Tag: tomatoes

Categories
Vegan MoFo

Vegan MoFo Day 31: Nothing I say here won’t sound cheesy

Or noochy, if you’ll forgive the terrible joke. “MoFo was the friends we made along the way” just makes me think of The Good Place. Everything else is a giant cliche? Not that I’m above a cliche.

Anyway, for today, the last day of Vegan MoFo 2019, we’re to reflect and maybe take inspiration from another MoFo’er. I have loved following everyone’s creative contributions over on the ‘gram and in the blogs. Some folks’ commitment to a theme was wildly impressive indeed (Star Wars puns? Dishes found in Adventure Time? Dang), and everyone made at least one thing that’s going to stick in my mind as something I need to revisit and try sometime.

But for today…I attempted something that will never live up to its inspiration, but was nonetheless worth a try: biscuits. Specifically, the biscuits Sarra makes with the obvious skill of someone who’s been making biscuits for a while. So flaky! So much rise! So many reasons to keep a watchful eye on her Instagram for any announcements concerning a biscuit zine she may be writing right now!

Mine, though…

Above: Eh, serviceable. A little flat. Probably a smidge overbaked. Too much salt??

Well, anyway, they worked well enough as the starchy component for a pretty simple dinner: smoky baked tofu, garlic braised kale, and a warm and tangy tomato relish.

Above: Din-din.

Oh, the sauce? The sauce was good. That is a thing I am good at. It’s not a recipe, though. Just, like… half a big red onion, sliced into quarter moons and fried in a bunch of olive oil for a few minutes before adding several (four?) dry-farmed tomatoes, which I’d cut into wedges. That cooked down with a little salt, a spoonful of brown sugar, and, later on, red pepper flakes. After letting the liquid cook down (tomatoes release a LOT of liquid), I left it on low and added some hot sauce and several spoonfuls of apple cider vinegar. Just keep tasting and going with your gut, really. It’s quite good, I think.

Anyway, I don’t usually bother with the blog posting, though I might sometimes when I have more to say than what fits on an Instagram post. Follow me over there if you want to keep up. I’ll follow back most of the time (unless you’re obviously just selling something/content aggregating, or post mostly weird diet shit, or are a private account of someone I don’t know at all). See you for Vegan MoFo 2020!

Categories
Vegan MoFo

Vegan MoFo Day 22: Time of the Season

I’m a farmers’ market junkie, so eating in season is my default, but I did want to stick with my “try new things” MoFo plan and highlight the good stuff we get here in August.

Above: What’s in season?

Tomatoes are key this time of year. I could’ve made a whole tomato THING, really, but I didn’t. Eggplant is also in season, and squash–and squash blossoms. Basil and other herbs are beautiful; I’m getting avocado and sweet fancy lettuce varieties too. So why not make an eggplant BLT–I haven’t made eggplant bacon before–and stuffed squash blossoms?

Above: Baked eggplant bacon, simply marinated with soy sauce, liquid smoke, and olive oil.

For the BLT, only the eggplant required a little extra prep. Everything else was wash ‘n’ slice.

Above: Dry-farmed early girl tomatoes are the star of this show, let’s be honest.

A side of stuffed squash blossoms takes a little more effort, but it’s worth it.

Above: Squash blossoms mid-stuffing with basil leaves and a mix of almond ricotta and Miyoko’s mozzarella.

I’ve done stuffed squash blossoms before, but these had a slightly different filling and batter. In the past, I’ve done more of a cornmeal crust; this was white flour and club soda (OK, well, homemade herbed sparkling water). And I made the almond ricotta myself with blanched almond flour, lemon juice, and water.

Above: Fry, fry, my pretties!
Categories
Food Blog Vegan MoFo

#VeganMoFo Day 8: On the Other Side

According to Antipodr, the direct opposite of my locale in Northern California is somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean – but near enough to Madagascar to … well, let’s say I wouldn’t want to be left in open water here, but we’ll make Madagascar our “dig a hole through the Earth” destination for today.

I went searching for Malagasy cuisine and found a few simple, vegetable-based recipes to try: pumpkin stew with peanuts, and avocado salad. The ingredients were all familiar, fresh, and colorful. And the result… lovely.

To make a complete meal out of it, I served the stew over brown rice and added some simple braised kale on the side. The tangy tomato “dressing” (more like a salsa) really tied things together. And the peanuts in the stew were a nice, gentle crunch – it wasn’t super heavy like other peanut stews I’ve made.

Whether or not this is remotely representative of the food eaten on that faraway (to me) island, it was a nice lunch here in California.

Categories
Food Blog None Vegan MoFo

#VeganMoFo Day 16: Favorite late summer food

image

You say tomato, I say tomato…

image

This week’s tomato haul include dry-farmed heirlooms from Lonely Mountain Farm and a variety of cherry tomatoes from Tomatero Farm.

I’ll make almost anything with tomatoes this time of year. They’re delicious. Tonight I decided to make a tofu frittata with cremini mushrooms and tomato slices right on top.

It’s based on the recipe from Vegan Brunch, which I have made so often that it’s committed to memory… and tweaked a bit.

A shallot, four minced cloves of garlic, and several cremini mushrooms, sliced, were sauteed in my trusty cast iron skillet with olive oil and a pinch of red pepper flakes. When the mushrooms were cooked, I added it to a bowl with mashed tofu, a splash of soy sauce, drizzle of white wine vinegar, about a quarter cup of nooch, and a handful of chopped fresh parsley, mixed, and pressed back into the skillet. Then I arranged slices of a beautiful heirloom tomato, brushed it with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt, and threw it in the oven (400 F) for 20 minutes. I may have switched it over to the broiler for the last two.

To make a dinner out of it, I sauteed a bunch of rainbow chard and served it with leftover dressing and bread from… ah, spoilers…