Chocolate... and more chocolate

Can't have too much of a good thing, right? :)

I'm still mucking about with some gluten-free cookies. Remember the Lemon Cornmeal Cookies? They actually started out as these Chocolate Chip Cornmeal Cookies (also gluten-free). I first wanted the chocolate chip cookies, but as I was making them I thought "mmmm, a lemony version of these would be wonderful".

Well, they're both delicious, and so both versions are keepers. I just have to find time to finalize the test versions and get the edits into my computer. It's been a busy few days. Some not so great things - but as for the very great things... one of my best friends had her third baby (so adorable)!! I made her Sniffle Soup and Maple Banana Bread. We also celebrated hubby's birthday on the weekend. I won't tell you how old he is, but here's a hint...

The girls helped decorate his cake. See the swirly blotchy bit to the left of the '3'? That was our younger girl pushing chocolate chips down the same spot in the cake repeatedly and me trying to patch it over! Our older girl made the '3 and 9'. She said "wow, dad... that's BIG!". :)

So, what's the cake? Well, I used my Chocolate Cream Frosting recipe from The Everyday Vegan, and an all-purpose vanilla cake recipe that will be in ED&BV.

This frosting pictured is the ultimate in chocolate frosting. Now, I've harped on about my Triple Layer Chocolate Cream Cake a few times now and have coaxed you to make it. So, finally... here's the last push you need... recipe is now posted! Enjoy - and try not to eat too much of the frosting before decorating your cake. :)

Simply The Best

With food, simple is often best. Sometimes we fuss over preparation and details, when fresh (or very good quality) ingredients are all that's needed for an outstanding dish. Just the simplest of seasonings can then enhance the natural, beautiful flavors of these foods.

Like these tomatoes. We had family over for dinner last Sunday. That morning I picked up gorgeous yellow tomatoes and heirloom red tomatoes at our local farmers' market. Have you ever had yellow tomatoes? They are a little sweeter than red tomatoes, and not as acidic. I love them!

For a side dish with our dinner, I sliced several of these perfectly ripened, fragrant tomatoes and layered them on a plate. Since basil and tomatoes are nature's soul mates, I arranged a handful of fresh basil leaves over the tomatoes. Just before serving I drizzled on my Balsamic Maple Sauce from ED&BV, and a pinch of sea salt and ground pepper. This sauce is thick and delicious, but a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper would be equally wonderful. But... don't dress the tomatoes and basil until you are ready to eat. Otherwise the salt and vinegar will draw the juices out of the tomatoes and wilt the basil (just like how you don't want to dress a salad until just ready to eat).

This fresh tomato salad was a highlight of our meal. The tomatoes and basil were not masked by too many ingredients, allowing their vibrant, summer-rich flavors to shine through.

Try this for your own dinners or when entertaining, and also think of other simple and delicious pairings when meal-planning, including:

- crusty breads and a great quality olive oil. Place olive oil in small bowls with or without balsamic vinegar for dipping. Coarse sea salt is also quite nice for sprinkling.
- selection of olives
- seasonal produce left raw or lightly blanched, drizzled with oil or with a simple dip like hummus or raw aioli (I managed to squeeze my recipe for raw red pepper aioli in ED&BV for you just before going to print!)
- bowl of raw nuts, or...
- buy a big bag of mixed greens for a simple salad with just these greens (maybe a few cherry tomatoes) and some raw pine nuts, pecans, or walnuts tossed in.
- accentuate flavors in your meals with wedges of lemon or lime (ex: lemon juices with legume-based dishes and lime juice with spicy foods and entrees)
- big bowl of guacamole with lightly salted tortilla chips. My guacamole is always a huge hit, and it still surprises me because it is so darn simple! But, I don't think people make their own guac that often. I keep it very simple for guests, adding a good amount of fresh lemon or lime juice and salt to taste, and keeping some chunky texture. Keeping it simply seasoned with lemon juice and salt pleases everyone, without ingredients that might be unpleasant (or offensive) to some (ex: cilantro - you either love it or hate it!)
- grilled/roasted veggies. One of my favorite things to do is roast veggies. In the summer, chop things like zukes, mushrooms, bell peppers, shallots, and fennel and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Pop it all on a baking sheet lined with parchment, and bake at about 400-450 for 40 minutes or longer until the veg are caramelized and golden brown. The flavors are just magnificent! Then, all you have to do is serve as a side dish, or toss into hot pasta, or into cold grains for a salad. Seriously great stuff!

These are just a few suggestions for quick and simple food pairings... what are some of yours?

