Wednesday Food Blogging

Chocolate and Banana Fritters with Pistachio Dust

Better than ice cream.

These tasted so much like a banana split that my husband suggested adding dried cherries to the batter. Not a bad idea. In fact, I’d like to try these with some fresh cherries soon.

The original recipe wasn’t vegan, but I easily veganized it. I really don’t know why anyone bothers with eggs; they’re so easy to replace. And the result is so delicious—of course, chocolate and bananas pretty much guarantees delish.

Easy instructions below. 

Tuscan Kale with Cannelloni Beans and Polenta Points

Kale: Not just a winter vegetable anymore.

We had some leftover polenta in the freezer. My grocery delivery included Tuscan kale, called variously cavalo nero, lacinato kale, or dino kale—due to its rough-looking leaves.

Call it whatever you want, but do try to get your hands on some. It’s especially healthy, and like some other greens normally found in the sea, contains Omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid). Fortunately, Tuscan kale tastes nothing like seaweed. (It has a proud lineage: it was actually the precursor to modern cabbage and broccoli) It's a bit like chard, but tougher—dare I say, meatier.

If you don’t have polenta in the freezer, it’s easy to make from scratch. (Instructions here: note that that makes about twice as much as you'll need for this dish.)

Although kale is normally thought of as a winter vegetable, Tuscan kale will pop up in your farmers’ market throughout the spring and summer.

This recipe comes together quickly—here’s how: 

"Baptized in Vegan Land"

After a show featuring Kathy Freston, author of Quantum Wellness, talk show host Oprah Winfrey has gone on a 21-day animal product -free diet. In other words, a vegan diet.

You can read Oprah's blog here:

Wow, wow, wow! I never imagined meatless meals could be so satisfying.

See her recipes here.

Today, Oprah goes vegan...tomorrow, Martha Stewart?

Sun-Dried Tomato Focaccia

Is it dinner time yet?

Just looking at this photo of Sun-Dried Tomato Focaccia makes me want to go bake another batch. The sweet tomatoes, the crunchy salt, the spongy warm bread...oh, how my mouth does water! But then it is dinner time. Too bad I ate the last piece.

It's so easy to make focaccia—easier to make than to spell. I used oil-packed tomatoes; if you use dried, you'll need to rehydrate them in boiling water first.

One C, then two.

Keep reading for directions...

North Vietnamese Tofu Brochettes

The health benefits of soy are well documented. The latest Vegetarian Times says that women who include soy in their diets are less likely to develop breast cancer, and might reduce the risk of fibroids. The weaker phytoestrogens in soy compete with the harmful estrogen in a woman’s body, effectively blocking the “docking” of these estrogens that can lead to cancer.

So why not throw some tofu on the barbie? This recipe for North Vietnamese tofu brochettes originally included fish, but as I’ve often said, anything you can do with fish, I can do with tofu. The basting sauce, made with dill and green onions, was delicious, just the thing for a warm spring day.

While the tofu is marinating, I highly recommend taking a 6 mile hike, to increase your health benefits even more.

I served this with saffron rice and stir fried green beans with hoisin sauce and almonds. Peek below to find out how to make North Vietnamese Tofu Brochettes.

Food News, With Extra Hardee's

The gastronomically incorrect Hardee's: Selling high-caloric, unhealthy food increases the bottom line. (Sometimes the puns just write themselves.)

Speaking of burgers...did you know the oyster was last century's hamburger? "A little over a century ago, the New York street food of choice was the oyster, which grew so abundantly that rich and poor alike ate them in vast quantities." Despite the mindbending historical reference, I suspect reading the book review of Josh Ozersky's The Hamburger is more edifying than reading the book itself:

"One serious omission, though, is a realistic discussion of the scale of the industry it describes, which we all know is staggeringly large, but it is in fact even larger than most appreciate.  The amount of beef McDonald's alone uses in a year is so great that if the cows supplying its restaurants were all in one herd, and were being killed Blackfoot-style by stampeding them off a cliff 20 feet wide, McDonald's gauchos would have to be rushing the herd off that cliff from dawn to dusk, every day of the year, to satisfy demand. The pop and sizzle of hamburgers conceal the frantic moos of an unfathomable number of animals, and it would be nice to have some acknowledgment of their sacrifice."

After reading about such vast consumption of hamburgers, you should spend some time wondering: Is the world's food system collapsing? Cautionary quote: "As the world becomes richer, people eat too much, and too much of the wrong things—above all, meat." (Look for this slogan to appear on a Hardee's cup near you.)

"Why do Americans think they deserve to eat more than Indians?" Good question, and one that should be put not only to George Bush but to the CEO of Hardee's, Andrew Puzder.

The NY Times argues we should "leave our agricultural future to chefs and anyone who takes food and cooking seriously. We never bought into the “bigger is better” mantra, not because it left us too dependent on oil, but because it never produced anything really good to eat." Again, talk to Andrew Puzder.

Brewer's first baseman eschews the Wisconsin state vegetable, the bratwurst, in favor of avocado dumplings. Turns out a vegetarian diet and professional baseball are not incompatible. Take me out to the ballgame, just not to Hardee's.

Now the payoff: Free veggie burger! (Seriously. Click and print.)

Potato, Fennel and Asparagus Salad

Tangy lemon dressing + asparagus, potato and fennel = yumm!

British asparagus is in season now, so I take any excuse to put it on my plate. This Potato, Fennel and Asparagus salad is delicious, especially with the lemony dressing. You could vary the vegetables in this salad, using red onion instead of fennel, or baked sweet potato instead of the potato. Experiment, but do try to use the dressing—it really was the star of this salad.

The leftovers the next day went well with the warm spring day.

Vegetarian Myths, Debunked

Here's an article all of us vegetarians and vegans need to send to our friends: Vegetarian Myths, Debunked.

I've been vegetarian for a decade, and when it comes up, I still get a look of confused horror that says, "But you seemed so … normal." The U.S. boasts more than 10 million herbivores today, yet most Americans assume that every last one is a loopy, self-satisfied health fanatic, hellbent on draining all the joy out of life.

And, since this is a blog about food:

Every vegetarian is used to slim pickings when dining out, so we're not asking for much—just for something you'd like to eat. I'll even offer a handy trick. Pretend you're trapped in a kitchen stocked with every ingredient imaginable, from asiago to zucchini, but with zero meat. With no flesh available, picture what you'd make for yourself; this is what we want, too.

Read on.

French White Bean Soup

Serve it with Armanac. Why not?

When we stopped at a supermarket in France on the way home from The Netherlands, I went a little crazy in the produce section.

Like I mentioned below, I bought white asparagus on spec, but I also picked up courgettes, fresh spring garlic, fennel bulbs, and a lovely pot of basil. Our car smelled wonderful as we crossed the Channel.

A few days later, I soaked the cannelloni beans I've had for a while, determined to make a soup with many of my fresh French foods.

It came out beautifully. I especially liked the texture boost added by the baguette slices floated on top. They soaked up the fennel-flavored broth, just enough to make them cut-able with a spoon. The next night I decided to cut back on the oil, so I toasted the slices in a toaster instead of frying them in oil. Equally delicious, more toasty than oily.

Even if you don't go to France to get the ingredients, you can still make this at home. Here's how: