Super Tasty Wine Roasted Applesauce

Serves 4

• 12 small apples (or 8 large apples) – cored and sliced
• 1 cup sweet white wine (I used Riesling)
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground green cardamom – use more if it’s older
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons sugar – add more to taste
• a pinch of salt

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Put all the ingredients in a 9×13 pan with a lid and place in the oven, lid on.  It should take around 20 minutes for the apples to begin to soften.  Turn the heat up to 450, remove the lid, and bake for 10-15 more minutes, or until the apples begin to brown on top and the wine is nearly gone.  Spoon into a bowl and mash with a fork.  Or alternatively, blend for a smooth applesauce.  Add more sugar if necessary.  Enjoy!

My parents were blessed with an incredibly fruitful garden this year, and whenever they come up to visit, I find myself struggling to cook through all the summer vegetables.  Tomato soup and pico de gallo only go so far, so I’ve been dreaming up new ways to eat tomatoes. And basil.  And summer squash, winter squash, peppers, zucchini, etc.  So many vegetables!  Anyways, I came up with this quick “gazpacho” (I didn’t know what else to call it) that makes a great light lunch.

 The recipe isn’t very exact, but who follows recipes exactly anyways?

Not me, that’s for sure.

A Loose Guideline for Coconut Couscous Gazpacho

• 1 Cup (instant) couscous
• 1 Cup water
• 1 Cup white wine
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• Lots of fresh tomatoes, diced – I used little pear tomatoes, roma, and heirloom
• 1/8 Cup basil chiffonade
• 1 spicy pepper, chopped finely
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• Smoked paprika to taste
• Salt to taste
• Canned coconut milk
• veggie broth

In a small saucepan, bring the water and wine to a boil.  Toss in the couscous, cover, and remove from heat.  In another pan, heat with the coconut oil, then cook the spicy pepper and garlic.  Add a couple tablespoons of coconut milk, more white wine, and a pinch of salt and cook for a minute or so.  Stir in the freshly cooked couscous and remove from heat.  Stir in the chopped tomatoes and basil and more salt if needed.  Serve warm or chilled, topped with smoked paprika.

Yum.

Sprouted Hummus

• 1 1/2 cup sprouted chickpeas
• 1/2 cup sprouted fava beans
• 1/4 cup sprouted fenugreek seeds
• 1 head roasted garlic
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil plus 1 Tablespoon
• 2-3 Tablespoons tahini.
• 1/2 Tablespoon crushed dried chili
• Salt

Boil the sprouted chickpeas and fava beans for around 15 minutes.  Drain and allow to cool.  Throw in the food processor along with the fenugreek seeds, garlic, tahini, chili, and lemon juice.  Once well processed, pour in olive oil slowly while still processing.  Salt to taste.

For the salad:

I don’t really think this needs a real recipe with exact measurements. I used blanched kale and sweet peas, sauteed onions, diced tomatoes, and a bunch of fenugreek sprouts.   Add chopped thai chilis if you want a kick.  Top with a generous helping of the sprouted hummus.

Where did that picture of Dexter with crazy eyes come from?

This tart sort of created itself, and I was so pleased with it that it has become my go-to recipe for using up all those garden vegetables.  Roasted summer squash, peppers, garlic and onion create a rich, saucy filling that you’d never guess was so healthy.

For the Crust:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 cup coconut oil
• 6 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons ground flax*
• water as needed

Stir together the 6 tablespoons of water and flax and let sit.  Put the dry ingredients and coconut oil in a food processor and pulse.  Add flax seed mixture.  If dough is still not sticking together, add cold water as needed.

Refrigerate dough.

For the Filling:

• 2-3 summer squashes, cut vertically
• 1 onion, chopped in four
• 1 head of garlic
• 2 red bell peppers, halved
• sesame oil
• dash of salt
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 tomatoes
• fresh basil

Coat the summer squash, onion, garlic, and bell peppers in sesame oil and roast in a 400 degree oven.  When the veggies have cooled, toss in a blender and add a pinch of salt and the chili powder.  Begin blending, adding water in a thin stream until the vegetables have reached a thick, creamy consistency.

To Bake: 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Separate the tart dough in 2 and roll the dough out. Arrange the dough in 2 greased pie tins and place in the oven for 5-10 minutes.  Once removed, spread the vegetable filling evenly in each crust.  Return to the oven for around 20-30 minutes.  When the crust has reached a nice golden color and the filling has set, they are ready.  Serve with fresh tomatoes and basil on top.

*Note: if flax seeds aren’t your thing, an egg can be substituted.

When picking your own dandelion greens, the young small leaves have a much better taste – look for dandelions that haven’t flowered yet.  More mature leaves develop a bitter taste.

Sauteed Dandelion Greens, Portabella, and Basil Salad

• 1/3 cup fresh picked young dandelion greens
• fresh basil leaves
• 1/3 cup fresh spinach
• 5 baby portabellas
• 2-3 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup sake
• sea salt
• lemon juice to taste
• 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped

In a skillet, heat the garlic in the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the sake and portabellas and cook just until soft.  Toss the greens in and saute for a minute or two, being careful not to overcook them.  After removing from heat, add sea salt and lemon juice to taste.

Due to a myriad of reasons all pointing to my health – some more recent than others – I have decided, out of necessity, to switch to an all-vegan diet.  I was terrified at first but now I’ve realized it’s not so bad.  It’s actually quite fun.  You have to be more imaginative when you can’t rely on cheese and eggs.  And so now War and Yeast will be chronicling my adventure through vegan-hood.  (Although I still have quite a few non-vegan recipe’s I’ve been hoarding that I’ll post in the future.)

