Lent is over, Greek Easter happened. I didn't smoke an entire lamb in my front yard like some of my diehard patriots; instead I ate pizza and copious amounts of brie. It was lovely! Although I do love cheese, I could have been completely tricked by the creaminess of these stuffed poblanos.
A few days before lent, I busted out dos poblanos waiting for some action in the fridge. Didn't know what I was doing, but blended up some soft tofu, 2 cloves of garlic, fresh dill from the front yard, and boom threw it in the shelled out poblanos, sprinkled with vegan cheese for me and Monterrey jack for him. These Mexican "Papoutsakia" or "Shoes" as we often call vegetable baking vessels in Greece, were pretty okay! The stuffing turned out unbelievable creamy and ethereal.
Vegan (or Not) Stuffed Poblanos
(serves 2 hungry bears)
2 large poblanos, cut lengthwise and de-seeded
1 12-oz pack of silken tofu (the kind used for smoothies)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
1/2 cup cooked rice
vegan and non vegan melt friendly cheese
- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange poblanos in a baking dish.
- In a food processor or with a blender, beat garlic, tofu, salt together until smooth. Pulse in rice and dill.
- Sprinkle some cheese at the bottom of the poblanos, spoon in tofu mixture, top with more cheese and sprinkle with paprika.
- Bake for about 30 minutes. Broil for another 5 minutes or less depending on your crispness preference.
These waffles are my ode to Aztecs - as they were one of the firsts to use the ancient grain amaranth and one of the first documented to eat pumpkin seeds. Also, I just learned the Greek word for pepitas according to this site is passatempos, which is the Italian phrase for passing time and also the name of a song of one of my favorite musics groups from Greece, Imam Baildi.
I woke up one weekend morning, opened the pantry and saw these two together in waffle matrimony. Earthy and nutty, these waffles made for a hearty (and vegan) breakfast.
Amaranth and Pepita Waffles
3/4 cup amaranth flour
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup soy/almond/coconut milk
pinch of salt
2 tsp. canola oil
1/4 pepitas, toasted
Mix dry ingredients together, add wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Follow waffles iron instructions - cook until golden brown, top with butter(vegan) and maple syrup. Perfection!
When I think of taro, dessert always comes to mind, usually dominated by the taro popsicles I'd eat growing up that were undoubtedly purchased from Marina Foods. I think of the color purple and how last year's attempt to make taro tea cake turned out anything but. This tuber needed something savory and refreshing, so naturally, that is salad (hummus next time!). I was inspired by the Hawaiian islands - and poi, so macadamia nuts, sweet Maui onions, chives and mangoes went into the pot. Lots of textures and tastes! This medley provoked summer thoughts in this early and still some what chilly Philadelphia Spring.
Taro, Macadamia, and Maui Onion Salad
1 medium taro
1/2 sweet Maui onion, minced
4 cups of spring salad mix
1/2 mango, chopped
1/2 cup chives, minced
1/2 cup macadamia, chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
couple of sweet red peppers, optional
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon orange juice
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice taro into thin discs and place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for about 15 minutes or until soft and extra crispy if you like them that way. Mix the other veggies together, except the chives. Mix the liquids and salt together along with the chives. Add more olive oil if you like! Pour almost all of it over veggies, mix together. Arrange on a plate salad piles and taro, drizzling a little more dressing over the taro. Sprinkle with macadamia. Enjoy with a rose.
The one thing that I miss the most while fasting from animal products during Great Lent is cheese. Not a day goes by where I don't want to come home after a day's work and gnaw on a provocative hunk of cheddar. But, the good thing about Great Lent is that it challenges me to do things I normally wouldn't - in this case, making vegan cheese or cheez. Like a lot of food bloggers, I am not big into following recipes, usually just inspired by them. One exception is the Vegan Diner cookbook by Julie Hasson. I've actually made/followed three of her recipes so far with this cheez being the third. I am forever a fan! I don't even own this cookbook - my husband picked it out at the library for me and I copied some recipes before returning it, but it's very worthy of permanent bookshelf space and I'm creeping amazon for a used version.
This cheese grew on my exponentially. The first taste there was a little funkytown going on, but by the 5th day it was all I wanted! I didn't use an ultra smoky paprika, but I will make the extra effort for the next time. Also, find agar powder at an Asian food store. I totally got punk'd by the $8 agar flakes from Whole Foods and I hope this does not happen to you.
This recipe pretty much sums up the Vegan Diner's originals. Get after that cheez!
This cake was made as part of my vegan baking blitz - exploring the word of vegan baking! Accidentally, this cake also happens to be gluten free. Since olive oil cake is one of my favorite cakes (tried three different versions here, here, and here), a vegan version was a must. I was inspired to make olive oil cake again after reading one of my favorite blogs, Souvlaki For The Soul after reading Peter's recipe for a semolina based olive oil cake. My favorite olive oil cake has cornmeal - something about the grittiness of the corn and the olive oil merry so well together. This time around I used semolina that picked up in the Italian district of Philly. I wasn't planning on adding figs until my husband came home with a haul of beautiful dried figs on baking day. They were going straight into that cake and the rest saved for cheese (and wine!) when Great Lent is over. When I think of figs, I often think of one of the most delicious cocktails I've ever had containing both whiskey and figs (at the Sapphire Hotel in Portland) - so whiskey naturally went into the cake. These were some distracting ingredients to make you not miss the eggs and milk this cake might have never needed.
Fig, Whiskey, and Olive Oil Cake (vegan and gluten free!)
- 1 cup semolina
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 teaspoons ground flax seeds
- 9 teaspoons hot water
- 1 cup dried figs, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups hot water
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup whiskey
- Powdered sugar for the top
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, pour 1 1/2 cups hot water over figs. Let sit.
In cup, combine the rest of the hot water and flax seeds.
Combine semolina, almond flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium sized bowl.Mix in olive oil, sugar, whiskey, and flax seed mixture. Stir until everything is smooth. Drain fig and add them in. Pour into a greased baking vessel of your choice and bake for about 30 minutes.
Cool and dust with powdered sugar, add extra figs for aesthetics!
