Watercress w/creamy Jalapeno Dressing, Blackbean Pupusas with Habenero-carrot Salsa, Roasted chili-rubbed plantains, Saffron-Coconut Ice Cream

This dinner was mainly an attempt to use last nights salsa and the remaining cocunt milk I had but it is inspired by my recent trip to the east coast, it's a little native american and fancy as the New York restaurants I visited...

From Candle 79 I stole the idea of Jalapeno's and Water Cress which really go quite great together, a little salt goes a long way on these greens too:


Jalapeno dressing: Jalapeno, Garlic, Ground Cumin, Sour Cream

The black bean pupusas lend most of their flavor from homemade vegetable broth, I had a real hard time shaping and cooking these... I'm just not good at it yet. They are topped with Milleniums Carrot-Habenero Salsa which reminds me a great deal of Curtido except it's much more herby containing mint, oregano, and cilantro, along with red-onion, carrots, lime juice and of course a habenero pepper.

The roasted plantains was a guess, and it's concentrated sweetness probably could've been balanced out a bit better... i anticipated the issue and tried to correct it with red-chili powder. But it probably needed another sauce, or maybe just salt to make it a bit more savory, I still liked it a lot, it just didn't match quite right with the other two dishes.

Okay, coconut-saffron ice cream is amazing! I was a little worried when I saw the recipe called for no eggs... I thought it was a mistake and almost went ahead and added my own eggs. But... no mistake, coconut milk really thickens up as it heats up and a custard totally formed up full of saffron flavor. My roommate says the spicy dishes before totally set him up for the ice cream.

I was quite satisfied with this meal, I would re-work it and try it again.

Coconut Brown Rice, Baked Tofu w/Carrot Habenero Salsa and Gai-Lan

Gai-lan: just steamed and seasoned with olive oil and salt
Coconut Brown Rice: From Vegan Soul Kitchen
Baked Tofu: dipped and brushed with tamari(soy sauce) and maple syrup (Millenium)
Habero Salsa (Millenium)

gumbo z'herbes

i've never actually eaten gumbo... so i made it a little blindly, i think i had a cup too much broth or something because the liquid couldve been thicker....

anyway, these are recipes from "vegan soul kitchen"

gumbo z {spinach, collards, mustard, orache}
rosemary-roasted tofu
short-grain brown rice

i would've done the tofu with a different herb or just paprika or something next time because it contrasted with the gumbo a little weird but it was still all good.

this is definitely comfort food, time for my food coma...

thinest crust ever

orache (wild mountain spinach)
goat cheese
mozarella
olive oil
young garlic
purple basil

Manicotti?

I was hungry and didn't know what to make, I had a bunch of ingredients for a lasagna I had planned but I didn't get any mozarella and I didn't feel like going to the store. So it was going to be raviolis but that shit really is a pain in the ass, i'd be set eating for like a week though if i did it. my comprimise was manicotti which i don't think ive ever ordered at a restaurant before. i just made sheets of spinach pasta and cut them into squares, i tried the lowest setting and the 2nd to lowest setting for thin-ness and the thinner one was better.

just ricotta, parm, and parsley in the middle. muir glen canned tomatoes with onions garlic red chili flakes and parsley in the sauce.

cook the pasta put in some filling, roll it up, throw some sauce on top and underneath and bake in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes. couldve used a salad and some strawberry ice cream. maybe tomorrow.

Early Spring

I haven't cooked in awhile, but I was having a home-y weekend trying to clear out some garden space and doing a little cooking...

early spring vegetable soup (greens)
[ingredients: leeks,celery,potato,chard,peas,parsley,cream,lemon juice, salt]

i think it is a good soup, its very green...

spaghetti tossed with egg, smoked cheese, and fried bread crumbs (greens)
[also contains: parmesan, parsley, garlic, green olives, onion, red-chili flakes,coarse-ground black-pepper]

its kind of rich because of the egg, for smoked cheese i could only find smoked gouda... its another good recipe from greens, i wish i knew someone who wants to eat at greens with me...

meyer lemon sherbert (alice waters)
[ingredients: lemon juice, sugar, water, milk]

so i think a sherbert is just a sorbet with milk, i dont use gelatin... i mightve used too much sugar too, but yeah its a damn good frozen lemonade treat.

deep dish

attempted to make a deep dish since my pizza stone is no more...

spinach/mushrooms/mozarella/parm/tomatoes/oregano

it was good, but not successful. i now have a better understanding of what is going on and my next attempt should be much better.