Crockpuffin.

The long cold winter is over.

Behold, my newly attained Goodwill crockpot has arrived. This crockpot is a beauty, too! With many fine attributes: a) It looks brand new. b) It's a lovely 70s orange. c) It's big. Big enough for several pounds of beans if I wish. d) I found an awesome glass lid that fits, so I could chuck the yucky plastic one that came with it. e)The ceramic crock comes out for handy clean-up.

I'm so in love. I broke it in today with my favorite chili. My favorite chili contains no chili powder, only a variety of dried chiles, cumin, onion, roasted veggies (eggplant, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms) and hominy. It's sh-picy.

Oh also--the other day I made really successful and delicious XgfX muffins.

These were adapted from the bakery style muffin recipe in Isa's Vegan Brunch.

• 2/3 cup Bryanna's XgfX flour mix
• 1/3 cup oat flour
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 1/4 cup Vegenaise
• 1/4 cup soy milk, plus extra to get the batter going (mine was too dry without)
• splash canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• handful chopped dry cherries (dry fruit review forthcoming)
• handful of vegan fair trade chocolate chips

Mix the dry ingredients together in one bowl, and the wet in another. Casually blend the two until just mixed. Fold in the fruit and chocolate. Scoop the batter evenly between six regular lined muffin tins. Bake in a 375F pre-heated oven for around 25 minutes, but keep an eye on 'em--mine were browning quickly.

xo
kittee

P.S. I have one Primal Strip left, so let me know if you want it and please live in the United States. Thanks!

Dia de Los Muertos

Rest in peace my friends and family.

xo
kittee

"Mooooooo!" Says the Vampire Cow.

I've been dying to make sugar skulls for a couple of years now, but how to substitute that tricky meringue powder? I was all set to try this year using Angel Food's vegan meringue cookie mix, when my friend Katie came to my rescue. She's had luck subbing Ener-G Foods Egg Replacer, and told me to give it a go. So I popped on over to this awesome Day of the Dead shop on Alberta and invested in a mold and just now, I have seven pink sugar skulls drying on my ironing board.

They're all firm and stuff! I was able to pick them up! No crumbling!

To those that have asked for a tutorial, the instructions that come with the mold are extremely detailed. Simply sub the egg replacer 1:1 for the powdered meringue. Tomorrow I'll try subbing it in the royal icing I use for decorating them, so expect a report back on how that works, too.* The instructions recommend not dying the sugar for first timers, but I disagree. Since I went ahead and added some rose colored Wilton paste to my water, I felt it made it easier for me to make sure the water was evenly mixed with the sugar. Personally, I won't mind a different colored seam connecting the front with the back of the skull, but if this bothers you, you can leave the step out.

*ETA: I used the powdered egg replacer in the royal icing recipe as well, and it was perfect. I doubt it would be tasty to eat, but it dried on rock hard, which is what's wanted here. For small color batches, I used 1 cup vegan powdered sugar, 2 heaped tablespoons powdered egg replacer, and 1/6 cup water (half of 1/3 cup) mixed with Wilton color paste. If your mixture is runny, add more powdered sugar until you get something pretty thick and sticky.

Happy Halloween!

xo
kittee

P.S. gwgjoan is getting a Primal Strip. I have one left, so leave me a comment if you want it!

Bun That Goes Woof.

Have you ever loved a food so much you named your dog after it? Our fuzzy pooch pop is named for one of my most favorite things to eat, from my most favorite restaurant ever, which shut its doors forever in 2007. Vee Seven Berns-Kerns is named for the most awesome vegan Vietnamese bun (boon) served at Cafe Dalat in Arlington, VA. R.I.P. Cafe Dalat, I miss you very much. Real tears were shed when this restaurant closed, so what could I do but name our dog in tribute and as testament to my deep and unending noodle love?

This dog, really is a noodle bowl. If you've ever met him, you know this to be true.

Bun comes in all sorts of variations, but is basically a rice noodle bowl topped with fresh vegetables, protein (sometimes chunks of springrolls), nuts and doused in a tangy dressing. Dalat's version was true perfection: warm soft chewy vermicelli, topped with lightly steamed broccoli, fried tofu, carrot and daikon pickle, fresh cilantro, crispy fried shallots, chopped peanuts, with a very delicious broth on the bottom of the bowl. To enjoy properly, it was encouraged to toss from the bottom to the top and then eat and slurp--chopsticks made it more delicious (I learned this method from the wait staff who would always pause by my table and motion with their hands to toss from the bottom).

