Down the Rabbit Hole

When I decided to use Disney movies as part of my theme for Vegan MOFO, I went and looked up a list of all the Disney movies on Wikipedia.  I haven't counted them all, but there's well over 200.  Ay yi yi!  How to narrow this down?  I could do just animated films, but that would exclude some of my very favorite movies.  And then, some movies don't lend themselves to a food theme at all.  Just go chronologically?  Well, I've already messed that up by skipping Pinocchio, and then I'd definitely never get to some of my favorite newer films.

I finally decided to pick movies that I enjoy, that inspire me to cook, and to present them in mostly chronological order.  To that end, I give you today's film:  Alice in Wonderland.

The funny thing about this film is that I don't really like Alice that much.  She's kind of a brat. But there are so many other wonderful characters in this movie:  The Mad Hatter (obviously!), the Cheshire Cat, the Red Queen, the White Rabbit, the Hookah-smoking Caterpillar, the Dormouse... hurrah! 

We're definitely heading to a Mad Vegan Tea Party!

A few words about tea:
"English TEA refers to both a drink and to a social ritual. Tea the drink is served strong and milky; if you want it any other way, say so.  Tea the social ritual centers around a meal. Afternoon high tea includes salads, sandwiches, and pastries... Cream tea, a specialty of Devon and Cornwall, includes toast, shortbread, crumpets, scones and jam, accompanied by delicious clotted cream (a cross between whipped cream and butter).  Most Brits take short tea breaks each day; mornings ("elevenses"), and afternoons (around 4 pm).  Sunday takes the cake for the best tea day; the indulgent can while away a couple of hours over a pot of Earl Grey, a pile of buttered scones, and the Sunday supplements."  -Let's Go Britain

I'm thinking whipped coconut cream as a replacement for the clotted cream?  British vegans, please report immediately!

Here's my recipe for scones.  Please serve warm with earth balance and jelly!

British Scones

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup margarine
1/8 cup white sugar
1/2 cup non-dairy milk + 2 T.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Put the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Stir to combine.  Rub in the margarine until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Stir in the sugar and enough milk to make a soft dough.  Turn out onto a floured surface, knead lightly and roll out to a 3/4 inch thickness.  Cut into 2-inch rounds and place on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with milk to glaze.  Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.  Serve with butter, cream and jam. 

I apologize for this really crappy picture.  My computer died today and I'm typing this on my son's laptop that he let me borrow. I was lucky to get this crappy phone picture even loaded.  At least I got to eat that scone!

Caramba! Now we're three gay caballeros!

The next movie I decided to cover from the Disney film archive is The Three Caballeros.  Believe it or not, we actually own a copy of this, because my husband is just that nutty about Disney stuff. 

Jose Carioca, Panchito Pistoles, and Donald Duck!  Caramba!

This is one of those strange hybrid animation-live action Disney films, and it's basically one long, singing travel advertisement for Latin America.  I think I have a soft spot for this film because it reminds me of Disney World more than anything else special about it.  Jose Carioca always makes me think of the Enchanted Tiki Room, and they've added The Three Caballeros to the boat ride in Mexico in Epcot.  Huzzah!  Viva Mexico! Check out the dancing ladies with fruit on their heads!  Eat lots of yummy food!! Caramba!

It also makes me feel nostalgic for Sunday nights, watching the Wonderful World of Disney.  Entertainment, cartoons, and slightly educational! Who could ask for more? I have fuzzy memories of all five of us kids slopping in and out of the bathtub, getting in our jammies, and then running downstairs to watch T.V. Yay Disney!

My tribute to The Three Caballeros is in enchilada form:  I give you The Three Enchiladas!

I'm guessing most of you are familiar with the Veganomicon and Isa Does It! versions of enchiladas.  I highly recommend these recipes (Potato-Kale Enchiladas and Nirvana Enchilada Casserole) if you want some super fantastic enchilada recipes from the vegan superstars.

My version took the form of one potato, one mushroom, and one spinach enchilada snuggled up next together, covered in enchiladas verde sauce from a can (sometimes I'm too lazy to make my own enchilada sauce), and a quicky cheezy creamy sauce to top it off.  Enjoy!

Ready to go in the oven!

