Order here.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Review: Pie
I purchased this beautiful zine a few months ago. It was a little pricey for a zine but 100% of the proceeds go to the Atlanta Community Food Bank so it was worth it. This is a full color zine with two very interesting pie recipes (Chocolate Chess Pie and Cranberry-Pecan Crumble Pie) and a plethora of quotes, stories and beautiful photos about pie. There is even a pie chart!
Order here.
Order here.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Ethiopian: Injera Recipe Review
Since I received Teff Love in the mail at the beginning of the month, I've been cooking all things Ethiopian. I've basically eaten nothing but Ethiopian food since this book arrived and it's been a deliciously good time!
There are two recipes for injera in Teff Love and one in Vegan Eats World. I decided to try them all and give you the run down.
Vegan Eats World, Ethiopian Savoury Crepes (206)
Method: 1 hour ferment
Ingredients: common pantry items
Difficulty: very simple
Taste: decent
While not an 'authentic' injera this recipe is easy, fast and reliable. It's perfect for the weekday injera fix.
Teff Love, long ferment (Ye'tef Injera, page 30)
Method: 6 day ferment (if you have to make the Ersho starter, 3 if you don't)
Ingredients: common pantry items
Difficulty: moderate, as it takes a few minutes of upkeep each day)
Taste: good
While this recipe does take a few days to develop the flavor is there and it isn't really that hard to do - it just takes a little planning.
Teff Love, short ferment (Quick Teff Crepes, page 33)
Method: instant
Ingredients: speciality items (vegan yogurt, carbonated water)
Difficulty: easy
Taste: After days and days of easy cooking injera, I was surprised to find that I couldn't make this recipe cook properly. It was failed crepe after failed crepe. After 1/2 the batter I simply gave up!
Overall, I would make the Vegan Eats World recipe for week-day Ethiopian feasts and go with the long fermented version offered in Teff Love for dinner parties, special occasions, and weekend meals because it does taste better.
Note: There is yet another recipe for injera in 'Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food' but I haven't tried it yet because it calls for urad dal which I haven't been able to source in Brandon yet.
There are two recipes for injera in Teff Love and one in Vegan Eats World. I decided to try them all and give you the run down.
Vegan Eats World, Ethiopian Savoury Crepes (206)
Method: 1 hour ferment
Ingredients: common pantry items
Difficulty: very simple
Taste: decent
While not an 'authentic' injera this recipe is easy, fast and reliable. It's perfect for the weekday injera fix.
Teff Love, long ferment (Ye'tef Injera, page 30)
Method: 6 day ferment (if you have to make the Ersho starter, 3 if you don't)
Ingredients: common pantry items
Difficulty: moderate, as it takes a few minutes of upkeep each day)
Taste: good
While this recipe does take a few days to develop the flavor is there and it isn't really that hard to do - it just takes a little planning.
Teff Love, short ferment (Quick Teff Crepes, page 33)
Method: instant
Ingredients: speciality items (vegan yogurt, carbonated water)
Difficulty: easy
Taste: After days and days of easy cooking injera, I was surprised to find that I couldn't make this recipe cook properly. It was failed crepe after failed crepe. After 1/2 the batter I simply gave up!
Overall, I would make the Vegan Eats World recipe for week-day Ethiopian feasts and go with the long fermented version offered in Teff Love for dinner parties, special occasions, and weekend meals because it does taste better.
Note: There is yet another recipe for injera in 'Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food' but I haven't tried it yet because it calls for urad dal which I haven't been able to source in Brandon yet.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Getting Over a Cooking Rut
I have been in a pretty serious food rut since I moved to Brandon from Toronto over the summer. I am not sure why this cooking rut has occurred but I was in the thick of it for many months. I had no desire to explore new recipes and as a consequent new vegan cookbooks arrived in my mail and were simply placed on the shelf and my food blog was all but dormant over the fall. I think the worst of my cooking rut is behind me now but here are a few ideas in case you are experiencing a cooking rut as well!
Acceptance:
Some cooking ruts are so deep that the best thing for them is simple acceptance: Take a break from the kitchen. Buy a few frozen pizzas or plow through that pile of freezer meals. Return to your tried-and-true family favourites. Give the kitchen to your significant other for a few nights.
Inspiration:
I think the surest way to get over a cooking rut is to get inspired. There are few ways to fight a cooking rut with inspiration: Buy (or loan) a new cookbook. Try a new restaurant. Cook with a friend. Host a potluck or a dinner party. Browse food recipes on sites like Tastespotting.
Re-vitalize.
