Wednesday Food Blogging

Wasabi Potato Salad

 

For your Independence Day picnic: Wasabi Potato Salad

When I saw that the White House had served Wasabi Potato Salad at its luau the other day, I knew I had to try that. After all, anything Michelle Obama can do, I can do better. Okay, maybe not, but I figured my Wasabi Potato Salad would be better than hers, and vegan to boot.

First I tried Google, and found some unappetizing non-vegan recipes. No help there; I was on my own.

Fortunately I had some salad potatoes. You must have good salad potatoes if you're attempting to make potato salad. If you live in America, you probably can't find any good potatoes, in which case you need to come to Britain. Tickets are cheap now; American Airlines is offering a deal. When you get here, look for Charlotte, Maris Peer, Anya, or the variety I used, red Roseval. All are small and have a waxy flesh, ensuring a clean slice with your knife.

Procuring potatoes is the most difficult part of making this salad. It's ridiculously easy. Normally I don't prefer mayonnaise-based salad, primarily because I don't eat mayo, but you really need mayo to mix with the wasabi paste. It's pretty easy to find vegan mayo, and my version doesn't call for much.

I also added toasted pecans, but no onions. Onions introduce a taste you just don't want. Celery is fine, and altogether, not counting salt, this recipe only has five ingredients! Which means you can easily make it for your Fourth of July picnic.

Provided, of course, you visit the Mother Country first for those potatoes.

Here's how:

Food news, Sunday edition

News alert: don't cut your carrots before cooking them. No word on if you should peel them.

What not to eat: supermarket salad.

What's fatter than the Fat Duck? The Fat Duck in London: Heston announces new restaurant in London.

What to do with chiles: Make hand grenades.

I have never wanted to grow my own. But some people learn the hard way.

From what I'm reading, in the U.S. coconut is the new soy. It will be awhile before the trend hits the UK, sadly.

Sparkling water is still bottled water. And also tastes nasty.

Burger King have finally figured out that sex sells. Seriously. (I stick with their BK Veggie whenever I visit the States.)

Good news: Most of the NY Times Healthy Foods for Under $1 are vegan. 

Blog friend Chris discovers the Carnivore's Dilemma. My sympathies, but really, a vegan diet is better than you imagine.

Comfort food: Vegan (Not) Meat Loaf

Like Momma's, only better!

After being sick for a week, I needed comfort food. My digestive system seemed to be working again, but the thought of spicy or acidic food—the mainstays of my diet—didn't appeal.

The situation called for potatoes, mashed. Comfortable, easy cooking, and with the delicious Red Mozart potatoes from Waitrose, a simple mash was taken to new levels.

But what to serve with my bowl of perfect mashed potatoes? Meat loaf. Not, of course meat loaf, but something resembling the comfort food of home, with plenty of ketchup on top.

Fortunately I had a couple of hours until dinner, because this loaf doesn't come together in minutes, the way many of my recipes do. No five-ingredient recipe, this: Brown rice, mushrooms, lentils, pecans, oatmeal—even a carrot made its way into my loaf, plus healthy flax seeds. And I smeared the top with plain old Heinz ketchup. The result? Better than mom used to make. Lots better. And lots healthier too—needless to say, the old style meat loaf doesn't contain fiber, or any anti-oxidents, but it does contain lots of fat and cholesterol.

So try (Not) Meat Loaf instead of meat loaf the next time you're longing for comfort food. As a bonus, it's even better the next day!

Food News: Calorie-laden edition.

Sorry for my absence of late; I was on vacation in the Alps where I was not enjoying good food. Still not up to eating adventurous edibles, so don't look for recipes from me this week. (One note: I should say I discovered boil-in-a-bag rice in Austria. Not bad.)

Let's talk calories. The Whopper with cheese has 62% of your daily recommended calorie intake. And something called "Fried Macaroni and Cheese" has more calories than a stick of butter—and 69 grams of saturated fat. Don't you think restaurants should have to post this information on their menus? The Senate thinks so too, and plans to include such requirements in the health-care reform bill.

Speaking of fast food, I haven't seen this Burger King commercial, but it sounds creepy. Also sounds like it's not working.

And, the twelve most expensive foods. There are actually a few of those I'd eat, including the diamond martini. Though right now I'd prefer the Tieguanyin tea.

Should we tax meat? Or simply allow its cost to reflect the true cost of producing it?

Don't believe Mother Jones; the White House garden is not "contaminated".

An interesting article about tempeh, that almost put me off tempeh. Can't get over that image of dirty feet making tempeh? Try these slides.

How does a chocolate chip cookie wield such power? Even over the head of the FDA?

The benefits of red wine, from lowering risk for Alzheimer's disease to reducing the harmful effects of smoking.

Now, go burn some calories.

Southwestern Enchiladas

A taste of the Southwest, veganized and climatized.

About the only American food I ever really long for is Southwestern. Corn, black beans, chipotles, tortillas—all rarely seen on British menus, but often found on my stove.

My daughter couldn't believe I paid so much for fresh sweetcorn, sold already shucked here, and very dear. I wasn't sure what I'd do with it, but as I shaved the kernels from the cob, I decided to roast it and use it in a filling for enchiladas.

These featured two different types of vegan cheeze, black beans, and a green chile. The sauce I created in my blender with some leftover chipotle peppers, which add a nice kick to otherwise bland ingredients.

This was also the debut of my new camera, which has a "food" setting. The only problem was, I couldn't wait to eat so I had to photograph the leftovers. What you see are cold enchiladas.

I served white wine, rather than the usual margaritas. Because this is still Britain, after all.

Food News to fill you up

Did you know there's an island off the coast of Greece where one out of three people live into their nineties? And that they eat a lot of greens and drink herbal tea?

"My bologna has a first name, it's c-a-n-c-e-r". That's right; your bologna is full of carcinogens. Don't eat it. (Unless it's vegan, of course, then it's not called c-a-n-c-e-r.)

And for good measure, try these cancer fighting grains: kasha, quinoa, millet, and spelt.

Here's the gossip section of this publication: Well-known food writer runs into the Obamas at her neighborhood restaurant.

(Sequé) When I go through Germany next week, I'm going to look for this, Spicy Obama Mustard.

"Your waistline in charts": Food prices over time. Conclusion: Not only should we tax bad-for-you foods, but we should subsidize healthy foods.

In green tea news: Green tea is good for your teeth. And your knees.

Something to do with those obnoxious weeds: Put them on your pizza.

I really love this weight-loss tip: Eat bread with olive oil to curb hunger pains.

British supermarkets are accused of destroying the rainforest by selling meat from irresponsible farms. Well duh! Not only are cows grazed on former rainforest land in Brazil, but where do you think animal feed given to your local cows and chickens comes from?

Just in case you were wondering, Pringles are potato chips. (Though I must warn you, the Pringles you get here don't taste the same as US Pringles. They're even more like cardboard here, if that's possible.)