The Three Enchiladas

One package of corn tortillas
about 3 medium yellow potatoes, diced into 1/2" cubes
One small box (8 oz?) mushrooms (I used criminis), sliced thin
One 10-oz bag fresh baby spinach
salt, pepper, and other seasonings of your choosing (I used a little homemade Emeril's Essence spice mix)
Olive oil
About 3 cloves garlic, minced
One small yellow onion, diced
One large-ish can enchiladas verde sauce
One recipe Creamy Cheezy Sauce (below)
Tofutti sour cream for topping

1. Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover with water, and boil for 10 minutes or so until tender.  Drain and set aside.
2. Heat up a small non-stick skillet over  medium to medium-high heat and add about 1 T. olive oil.  Add the boiled potatoes and fry for about five minutes.  Add seasonings to taste.  Add a little minced garlic and diced onion and cook another minute or two.  Dump onto a plate and set aside.
3. Put your skillet back on the heat, add more olive oil and saute the mushrooms.  Season as above.
4. Repeat for the spinach.  You should now have three fillings ready to go.
5. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F, and spray an 8x8" square glass casserole dish with cooking spray.  Spoon about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce into the bottom of the dish.
6.  Wrap about six tortillas at a time in a damp paper towel and heat in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Put one tortilla on a cutting board and fill with potatoes. Roll up and put in dish.  Now do a mushroom one, and put it next to the potato tortilla.  Now do a spinach one. Continue to fill tortillas, alternating the placement of the fillings in the dish.
7.  Cover the enchiladas with as much of the remaining enchilada sauce as necessary to make sure everything is good and covered and saucy.
8.  Now drizzle on some of your cheezy sauce.  Throw it in the oven and bake for about half an hour.  Serve with sour cream, rice and beans! (Shredded lettuce would be good too.  And avocado!)

Creamy Cheezy Sauce:

Melt two tablespoons of Earth Balance in a small saucepan, and add about 3 T. flour.  Stir and cook for about five minutes over low heat.  Pour in about one cup unsweetened almond milk.  Turn up heat to medium and continue stirring (preferably with a whisk) until thickened.  Now stir in some cheeze.  I was going to use some Daiya cheddar slices, but they had gone moldy.  Bummer!  So I just added some parmezan sprinkles, nutritional yeast, mild white miso, mustard, and lemon juice.  Ta da!  (And salt and pepper to taste!)  If you have extra cheezy sauce, pour some on top of your refried beans before heating in the oven.

Big pile o' mushrooms ready to be sauteed with onions and garlic!

Potato, mushroom, and spinach fillings ready to roll

Served with Saffron-Garlic Rice from Veganomicon, and Taco Bell Refried Beans from a can.  Cuz that's how I roll.

Dining with the Mouse - Vegan Style!

Huzzah!  It's Vegan Mofo 2014, which means it's time to dust off the blog and get posting again! Last year, I totally freestyled my vegan mofo blogging, but this year I'm going with a theme:  Vegan recipes to accompany favorite Disney movies.  Disney is a big part of our lives, as you'll come to see in the next month.  We go to Disney World every couple of years; we bought our kids OneShare of stock in Disney; we have Disney dishes; we have lots of Disney toys, and lots of Disney movies. 

I'm kicking off my month with the first Disney full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, aka The Zombie Princess. 

Everyone's seen this image by now, haven't they?

I have to admit, I never made the connection until I saw the Macbook stickers.  It just makes her all the more endearing, don't you think? 

We re-watched Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs yesterday, and it's actually better than I remembered.  I found the animation a little strange at times, since the actions of Snow White and the Prince and the beautiful Queen are all based on live actors, and the rest of the characters are total goofballs. But the dwarfs ARE really funny, and the Evil Queen is scary as hell.  What more could you ask for?

Obviously the recipes inspired by this film would have to involve apples. So what did I choose?  Homemade apple butter, accompanied by the most decadent fried bread - my mom's Doughdabs.  I'm guessing most of you have had fried dough of some sort before - there's navajo fry bread, elephant ears, fried biscuits, and so on.  But nothing beats my mom's doughdabs, hands down.  We have these every Christmas for breakfast, and it is a treat my whole family looks forward to.  I've never seen anybody else make them quite like this, either.  My mouth is watering just writing this. 