Sometimes you just need a new approach: Start a new blog series. Tired of making Italian food? Start a blog series that focuses on Ethiopian or Mexican food. Make a few simple meals and spend the extra time deep-cleaning or organizing your kitchen. Browse restaurant menus online and try to replicate the meal you would have if you actually ate there. Try meal planning. Try not meal planning.
Future:
As your cooking rut won’t last forever, plan for when the rut is over: Order a food or cooking magazine subscription. Join a CSA. Ferment something - starting a vegetable ferment only takes a few minutes but the waiting time provides plenty of opportunity to discover recipes that use the fermented vegetable. Plan a five course meal in excruciating detail.
What are your tried and true methods of getting over a cooking rut?
Monday, February 2, 2015
Ethiopian Food
I moved to Brandon, Manitoba from the great cosmopolitan that is T dot and it has been quite the adjustment. For some reason my desire to cook and create in the kitchen was really affected by the move. However the forthcoming (and ordered) Kittee Berns cookbook, Teff Love, inspired me to create a huge Ethiopian meal. I followed the "Ethiopian Mesob Not be Missed" suggested meal plan from Vegan Eats World but included the Keysir Allecha (Beets) from Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food.
I really like how Kittee Berns uses traditional names for dishes and helps you learn a least a little about the language. Terry Hope Romero uses bland English names for all the dishes which is quite the disappointment.
The menu:
Cauliflower and Green Beans in Berbere Sauce (Vegan Eats World, 288) - really made potatoes and kale in Berbere Sauce.
Seitan Tibs Simmered in Berbere (Vegan Eats World, 168) - I used pressed tofu. I liked this dish.
Fluffly Scrambled Chickpea 'Eggs' with Shallots (Vegan Eats World, 269) - Decent but the recipe in Papa Tofu is much better.
Saucy Berber Lentils (Vegan Eats World, 165) - decent
Ethiopian Savoury Crepes (Vegan Eats World, 206)
Keysir Allecha (Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food, 50)
The injera recipe from Vegan Eats World was the best part of this meal. I couldn't find injera ready-made for purchase in Brandon and the last time that I purchased them (in Toronto) I got a stale batch. This recipe makes decent injera (better than stale ones) and is only a 2 hour wait! They are easy to cook up as well. They may not be 'authentic' but they will definitely do in a pinch! I still want to try the recipe in Papa Tofu but I like that this recipe can be cooked up easily and they do taste decent.
I purchased the berbere spice blend and it wasn't very vibrant. I think a combination of the spice blend and the non-authentic nature of the Vegan Eats World recipes made the entire meal seem sort of... bland. I am glad that I tried the recipes from Vegan Eats World but I will be returning to the recipes in Papa Tofu and in the forthcoming Teff Love.
The intention of the meal was to get me back into the kitchen as I had hoped that cooking a huge meal would get my culinary creative juices flowing and it has. I've been dreaming of a chocolate coconut carrot cake...
I really like how Kittee Berns uses traditional names for dishes and helps you learn a least a little about the language. Terry Hope Romero uses bland English names for all the dishes which is quite the disappointment.
The menu:
Cauliflower and Green Beans in Berbere Sauce (Vegan Eats World, 288) - really made potatoes and kale in Berbere Sauce.
Seitan Tibs Simmered in Berbere (Vegan Eats World, 168) - I used pressed tofu. I liked this dish.
Fluffly Scrambled Chickpea 'Eggs' with Shallots (Vegan Eats World, 269) - Decent but the recipe in Papa Tofu is much better.
Saucy Berber Lentils (Vegan Eats World, 165) - decent
Ethiopian Savoury Crepes (Vegan Eats World, 206)
Keysir Allecha (Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food, 50)
The injera recipe from Vegan Eats World was the best part of this meal. I couldn't find injera ready-made for purchase in Brandon and the last time that I purchased them (in Toronto) I got a stale batch. This recipe makes decent injera (better than stale ones) and is only a 2 hour wait! They are easy to cook up as well. They may not be 'authentic' but they will definitely do in a pinch! I still want to try the recipe in Papa Tofu but I like that this recipe can be cooked up easily and they do taste decent.
I purchased the berbere spice blend and it wasn't very vibrant. I think a combination of the spice blend and the non-authentic nature of the Vegan Eats World recipes made the entire meal seem sort of... bland. I am glad that I tried the recipes from Vegan Eats World but I will be returning to the recipes in Papa Tofu and in the forthcoming Teff Love.
The intention of the meal was to get me back into the kitchen as I had hoped that cooking a huge meal would get my culinary creative juices flowing and it has. I've been dreaming of a chocolate coconut carrot cake...
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