Pictures from Oregon

I mentioned before that the boy and I went to Oregon in August.

Past Los Angeles, past AV, out into the So Cal farmland, we came upon acres upon acres of feedlots.  I did not take a picture, but the smell was vile.  Boy and I grew up used to less intensive farming.  Tillamook, for all its cheese production, at least does not have dairy cows stacked up against each other the way these Californian factories had.  Cow smell is never this intense where we come from.  Cows don't wade in their own shit.  I can see why many people would not believe in factory farms until they saw them.  And yet, most cheese and meat comes from factory farms like these.  Ugh.  Fucking disgusting.

You can tell we're almost in Oregon.  It's Mt Ashland, fringed in green.

In the Tillamook forest...

My parents' stylish cat:

Her stylish paws...

And for the food content, apple picking!

Dappled red and green gravenstein apples!  We could pick them right off the branch for 85 cents a pound - not bad!  Although tart, they were flavorful.  They made a fantastic pie.

Seitan Bao

Bao are (typically) steamed and (usually) savory pastries.  You find them served with other dim sum treats, or as to-go food from Asian markets.  You can also find them frozen.  My grandparents used to bring packets full of perfect, round teriyaki-filled bao.  They would cut open the ten-times-taped cooler and unearth their gifts from Hawaii: bouquets of orchids from their yard, lau lau, leis, sometimes poi.

I think a lot of vegans try to pretend that they don't remember the meaningful moments they had before they stopped eating animal products (and most vegans aren't lifelong, so they do have memories of "preganity").  It is delusional to think that the family meals and treats from grandpa were shameful and cruel or that "missing" those memories of spending time with family is somehow a betrayal of principle.  I think it is okay to miss those things.  I miss raving about my grandma's ultra-amazing teriyaki.  I miss Christmas cookies.  I miss not having to make everything myself, getting to share.  My family puts a lot of effort and love into their food; I know it hurts them when I reject their slabs of meat - and I know that I can't control what they feel.  I know it offends them when I "veganize" recipes.

I'm not trying to recreate family recipes and memories by making old favorites into vegan versions.  I'm just trying new things.  I want to make things that I can share with my omnivorous family...  I wish they would see that I'm not trying to convert them or threaten them.  It would be nice to have everything normalized someday...   Does anyone else have trouble with their omnivorous families?  What do you do to normalize things with your family?  I hate having them step on eggshells, so to speak :P

Now, a recipe.

Seitan Bao, dough based on this recipe from the LA Times

1.5 t rapid / instant yeast
3/4 c lukewarm water
2 T canola oil
2 T sugar
2 t baking powder
2 T nutritional yeast
3 c flour

Filling
1.5 c chopped or ground seitan (should be finely chopped)
3 T soy sauce
1/2 T agave
1 T sesame oil
1 t garlic salt
1/4 t ground ginger

Soften yeast in the water, then add oil, sugar, and nutritional yeast.  Sift in the baking powder and flour.  Knead until elastic, not sticky, adding extra flour if necessary.  Let rise 30-45 minutes.

While the dough is rising, make the filling: combine the soy sauce, agave, oil, salt, and ginger in a small bowl.  Add the chopped seitan and toss until seitan is coated.

When dough is done rising, punch down and then divide into 12-16 balls.  Knead balls into rounds - these should be about the same diameter as your palm, and the edges should be thicker than the center.  Place seitan in the dough, then wrap and crimp around it.  I don't have the technique down on this yet, but when I do, I'll post with pictures :P  Cut out squares of parchment paper and then put the balls on them.  Let rise for 20 minutes.

Heat up a steamer (or do like I did and use a colander, a pot, and a lid).  After their second rise, place the bao in the steamer (with a bit of space between them as they will puff out a bit).  Steam for 15 minutes.

Enjoy.

Onto Fall after falling behind

A series of events culminated into the neglect of this space.  These events included:

1. Netroots Nation, wherein being a vegan sucked and I learned that even progressives are racist and homophobic as all fuck.

2. A trip home to Oregon, where there wasn't any time to take pictures of things, and where being with family limited my excursions to Portland's amazing vegan fare.

3. Losing the camera at the beach and having to switch to a camera phone.  Pictures of the journey to Oregon, discussion of the disgusting So Cal feed lots, and photos of homemade seitan bao to follow!