If you're ever in Northern Virgina and crave vegan bun, there's a good version to be had in Annandale at Pho Hot, but it sure won't replace good ol' V7, and no one will come by to make sure you're tossing and enjoying it properly. It's lonely bun, folks.

When I'm in the mood, I make my own bun, which is pretty good--quite tasty and refeshing. But still, it doesn't come close to V7, that shit was unbelievable. The dressing is basically a vegan nuoc cham: squeeze a few limes' worth of juice, mix it with sugar and warm water to get a very tasty lime-aid. Once you get the juice to the point where you would gladly chug it down on a hot summer's day, mix in a generous amount of salt, a splash of wheat-free tamari and a spoonful of red chili/garlic sauce.


Bun noodles are pretty easy to find in East Asian groceries as the word "bun" will be right smack on the front of the rice noodle package. I like to buy the brand that comes with a convenient carrying handle. One day I hope to own my own bun pocketbook or suitcase or something. Here's the bowl breakdown (from the other day, this often changes depending on what's in the fridge):

1. Bun rice noodles, cooked until soft then rinsed and cooled to room temperature.
2. Steamed broccoli spears (to save time throw them in while the noodles are cooking, then pull them out and throw into an iced water bath).
3. Seeded cucumber spears.
4. Fresh cilantro.
5. Fried tofu chunks (mine had bits of shallots in 'em).
6. Sliced bell peppers.
7. Mushroom Fluff or VegeUSA's shreddy soy stuff (optional).
8. Daikon carrot pickle--do chua (mine's pink 'cuz the radish I used was a beautiful pink heirloom variety).
9. Top with chopped nuts (roasted peanuts are ideal) and Sriracha or chili garlic paste and for extra yumminess--fried, crispy onions or shallots.

Layer it all together with some of the lime dressing and enjoy. It's super refreshing cold out of the fridge, too--just don't forget--tossing is the key.

xo
kittee

P.S. Trinity is getting the next Primal Strip. Lemme know in a comment if you want one, too.

XgfX Action.

A few days ago, Carlyn posted these perfect looking peanut butter cookies, which spurred me to try making a gluten free version. Having a full bin of The Devil's Baking Mix in the freezer, and a big desire for warm cookies I gave it a shot.

Besides using the non wheat flour mix, my only change was to stir in a handful of chocolate chips. At first, I hated the way these tasted, but after sitting for a day, I rather like them. Dazee was a huge fan right off the cooling rack, but for me, I could detect an off putting beany note. I come from the no beans in my baked goods school, so this was a bummer. I swear the xanthan gum leaves a slimy residue in my mouth, am I making this up? Since I keep hearing about the virtues of sorghum flour, it's next on my list of flours to try.

At least they are very pretty.

Then yesterday, I was on my way to a holiday food kinda potluck and decided to make a XgfX cabbage and mushroom galette (based on this one, but modified a bit) along with these amazing caramelized shallots. Holy crap, make the shallots--they were so delicious (I just subbed Earth Balance and balsamic vinegar). I also made my mom's fruit compote, 'cuz there ain't nothing like the holidays without it. I love the way the sticky juice liquid melds with savory things like stuffing and potatoes on my plate.

Gluten free potluck tag, galette pre-baking.

For the galette, I made the pandowdy crust I wrote about recently, sans sugar. The crust came together well, it had a nice flavor with the roasted hazelnuts, but this time, the texture was overly crumbly; disappointingly so. Especially after using all the spendy ingredients. Mitten Machen is also on the search for a sturdier vegan and gluten free pie crust, so if you can help us, please holler. Still, I just ate the leftovers and it was yummy, just not as perfect as I want.

xo
kittee

P.S. Hannah is getting the last XgfX Primal Strip, but I still have a few gluten-y ones. Comment on this post if you want one!

Smoky X3.

It might not be everyone's thang, but me and liquid smoke, we get along just fine. I like to use it (sparingly) in all kinds of things including my popcorn. Yes! Toss some popped corns in a bit of nooch, hot sauce, liquid smoke and salt. It's a true smoky delight. I really do eat it that way, but I also use it in a lot of my Southern cooking kinda dishes: red beans, collards, breaded protein circles (for dazee), Creole gumbo or anything I want to veganize that might have had ham hock or andouille in the meaty original.