My daughter, Caileigh, when she was about three years old.  A doughdab lover even then!

Now, I'm going to be sort of a big cheater here, and not really give you a recipe for the Homemade Apple Butter.  Because honestly, it's not like I've developed my own top secret recipe for the stuff.  We just use the Ball Blue Book recipes for most of our preserving, and I recommend them to you.  But here's a fancy recipe for Apple Butter that looks pretty yummy if you really insist that I provide you with one,. I think the real reason homemade anything tastes better is because, duh, you made it yourself.  And apple season is coming up, so do it!

Okay, so on to the REALLY SUPER IMPORTANT RECIPE! 

Mom's Doughdabs 

1 package frozen white bread loaves

Vegetable oil cooking spray

Vegetable oil

Toppings:

Earth Balance

Cinnamon sugar

Jelly

Apple Butter

The night before:  Remove bread loaves from freezer – plan on getting about 4-5 doughdabs per loaf and defrost as many as necessary.  Put loaves in large bowl(s) sprayed with vegetable oil - about two loaves per bowl.  Spray tops of loaves.  Cover with plastic wrap and set in a draft-free place overnight.

The next morning:  Cut each loaf into 4-5 pieces.  Put a piece of dough in one hand and a large two-pronged fork in the other.  Spear the dough with the fork and begin stretching and wrapping the dough around the tines of the fork.

You want to end up with an oval-shaped, rolled-up piece of dough.  Secure the end of the dough to the roll by pinching lightly with your fingers.  Gently slide the roll off the end of the fork and place it on an oil-sprayed piece of aluminum foil.  Continue shaping all the rolls.  

Heat several inches of vegetable oil in a large stockpot over medium to medium-high heat.  You want the oil to be hot enough to cook the doughdabs throughout, without burning the outside before the inside is cooked (If you want to use a thermometer, I would guess that the oil should be between 350 to 375 degrees).  You may have to adjust the heat slightly throughout the cooking process.  Cook about 3-4 doughdabs at a time; turning them in the oil as they brown.   

When the doughdabs are golden brown and puffed up, remove with a slotted spoon to drain on a paper-towel lined plate.  You can keep the doughdabs warm in a low-temperature oven while you continue cooking all of the rolls.  Serve with butter, cinnamon sugar, apple butter and jelly.  You can either unroll the doughdabs or enjoy them whole!

The Pistachio Health Institute

...would like you to report the nut aisle immediately.

Luxury Pistachio Pudding Pie from Vegan Pie in the Sky

Marie, the baguettes!

The PPK started a conversation about bread, and someone posted a link to this recipe for 4-Hour Baguettes, and I knew I was gonna have to give it a shot.

I really need to change my tablecloth.

I love making bread, and every weekend I will make either bagels or rolls or pizza dough or something involving yeast.  It's like therapy - I can feel all the stress from the work week oozing out of me as I knead the dough.

This dough was really lovely - it had a wonderful texture and bounciness.  I'm not an expert bread maker by any stretch of the imagination, but I wonder if it was due in particular to the 20 minute rest period, which the recipe said was to make sure the flour was well-hydrated?  I might have to try this with all my doughs.

In any case, as one person noted on the PPK discussion, it's not as if the making of the dough itself is particularly different from any other yeasted bread recipe - it's the baking and crustiness and chewiness that make baguettes special.  Verdict?  These were delicious, and had a pretty good crust, although I would say they leaned more to chewy than crunchy-crusty.  I was a little disappointed in the airiness/bubbliness of the inside, although it was soft and tasty.  A little too salty for my liking - I wasn't sure what "diamond crystal" kosher salt was exactly?  I had kosher salt, so I used 4 tsp. as instructed.  I think I will cut back to 2-3 tsp. next time.  In any case, not as good as a French bakery - but delicious and a great homemade version.  Plus, putting the ice cubes into the hot skillet was fun.  I will definitely make these again!

Ready to bake! Slits cut with kitchen shears.

I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.

And here's a bonus shot for you of some totally fabulous Spumoni whoopie pies I made.  These were a riff off of Kittee's Papa Tofu recipe.  I will post my Spumoni variation tweaks next time.  Cheers!

One side chocolate, one side cherry, and pistachio buttercream filling! OMG.

