Pickled vegetables (V)

Before refrigerators became common, people used to pickle food as a way of preservation. Last week's New York Times had the recipe above called Giardiniera for pickled vegetables, which I tweaked a little to suit my Scandinavian palate. Four serrano chiles and 1 tsp pepper flakes are definitely too hot for me. I had no celery seeds so I substituted with dill weeds and it gave a lovely hint of Sweden, where dill is a common spice in pickle recipies. Also, I doubled the amount of dressing:
Veggies:
2 Serrano chiles, thinly sliced with seeds removed
2 red bell peppers cut in 1/2 inch pieces
2 stalks of celery, sliced
2 carrots, julienned
1 medium head of cauliflower, cut in florets
1/2 cup salt

Dressing:
4-5 cloves garlic, slivered
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp Italian spice mix
1 tsp dill weeds
2 tsp crushed black pepper corns
2 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup olive oil

1. In a bowl, mix cut vegetables with salt, making sure everything is well combined. Cover with water and let sit at room temperature for 10 - 12 hours. This can be done in the evening or in the morning before going to work.
2. Mix dressing ingredients well until emulsified.
3. Rinse vegetables well and put in two sterilized one-quart jars. Push to get all veggies in if necessary. Cover with dressing and let sit in the refrigerator for 2 - 3 days before serving. Will keep for about three weeks.

Calamari Salad

My son's current favorite food is Calamari Salad from Scotto's Italian in Hampton Bays, NY. This is my copy attempt:

2 lbs cleaned squid
3 thinly sliced celery stalks
1 yellow or orange pepper, cut in pieces
2 - 3 thinly sliced shallots
8 - 10 Calamata olives, pitted and diced
3 - 4 Campari tomatoes

Dressing
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
11/2 tsp Italian spice mix
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

1. Thinly slice squid and boil in lightly salted water until opaque, about one minute. Do not over boil. Toss squid with ice cubes to stop from further cooking.
2. Whisk dressing together and add sliced shallots. Let sit while you slice remaining ingredients.
3. Add remaining ingredients and save a few tomato wedges for decoration.
4. Cool for a couple of hours before serving, turning content upside down a couple of times to better distribute the flavors.

Apple Crisp Pie with Oatmeal

This oatmeal crisp pie was adapted from a Swedish recipe

3 apples (Jonathan or other baking variety)
1 2/3 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup regular sugar
1 x 8 oz stick margarine
cinnamon

Oven 405 F for 25 minutes or until apples are soft.
1. Mix butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar (or regular sugar) and oatmeal until you have a coarse mixture.
2. Butter a pie form
3. Peel and remove seeds from apples. Cut into wedges or cubes.
4. Distribute apples evenly across form and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Cover with oatmeal mixture and bake for about 25 minutes.
Serve with whipped cream or vanilla sauce

Curried Squash and Apple Soup (V)

Winter time is perfect for hearty soups. This recipe is from a Wild by Nature Market circular. Instead of roasting cumin and coriander seeds, I am using already powdered spices to save time.

2 cups chopped onions
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp salt
6 cups/3 lbs peeled, seeded and cubed butternut squash
2 cups peeled, seeded and cubed apples
2 cups peeled and cubed sweet potatoes
4 cups water

Topping
10 oz fresh chopped spinach
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp vegetable oil

1. Saute chopped onions in vegetable oil until translucent.
2. Toast cumin and coriander seeds in a skillet until fragrant and grind to powder.
3. Add spices and remaining ingredients to soup and bring to a boil, then let simmer for about 30 minutes or until all ingredients are tender.
4. While soup is simmering, saute topping garlic in vegetable oil on low heat until golden. Add fresh spinach, crank heat up and stir until spinach has wilted and liquid is gone.
5. Puree soup in blender. Add water if too thick.

Serve with spinach topping and a nice crusty bread.

Carrot Cake (V)

This carrot cake recipe uses ground flax seeds instead of eggs. By combining ground flax seeds with hot water, you'll get a mixture with an egg resembling texture and a nice nutty flavor. A rule of thumb is a tablespoon ground flax seed per egg.

Use a 9 inch form with removable bottom. If you like a double layer cake, make two 9" forms and add a layer of frosting between (frosting recipe after the cake recipe).

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup apple sauce
4 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with 4 tbsp warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

1. Mix flax seeds with warm water and stir - you'll get a jelly resembling mass
2. Add remaining wet ingredients (vegetable oil, apple sauce, vanilla extract and grated carrots).
3. In another bowl, mix dry ingredients (sugar, flour, salt, spices, baking soda and baking powder).
4. Combine dry and wet ingredients, add raisins and walnuts.

Pour in a greased 9 " form and bake for about 35 - 40 minutes in 325 F or until a tooth pick comes out clean and cake separates from form.