Also, just a reminder that this is the last week for voting in the VegNews survey. I'm nominated for favorite cookbook author, favorite veg blog, and favorite column. Please vote for me in any (or all!) categories. Remember, you have a chance to win in this survey too (in case you need that extra push to complete the survey)! And, if you've already voted - my big thanks. I'd love to win, and each and every vote from you is important. Many thanks. :)

Fresh Blueberry Oat Squares

Don't you want to bite the screen? I saw the August cover of Canadian Living magazine while in line at the grocery store and immediately thought "I must make those!" (vegan of course, and Dreena-style!)


Off to the kitchen I went, loosely following my recipe for Delish Date Squares in Vive for the oat crust base, and then changing up the filling using fresh blueberries. These look just as delicious as the Canadian Living version (imo; just not as 'tidy'!), taste spectacular, and unlike their version these bars do not include any butter, white flour, or white sugar - and are wheat-free!

Aren't blueberry-filled desserts supremely delicious? Their only drawback are their characteristic tell-tale signs. The purpley-blue teeth! (Entirely worth it though!)Reminds me of a story as a child. My mom had a big bucket of fresh blueberries. We ate some of the fresh berries, and then she told us (me) to leave the rest for her baking (or jams, I can't remember what she was using them for - that didn't matter to me at the time, because I wasn't really listening). So, she was busy bathing my younger sister. I went into the bathroom and sat on the tub to join them and talk.

My mom asked "Dreena, were you eating the blueberries?". "No!", I emphatically (but sheepishly) answered. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Yes", I answered with a big smile. But no fibbing could get past the proof... in my teeth! She remembers that story to this day and laughs every time saying "no, mom, I wasn't eating blueberries"... and flashes me a big smile.

I have to run through this recipe again, then I'll post it so you can flash 'em your bestest blueberry smile! :)

Tomato-Lentil Tortilla Pizzas

What's on the menu? Pizza of course! How many variations can I make... countless!


This time, I used a whole-wheat flour tortilla as a pizza shell. I've detailed this technique in both TEV and Vive. Basically, you pre-bake a flour tortilla until crispy and lightly golden. Then, you can top with whatever you like. Because the crust is very thin, it lends itself well to heartier 'sauces' and spreads, like hummus and bean dips. Also, because it is thin, using ingredients that don't release too much moisture is best - otherwise the crust, especially through the middle, can get soft and mushy.

I had leftover Tomato-Lentil Pasta Sauce (recipe from Vive). This is a hearty sauce, but since it needed thickening for this pizza, I simmered it to reduce it down and remove most of the moisture. It was thick enough that the crusts kept their delightful crispiness.

I served a large fresh salad with the pizza, so I kept the toppings to a minimum. Added a scattering of grated Vegan Rella and also some of this soy feta. I think I've mentioned this feta before (?). While it doesn't exactly mimic dairy feta, with a noticeable tofu texture, it does offer a salty/sour/piquant taste that is enjoyable to use in small amounts on certain dishes - like this one. Then, a few sliced olives, and after baking, I added the fresh basil leaves.

Easy, delicious, satisfying.

If making tortilla pizzas yourself, note that most brands have hydrogenated oils, check ingredients to find one without those nasty fats!

Cookie Neglect!

Shame on me! How long has it been since I've posted about cookies?

Biscotti and Bundles excluded, it's been well over a month. Just plain neglectful of me!


Aren't these pretty and just the picture of sunshine? They are Lemon Cornmeal Cookies, and whoa!... these are not only dairy, egg, and wheat free... but are also gluten-free! I'm still testing through these, as I've been tinkering with some gluten-free cookies the last week or so.

You know, after I finished my recipes for the book, I thought "okay, now I can chill on the recipe testing". But, it's in my blood! I love to experiment with things, and so here I am again playing around with new recipes. I was actually inspired by an e-mail I received from one of you about whether ED&BV will have gluten-free recipes (and cookies). It will have some gluten-free recipes, one of which is my Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies - gluten-busted! These Lemon Cornmeal Cookies are completely new, however and will not be in ED&BV.

I cannot fathom producing another cookbook (heck, ED&BV isn't even off the press!), and I think my husband would choke if I even muttered the words "another book". So, what to do from here? Maybe I need to start a newsletter or something. We'll see. (I think I need 'cookbook-author therapy'!)

For now, I'll play. And share photos and recipes with you.

Oh yes, as mentioned in my last post about the Dijon Herb Green Beans, I've published the recipe. Enjoy!

p.s. Time is running out for voting in the VegNews survey. Go on, get voting if you haven't already.