Too busy to blog, and other lame excuses

Oy vey!  It's been a rough winter so far.  Too much snow, too much limping.  Remember how I told you in early December I had surgery on my in-grown toenails?  Yeah, well it didn't take on one toe, and I had to have it re-done.  And O.M.G. it hurt SO MUCH MORE the second time around.  My podiatrist really had to get in deep to get to where the toenail was growing back. Plus, we've had major snowfalls for the past two months, and I've had to wear my sandals with socks, 'cause regular shoes were too painful.  So, here's your big spoiler:  there's a really disgustingly gross photo of my toe at the end of this post.  Scroll to the end at your own discretion.

I kept myself busy, though, by re-covering my couch pillows. They were getting all ratty and gross, so I had myself some fun:

And of course, there's been plenty of cooking!  I got Isa Does It! for Christmas, and I think it is her best cookbook yet!  Just about every recipe I've tried has been awesome.  I've made the Orange-Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake three times already.  Here's some pics of stuff from IDI:

Cheesy Broccoli Soup and Olive Oil Bread for Soup

Chandra Malai Kofta over brown rice and homemade naan

Peachy-Raspberry Cobbler for breakfast!

Sticky Orange Chicky with brown rice

I've also made: both chewy granola bar recipes, Chai Snickerdoodles, Just Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Zucchini Cake (Yeah, yeah, I think I'm almost through the dessert chapter!), Kitchen Sink Cookies, Rosemary Chocolate Chip Cookies, Marbled Banana Bread, the spaghetti & meatballs recipe (I can't remember what she calls that), Glam Chowder, Curry Garlic Fries, White Wine Risotto, the Pizza Bowl, the Curry-Peanut whatever Bowl.... and more!  Holy shit, get this book.  I'm not kidding!

It's starting to warm up down here, and my foot is better (we even went hiking yesterday!), so I hope to bring you a recipe soon.  Here's the family selfie from our hiking trip at Shakertown yesterday, and the dreaded toe picture follows.  Cheers!

We're naturally obnoxious.

Silver nitrate is a horrible, horrible thing.

Post-Holiday Recovery

So, the holidays happened.  And this blog didn't.  Mea maxima culpa!

THANKSGIVING!

Hello, you bad boy.  Get in mah tummy!

 As promised in my last post (you remember that, right?), I made my version of Vegetarian Times No Turkey-Turkey for Thanksgiving.  But this year I went all out and shaped these little babies into puff pastry turkeys!!  And they turned out beautiful and delicious.  Winner-winner, seitan dinner! 

I like to think of this recipe as more of a method then an actual recipe.  I just use my favorite seitan recipe (chicken-style), any basic stuffing (this happened to be a cornbread variation), any basic brown gravy recipe, and store-bought vegan puff pastry. 

But the real star of Thanksgiving?  Vegan Cheeseball for the win!!  Holy crap this was good.  My family devoured this and then demanded the recipe.  It was so good that I made it again and brought it to the Post-Thanksgiving Potluck (aka the Stretchy-Pants Party) at a friend's house, and was again bombarded with requests for the recipe.  You need this cheeseball in your life, seriously.

Vegan Cheeseball:  Delicious Oxymoron

Also, as promised, more catnaps were had:

Taffy tries to get in on some naptime action

CHRISTMAS

You don't really need me to say much about the Christmas holidays, do you?  I made vegan fudge and vegan peanut brittle, but didn't take pictures.  We shopped.  More than we should.  We ate a lot of good food and went to the movies and hung out with friends and family.  Just like you! 

But I got some lovely heartwarming shots of the holiday season nonetheless:

Hahahaha!  Okay, that's not really heartwarming. I had my ingrown toenails CUT OUT.  OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH.  I'm still recovering five weeks later.  It felt like someone broke my toes. 

Back to Christmas:

Why yes, that is a Chinese Take-Out Box ornament.

 

My  mother demanded a photo sacrifice.

I made a felt manatee for Jake to give to his Secret Santa. I almost died from the cuteness.

Most importantly, I scored the creepiest Clown at the Office Party White Elephant gift exchange!

Finally, more catnaps were documented.  With socks.

 Okay, I'll have more fun stuff soon.  I promise!! No, really!  Cheers to a wonderful 2014 ahead!