise very satisfying. Even the kids liked it. Emmett and I ate ours plain. Angus doused his in locally produced organic butter from grass-fed cows, and a drizzle of dark agave syrup.

I am also captivated by the article for Master Recipe for Boule. This article, from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, shows you how to make dough that you can keep in the fridge for up to two weeks. You cut off chunks to bake bread every day or two. What a great idea! I am definitely going to try this. Maybe even today.

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.