Dijon Green Beans; Cashew-Ginger Tofu

This was our plate a few nights ago... short-grain brown rice topped with Cashew-Ginger Tofu from ED&BV, a new green bean side dish, and a biggie salad.

I've posted about this Cashew-Ginger Tofu dish before. It's really a favorite for us - the tofu becomes very tender and the sauce is tangy/nutty/creamy/lightly spicy... and well, you know I love my sauces!

Today, though, I'll focus on the green beans. This side dish I just came up with and it won't be in ED&BV (there were only so many recipes I could squeeze in last minute!), so I will have to post it for you soon - especially because green beans are still in season. Often I prepare green beans by lightly broiling or sauteeing. With these cooking methods, they can retain a bit of a squeaky bite, which I enjoy sometimes... but not all the time. To fully tenderize them, they require longer broiling/sauteeing time or can be cooked in a stew or casserole, or simply through steaming or boiling. In this recipe for Dijon Herb Green Beans, the beans are boiled in a small amount of water until just tender to the bite, and then immediately rinsed through cold water to stop the cooking process. A dijon vinaigrette with chopped fresh herbs (I like tarragon or parsley, but dill or basil are also nice) is tossed through the cooled (and patted dry) beans. Here's a close up of the beans. Nummy, nummy!

This is a terrific side dish for the summer, or anytime of year because the dressing can be tossed into brussel sprouts in the fall or asparagus in the spring. The kids didn't care for the piquant dressing, and in anticipation of this distaste, I reserved some of the cooked beans. I gave them a dish of ketchup mixed with Udo's DHA oil and told them to dip their 'bean fries' in the ketchup. As you might expect, the yellow beans sold better as 'fries' than the green beans... so my next shop for beans was all yellow!

I'll post the recipe soon - you'll need 1/2 lb of green, yellow, or other colored string/snap beans. (Have you ever seen dragon-tongue beans? So much fun with their streaks of purple - though that purple disappears with cooking and the beans become a pale yellow - much like how purple snap beans turn a dark green with cooking.)

Diet Coke with... "Vitamins"!

?!
I came across an ad for Diet Coke Plus today... "each 8 oz. serving provides 15 % of your RDI for niacin, B6 and B12, and 10% for zinc and magnesium". Really? You're going to reach for a Diet Coke for extra vitamins? Puleeze!

Not only is it absurd to think that you would grab a diet drink to obtain some vitamins, but do these diet beverage drinkers realize that the chemicals and artificial sweeteners in these drinks are robbing their bodies of nutrients? Not to mention all the other ills associated with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame.

It is unfortunate that such a giant corporation can swing this type of marketing bunk and fool people into drinking this garbage. I guess they have determined that if they are poisoning you, they may as well do it slowly by throwing a few vitamins into the mix. (the slower they poison you, the longer they have you as a customer, after all)!

You may not know that I once almost lived on diet sodas. Oh yes. During my university days, I'd study with a 2-litre of diet whatever close at hand. Though I wasn't eating red meat at the time, I thought little about some of the other foods I was consuming. So I'd sit studying with my diet liquid-poison, and usually with some treats like tortillas and sour cream or ice cream, (okay, I still do the ice cream, but it's much healthier now)!

Now, if I had to choose, I'd drink a full-on white sugar soda before I'd drink a diet soda (not that I drink those either, but if I had to choose...).

If any of you out there drink diet beverages like diet coke or Crystal Light... or if you eat baked goods or other products sweetened with Splenda, etc, please stop. All you need to do is a little research about artificial sweeteners. There's no good news about them. And believe me, I drank enough to know that once you stop drinking diet sodas, you feel better for it - and don't want them ever again.

Banana Oat Bundles

Have you had your bundle today?....


If you own Vive, have you tried the Banana Oat Bundles yet? Unless you really dislike bananas... what's up... why haven't you made them?!

These are like a little muffin, full of banana/oat-y goodness, and are just the simplest thing to make. (and leave your kitchen smelling sa-weet!)

You can also pass them off as "cookies" to your kids, especially if you throw a handful of chocolate chips in the batter. They aren't as flat as most cookies, and certainly have the texture of an oat-y muffin, but they are small enough to fit in those little munchkin hands and be a cookie!

Other bonus: you can whip this recipe together in about 10 minutes, and then into the oven they go. I puree the ripe bananas in a mini-food processor to make a very smooth puree which stirs very well into the dry mixture, and prevents any larger bits of bananas in the batter (if you aren't fond of that). Also, as you might guess, these are wheat-free.