My sister and I recently had an Indian food themed potluck, and this was my contribution.  Delicious as a snack, appetizer or a meal on their own, samosas are ridiculously tasty little bundles of happiness.  I just had to tinker with the recipe and discovered that tamarind pulp and Thai fish sauce really enhance the flavor of the samosa.  Many people like to make chutneys to dip their samosas in, but I think they’ve got plenty of flavor on their own.  I recommend making samosas when you’ve got a couple hours to spare.  It takes some time to get used to the whole wrapping process – don’t get too sad if the first few samosas fall apart in the frying process.

For the Dough:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp semolina flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp oil
• 1/3 cup lukewarm water

For the Filling:

• 4 large boiled potatoes, chopped up in small to medium sized chunks
• 1-2 large onions
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
• 1-2 Tbsp freshly ground garam masala
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 chopped green chilies
• 3/4 cup frozen green peas, blanched
• 1 Tbsp tamarind pulp – mashed with 2 tbsp water in a bowl with a fork
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• thai vegetarian fish sauce to taste
• chili powder to taste
• oil as needed

Dice the onions and brown in a pan with the garlic and a small amount of oil.

In a large skillet (or pot) on medium heat, add two tablespoons of oil and the spices and chilis.   Add peas and potatoes and stir fry, adding water and oil as needed.  After a couple minutes, mix in the onions and garlic as well.  Let cook for an additional 3 or 4 minutes, then stir in the tamarind pulp, cilantro, and fish sauce until incorporated.  Remove from heat, and start building the samosas.

To Assemble:

Separate the dough into 6 or 7 separate balls.  Each of these should roll out to make 2 samosas.  Roll each ball out in a circle as thin as possible.  Cut the dough down the center, and begin assembly.  I am bad at explaining, so here’s Manjula doing her thing.  I eventually gave up on this magical cone shaped impossibility and started wrapping mine like burritos.  Whatever works for you.

Fill a pot with a couple inches of oil and heat to medium.  Drop in the samosas carefully, a few at a time, and cook until they are crispy and golden.

Enjoy!

We move now onto the second of the soup trio, a simple black bean soup.  I thought it would be fun to pull from the flavors of a mole sauce, so this soup is spiked with chili and cocoa.  It’s super simple to throw together, and absolutely delicious.

Black Bean Soup with Cocoa

• 1 lb dried black beans
• 1 can corn
• 2 tbsp captain morgan
• 2 tsp worchestershire
• 6-8 cloves roasted garlic, minced
• 2 onions
• butter or olive oil
• 1-2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp oregano
• red pepper flakes
• 1-2 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 cubes vegetable bouillon

Rinse off the black beans and soak them in a bowl.  At the same time, chop up the onions and throw them in a slow cooker with 4-8 tbsp butter on low for around 8 hours.  Once caramelized, chop up the bouillon cubes and add them to the onions, along with the spices and garlic.  Turn the slow cooker up to high and add the rest of the ingredients.  Add the liquid that the beans soaked in until the soup reaches your desired consistency, and cook on high for an hour.   Serve with cilantro and sour cream, or blue cheese.

I have a bunch of really good soup recipes up my sleeves, and was excited to post them until I realized it’s May.  Who eats soup in May?  At least I have a few excuses.

1- I had no food in my pantry except for the following ingredients.

2- Finals week is looming and I have no time for Fancy Things.

3- Soup is good, so let’s just pretend this isn’t strange.

Anyways, the other day I was frying some potatoes in garam masala when I accidently squished them.  Well, one thing led to another and before I knew it I was eating soup.  Delicious, spicy, vibrantly green soup.  This isn’t exactly traditional Indian cuisine, but the flavors of garam masala and coconut added a new, tasty dimension to potato soup.

Creamy Spinach and Potato Soup with Indian Spices

• 3-5 Russet potatoes, roasted or microwaved.
• 3-4 cups roughly chopped spinach
• 1 can coconut milk
• 4-5 tsp toasted garam masala, fenugreek seeds, black cardamom mixture
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• chili pepper flakes
• 2-4 Tbsp ghee*
• salt to taste
• water as needed

Dice the potatoes. Grind the spices together in a mortar and pestle. Then, heat the ghee on the stove and throw in the spices.  Fry the potatoes and garlic until golden with a crust, and squish them down a little bit.  Remove from heat and wash and chop the spinach.  Throw the spinach and coconut milk in a blender with a half cup of water and blend until smooth.  Add the potatoes and blend, adding more water until the soup is at your desired consistency.  Return to stove and cook on medium for 5 more minutes.  Serve with fresh cilantro and sriracha.

*Use oil to make it vegan

In other news, the iggy Dexter has gone outside > 20 times today and its only 2:30.  I can’t figure out if his motives are squirrels or treats?  If only I were a dog with no essays to write and only squirrels to chase.

This cake is one of the most ambitious baking projects I’ve completed yet, but it was oh-so worth it.  I have a confession – I don’t tend to enjoy cake usually, but this might have changed my mind.  The combination of marzipan, white chocolate pastry cream, sponge cake, and raspberry jam is to die for, and when this decadent cake is gone, you’ll find yourself aching for more.  It is important to remember that this cake is an all day operation, unless you spread the steps out over a few days.

I used a variety of recipes from other food blogs and you might have some leftover pastry cream at the end, but don’t worry because it is extremely delicious.

You can choose to make the marzipan and soaking syrup several days in advance. The pastry cream and genoise could made the day before cake assembly as well. I will post the separate components’ recipes first, then end with a description of how to assemble it.