Let cool.

Frosting
8 oz box of vegan cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
Cream ingredients together and cover cake. Enjoy!

Due to the comparatively low amount of sugar in this frosting it is not as light and fluffy as frostings with more fat and sugar, which I find too sweet. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a step-by-step guide to my husband's scrumptious chocolate chip cookies. An urban legend says this recipe hails from Mrs. Fields. My husband omitted nuts, which can be added if desired.

Start by creaming together:
1 lb room temperature butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups dark brown sugar
2 cups regular sugar
Add 4 eggs after creaming sugar, vanilla and butter

Step 2:
Prep the the dry ingredients:
1. Grate 5 cups oatmeal into flour
2. Grate 12 oz bar of milk chocolate

Step 3:
Mix grated oatmeal and chocolate with:
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Step 4: Combine dry and creamy ingredients and add 24 oz (3 - 4 cups) of semi-sweet chocolate chips

330 F for 8 -10 minutes depending on desired texture and oven personality

We divide the dough into rolls enough for 6 - 8 cookies, wrap them in wax paper and keep these in the freezer. This way we can enjoy freshly baked cookies in less than 30 minutes - just zap in the microwave for about  20 seconds, slice, put on cookie sheet and bake (toaster oven is the fastest).

Almond Paste Recipe (V)

Using the recipe in the link above as a guide, I started with blanching 2 cups of almonds (boiling water and pouring it over the almonds so that the peel easily comes off). When I was almost done removing the skins from the almonds I mixed a cup of raw sugar with 1/2 cup of water and heated until the sugar had been dissolved. The almonds were wet and warm from the blanching so I omitted the step in the recipe that called for heating them up and add water when grinding them in the food processor - i e I just tossed the warm, moist, blanched almonds in the food processor, ran it until the almonds were ground up and then added the sugar water. Very easy recipe. Have not yet decided what to use the paste for, but it sure tastes good.

Ingredients:
2 cups raw almonds
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

You can also substitute parts of the water with cognac or Cointreau, but cut down on the sugar if you use Cointreau.

Gingerbread cookies with flax seeds (V)

I love to bake and until about three years ago never really thought much about using eggs and butter. Then my daughter became a vegan and we began testing new recipes. I never liked the chalky taste of egg replacer and started sampling alternatives. My favorite is ground flax seeds mixed with warm water, which creates an egg resembling jelly texture. Flax seeds have a nutty taste that fits seamlessly into most baking recipes. This is PETA’s gingerbread recipe, for which we used flax seeds:

For the Cookies:
1 cup vegan margarine
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tbsp warm water
1 cup molasses
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
5 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. ginger
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves

For the Frosting:
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. vanilla soy milk
Food coloring


• In a large bowl, cream the vegan margarine and the sugar. Mix in the egg replacer, molasses, and vinegar. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add to the wet ingredients.
• Chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
• Remove from the refrigerator and roll out on a floured surface. Cut into desired shapes.
• Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, until the edges brown. Cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and remove to a wire rack.
• While the cookies are cooling, make the frosting. Using a hand mixer, cream the vegan margarine. Add the shortening and continue to mix. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. The frosting should be stiff.
• Using a pastry bag and a star tip, decorate the cookies.

Makes 3 dozen cookies 

New study suggests coffee prevents cancer in women

Make sure you drink at least four cups of coffee a day to cut the risk of developing endometrial cancer, the most common uterine cancer. In a study that followed more than 67,000 women over a 26-year period, women who drank four cups of coffee or more had a 25 % lower risk of endometrial cancer than those who had a cup or less of coffee a day.

Curried Quinoa Pilaf (V)

Quinoa is an ancient grain long favored by the Inca Indians. Protected by a natural pesticide that makes it taste bad, quinoa has to be rinsed before cooking. One of my favorite quinoa recipes uses hot spices, but can be made milder if desired. This recipe is very versatile and can incorporate many kinds of leftovers cut in tiny pieces and mixed into the pilaf. If you don't have all the spices at home you can substitute with 2 - 3 tsps of curry.

1 cup rinsed quinoa
2 cups broth
1 medium sz finely chopped onion
1/3 cup of raisins
2 tbsp olive oil
1 - 2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp red pepper (can be omitted)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry finely chopped onions in olive oil for five minutes. Add spices and stir.
2. Add quinoa and fry for a few minutes.
3. Add broth and bring to a boil. Let boil for three minutes.
4. Add raisins, stir and put a lid on the pot.
5. Turn heat off under pot. The curried quinoa dish will now cook by it self without any attention and be ready after about 20 - 30 minutes. If you are in a hurry, continue to simmer at low heat for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. When the little white tails come out of the seeds the quinoa is done.