I need to make these again soon. This time with some choco chips. Maybe a few pecans too. Go on, bundle up!

What? You don't have Vive but really want to try them. Okay, okay... here they are. No more excuses now, okay? Go bake.

Christmas in July?

Phew! It's been a busy few days. Catching up on everything from laundry to e-mails (and sorry to those of you that have waited to hear back from me). Also clued up some editing on the front/back cover of ED&BV - and we may be going to print the end of the week. Ooooeeee! So, we're on track to have it in bookstores in mid-late October.

I also finished some testing on a new recipe for my next VegNews column. My articles appear in every second issue, so I work on any given piece about 4 months in advance of its printing. As you can imagine, this is often peculiar in the sense that you are trying to jump ahead to the season when the article will be in print. If I want to feature seasonal produce (ex: winter squash in the fall; basil in the summer), it's never abundant at the time of writing. So, it can be tricky when working with seasonal items.

This next article will feature some cranberry recipes. Of course, very seasonal for Nov/Dec. Not so much for July/August (though it's been so flipping cold some days this summer it's almost fitting)! I created and tested this Holiday Chickpea Tart in early July, and so one evening we sat out on our patio in the sunshine eating our holiday tart with cranberries. Hubby says "feels like Christmas"! I said, "I know, it's not very appropriate for this time of year"... but as my mom always used to say (and still does to this day)... "you either like it or lump it"!

Here it is just after baking. For convenience, I used a Wholly Wholesome whole-wheat pie shell to hold the filling. I've said it many times before, I love Wholly Wholesome products. Not all are vegan, but those that are vegan are lovely, wonderful, incredible! Love them!

So, here you are. A festive chickpea tart with walnut, spinach, and cranberries that will appear in the VegNews Nov/Dec issue. Great menu item for those of you that don't want a Tofurkey/Faux Turkey/Noturkey/Rubberturkey on the table (like me)!

I served it with my wicked Balsamic Maple Sauce that you will be able to get very soon as it is included in ED&BV. This sauce is so super good, that you will want to drizzle it on steamed veggies, sandwiches, grains, or to have with spring rolls, potstickers, etc, the list goes on because this sauce is nummy good stuff... and you know I'm a saucy girl!

I'll get back to seasonal food goodies next... in the meantime, since we're on topic of VegNews... my gentle reminder to vote! :)

Winner...

is Jenny L! (comment #48). Congrats Jenny!

(and sorry, boohoo for everyone else... but remember, I have fun with these contests from time to time, so you'll have another chance)!

Jenny, pls e-mail me by Saturday with your mailing address and if you'd like a cookbook or the dvd: dreena@everydayvegan.com

This was a fun contest, you guys... so many enthusiastic comments, thanks for that. I'll be posting again soon. :)

Pizza Pie Heaven!

Check out this deliciousness...

oh YUM! The crust is a spelt/cornmeal crust by Vicolo. This company has premade pizzas, though they all have cheese. But... they also have this spelt/cornmeal crust (package of 2), that is marvelous! I bought it at our local Choices Market (in freezer section).

I tried this crust once months back, and I loved it. It's not like other pizza crusts. Rather than being doughy, it has a nutty/sweet rich flavor, with a nubbly texture. Because of this rich flavor, you likely won't eat as much as you would with a pizza dough crust. And, because it has such a beautiful flavor on its own, it needs just simple toppings, imo.

Here, I slathered on a layer of pesto. It's a new pesto from E,D&BV... Lemony Cashew-Basil Pesto. Goodness, how I love this pesto too! I can eat it with a cracker or chip, seriously. Very lemony, which cuts the oily nuts, and just bursting with basil magnificence! I simply topped with pesto with thick slices of fresh tomatoes, and then just a few sliced olives and some freshly ground black pepper over top.

I prebaked the crust just a tad, and then didn't bake the finished pizza too long, just enough to warm the tomatoes through. It was good. Good, good, good!

I won't be blogging for a few days. So I leave you with this picture of pizza heaven, and also...

A
GIVEAWAY!

Last time I was a sneaky mama with my giveaway, but this time it's straight up! So, check out the rules (August Giveaway). The prize is a copy of Vive, or if you already have Vive, a copy of the Everyday Dish dvd. Or if you have the dvd, a copy of TEV. And if you already have all three, then you like me too much and you'll have to spread the love and give the book or dvd to someone else. :)

Go make some pizza!