This is my favorite brand of liquid smoke, I get it at the People's co-op. It's made in CA and is completely free of preservatives and crappy stuff, including caramel color. It's just the pure extracted liquid essence of smoked hickory--whatever that means.

Liquid smoke can be cloying if added in excess, so I use it very carefully--always remember and never forget: just a wee bit goes a long way. However, there are all sorts of other smoky elements you can add or use besides liquid smoke, to help build a smoky, but not overpowering essence to your food. I am particularly fond of smoked salt. I actually cook with it in recipes instead of using it as a finishing salt, I don't find it too strong at all and feel like it adds a much more nuanced flavor than you might get from liquid smoke alone. It's pretty spendy for salt, but totally worth it for the flavor-punch it provides (that's it all bagged up in the photo above).

Yesterday thanks to my friend John, I picked up a wee jar of Bakon from Food Fight, the famous vegan grocery store, which happens to be a quick jaunt from our abode. I had no idea this magical powder (smoked torula yeast) was still being produced, so I was quite titillated to scoop some up. Back in like '93, I had a huge bag of it squirreled away in my freezer, and reuniting with it will be like meeting long lost friends at a sleazy downtown hotel, with a new hairdo and a good bra--you know, the best of good times.

See? There's nothing really bad in there folks. All vegan, all XgfX, all smoky-tasty goodness.

Once we get a little more settled in New Portleans, with a little patch of dirt to call our own, I plan on plugging in my Alton Brown flower pot smoker, to see how that action works. The premise of the smoker is brilliant, and it cost very little to put together, so that bitch better work or I am gonna be one bummed little princess (especially considering I dragged it all across this wide country of ours). My dream? To marinate a big fluffy white extremely pressed block of tofu in some liquid smoke, savory broth, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and a touch of maple syrup. Then to faithfully rub it with Bakon and hickory smoked salt, and smoke it in my homemade earthen contraption. With a little smoky love, all is possible.

xo
kittee

P.S.
I can't believe I left out my two other favorite smoky foods (thanks to readers for reminding me):
1. Smoked paprika (from Spain, mild and delicious)
2. Chipotles (smoked jalapeno peppers--buy them whole for beans or powdered for more versatility).

P.P.S. No one in the comments yesterday mentioned they wanted a Primal Strip, so there's no one to give one too. Tragic! Please help me unload these chewy snacks, the next winner gets the last gluten-free one I have. Please lemme know in the comments to this post if you want it.

I pucker for injera.

I've been meaning to make some preserved lemon or lemon pickle for a few weeks now. I keep buying organic lemons and either zesting them for other recipes, or just letting them dust-up and harden on the counter. Two days ago, however, I ran into Limbo because a little bird informed me they sell smoked salt, and I wanted to stock my Louisiana arsenal for some good recipe devising. Lo, besides the longest wall stuffed with jars of every herb and spice imaginable, there was also a bunch of cheap and local organic produce to procure. Including a barrel-o'- lemons for ten cents each. Yes ma'am, organic lemons for ten cents each; a bargain so steep I could not avert my eyes. So of course being the glutton I am, I purchased a sackful, skipped on outta there for the dog park and immediately abandoned 'em to a lonely corner once I got home.

The lemons are cloudy due to tons of salt, necessary to keep evil things from growing up in there.

But this morn', I woke determined not to let those cheap fruits go to waste, and the result of my mental perseverance stands as evidence in a murky pool of liquid on the left side of the photos you see before you.

Once I started having fun with the lemons and the lovely quart sized Mason jar, I didn't want to stop. So I also whipped up what I hope will be the beginning of some oat flour sourdough starter, which if all goes well, will be manipulated into XgfX injera. Please, if anyone has suggestions for wheat, barley or rye free starters, lemme know quick. I am ashamedly inexperienced in the starter business department; my determination comes solely from a deep burning desire to eat Ethiopian food without a fork. I am bad at starters, but good at Ethiopian eating.

The lemons were stuffed into a jar with sea salt, cut into hinged quarters, rubbed with more sea salt and then covered with freshly squeezed lemon juice. The vapid starter was begun with 1/2 cup oat flour mixed with 1/2 cup warm water and mixed well to incorporate homogeneously.

xo
kittee

P.S. Megan is getting gluten filled Primal Strip #12. Only one more XgfX chew stick left (but several regular ones still in stock).