Bread Pudding made with Scones

Bread pudding is a rich, creamy dessert best made with mushy fruit like bananas or pumpkin and then studded with raisins and spiked with cider or rum.  Bread pudding made from raisin scones is even more decadent.

I made some simple scones with tons of raisins and a generous tablespoon of cinnamon:

(And I tested one.  Had to make sure they were ok for bread pudding.)
Then, I broke them up into chunks and squished them into a pan.  Then, I added a few knobs of margarine:

A couple cups of almond milk, some mashed up banana, and sugar went into the pan.  Baked, the result:

So delicious. Crispy top from a  dash of turbinado sugar.  Gooey bottom from the banana and soaked up soymilk.  Spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon and ground cloves.

Why Progressives Hate Vegans: Part One

Vegans are embarrassing.  They take the bleeding heart liberal thing to a new level by extending their compassion to (gasp) other things that bleed.  They hate humans, because anyone who seeks to prevent violence and cruelty toward animals can't possibly have enough time or empathy to also care about humans.  They just want attention with their special dietary needs.  They're health freaks - even the ones who bake calorific cupcakes.  When asked why they are vegan, they give answers such as, "I think it is unethical."  They shouldn't go preaching like that, even when asked direct questions.  They have to stop talking about animal intelligence, emotions, and compassion, because it's not macho.  Killing things is macho.  Progressivism is about being macho, because if progressives aren't macho enough to out-macho the conservatives, then they will lose ground among conservatives.  Because compassion is gendered, and femininity and love and caring are all passe.  Vegans are just so embarrassing.  That's one of the reasons why progressives hate vegans.

Plum Cobbler

Small, tangy, not too sweet plums were in everywhere at the farmers market about two weeks ago.

We had people over for Dungeons and Dragons; it was too hot to make something nice for them.  The morning following, however, was cool enough to use the oven.

It began with these:

A pan full of plums...

The topping was ad hoc, just a basic biscuit with a half cup of oats thrown in and some turbinado sugar sprinkled on top for that crispy sparkle

These tangy plums taste tart like rhubarb, which is a rare find around here.

Kung Pao Mushrooms

Kung Pao sauce.

+

Mushrooms

+

Simple Batter

(3/4 c cornstarch / 1/4 c soy sauce / 3 tbsp nutritional yeast / water mixed until non-Newtonian)

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It has come to my attention that nonvegans think that vegan food is often fried to make it taste good.  This post is not representative of most plant-based food, don't judge - eek!

Don't look at this, it is definitely not mushrooms and tofu sitting in oil, definitely not, no sir.

Next time, I would pre-cook the mushrooms in some dry way like roasting.  The mushrooms came out of the pan all crispy and nice, but after sitting a little while, they went slightly soft.  The boy posits: the water from the mushrooms steamed the crispy coating. 

I would also attempt a homemade sauce next time.

Facebook Dr Seuss BP Oil Spill Doodle

Plum Coffee Cake

The parents sent me another cinnamon coffee cake mix from The Cravings Place.  I had some farmers market plums.  I introduced them, and they seemed to get along.

I find that the suggested amount of butter mixed with the streusel topping is not enough, so I usually add more or add some veggie oil.

There hasn't been much going on in the cohabitat kitchen these days but the ho-hum of bread and the duh of garlicky long beans.  More soon.

Our Neighbor Lady

This is not a food post.

This is a post about animals.

When it's warm out, she skeedaddles.  When it's a chilly morning like this, she just pokes her head out and garbles at us.  It's a pretty clever place to put a nest; it's under the neighbor's porch, above our door.  I feel a little bad scaring her away when we open our door, but maybe she'll get used to us.

Swedish Tea Ring

The Swedes know how to do it.  By "it," I mean tea.  Here is the evidence:

Cinnamon rolls?  Yes, of a fashion.  But so much more.  It's a swedish tea ring.

Vaguely shaped like an Oregon coast sunstar (colloquially known as "those goddamned big starfish"), the Swedish tea ring is a pastry that is mostly cinnamon roll but all awesome.  I do realize that cardamom would make this even more Swedish, but I didn't want to experiment with guests on the way.  Same goes for nuts.  This could use some serious walnus.  Swedish tea rings are also awesome because you can easily cut one into smaller-than-average slices of cinnamon roll goodness, thus encouraging guests to consume more of it.

FOR YOU SEE:

I dislike bready, sweet leftovers.  One day of indulgence is enough for me.  Rest assured, these are incredibly decadent.  Topped with Tofutti cream cheese frosting, tender, and oozing with sugary cinnamon filling, this goodness is outrageously sugarly but not so much tha you get that fuzzy sugary tongue feeling.  Which is even more dangerous, because it's easy to eat 2-3 slices.

There were only a couple "rolls" left at the end of Rockband night, so that's a win.  Om nom.

I really think it would make great French toast.  That'll be next time.

It's a spaceship - it's a starfish - it's a Swedish pastry out of controllllllllll.

Chai Mochi

My grandmother makes the best peanut butter mochi.  Soft, sweet, with a crunchy peanut butter mochi filling.  It's perfect.

When the boy got the box of mochi flour wet (pressing tofu for dinner, he meant well), I knew it was mochi making time.  I made some plain for soup, and also some of an experimental sort...

Chai mochi!

Mildly sweet, gently spiced, the recipe needs a bit of tweaking before I can post it...but I'm excited to perfect it and share these spiced mochi with family and friends.

A nice piece of mochi chilled is so refreshing on a hot summer day...

To be continued.

Cherry Tomatoes

The sprawling cherry tomato plant is producing handfuls of these every day:

They're so sweet and flavorful - way better than the weeks-old refrigerated tomatoes found in grocery stores. We've been neglectful, but the plant is still producing lots of fruit.

We also have nectarines from the farmers market...

Still not sure what cherry tomatoes are good for except salads and snacking...

Dave's Killer Bread and Mail!

I miss Dave's Killer Bread.  Farmer's market fresh, complete with free samples... oh man.  Really delicious.  The recipe for basic whole wheat bread is available online complete with step-by-step video instructions straight from Dave himself here!  I make this recipe everyone once in a while, but this time I made a messy braid of it:

This recipe makes a lovely, dense soft loaf.  I added flax and a handful of cracked wheat to the basic recipe, and it turned out really tasty and hearty.  Perhaps it would make good french toast?

My awesome friend and I have been exchanging packages this last year or so.  She is so awesome and has sent me amazing baked goods and random thrift store finds and all sorts of things!  This time I remembered to take pictures!

She sent pumpkin puree!  We haven't had this around here since last Christmas, so this is a real treat.  I'm so excited,  I don't know what to make first.  Pancakes?  Muffins?  Pumpkin cheesecake?!

And a pawprint stamp.  Time to get some markers/ink and graffiti something up.

!!!

She's always trying to get me to eat animals ;-)  These are pancake molds, but I was thinking it might be cool to use them to make tarts too?  Especially since we have peaches and cherries and berries this time of year.  I wonder if they are oven safe...

So, thank you for the mail!  Time to have some fresh killer bread...

Mock Crab Cakes, a work in progress

With a half block of old tofu in the fridge, I figured it was time to try making something that's been on my mind for a while: crab cakes, veganized.  The idea emerged from this somewhat strange stuff:

Soy floss?  A coworker gifted me this bag of "soya floss" a few weeks ago, and I've been determined to make something with it besides "soy floss on rice."  It is a little like textured vegetable protein with bits of seaweed and sesame seeds in it and is a lot like furikake in flavor and function.  It also happens to taste a lot like fish.

But in a good way, really!  Don't run away!

I mixed some of this soy floss with crumbled tofu, a bit of lemon juice, some panko, oatmeal, paprika, salt, and then formed them into patties.  I coated the patties in panko, then baked.  If I was serving these to guests, I would have probably fried them, but they came out crispy and tasty even from the oven:

I still need to tweak some things.  Soy floss : tofu ratio must be increased.  More/different seasonings.  Probably more oil.  But, if you manage to see soy floss (I'm told it's a rare product) you might give it a try.

Peach-Pluot Pastry Braid

This is a riff on gifflar.  It's the same recipe, except the filling is a mix of peaches and pluots.

First, I made the gifflar pastry dough as usual, then let it rise.

I put some pluots, a white peach, and chopped walnuts in a pan with a good 1/4 cup or so of agave nectar, some cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, a pinch of salt, and the tiniest bit of pepper.

Cooked it down into a chunky saucey filling.  I divided the pastry dough into two balls, rolled each one into a rectangle, added the filling, then braided the dough.  Alas, I don't have pictures from this process.  The result is a streudel-like pastry that has a crust slightly flulffier than a pie.

A slice to share...

The filling up close.  I love the tart pink pluots.  We got them from the farmer's market.