Sister Winter

And so the end to my first year of blogging approaches. Soul Food has definitely served its purpose for me personally, which was primarily to motivate me to cook more, to develop my personal cooking style, to challenge myself in the kitchen...mission accomplished! Maybe you found something tasty to eat in the meantime? Well, here's a final roundup of my major inspiration for the coming change of season. Happy holidays!



Clockwise from top right: A bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rosé, my absolute favorite champagne (and champagne is my favorite altogether); David Lebovitz's orange marmalade, which I'll be whipping up for a holiday gift this year; Black Swan, an increeeedible film; a sharp look from Chanel's Pre-Fall 2011 collection; a beautiful Peppermint Crush cake from Sugar Skull; Ella Fitzgerald's Swinging Christmas - classic; The Flavor Thesaurus by Niki Segnit, a fascinating book explaining what flavors pair best in food; a gingerbread snowflake cookie from Martha Stewart; my planner for 2011, by Jill Bliss, from here; and the original Four Freshmen's breakout record, which my charming brother had signed by the latest incarnation of the group when we caught their show this weekend. I will love those boys forever!

dOughMG

Since my boyfriend started working at a pizza shop, it's been pizza in the morning, pizza in the evening...you know how it goes. And it's AWESOME! Because, as the bumper sticker I got for his car reads, "I'd rather be eating pizza." So there. Anyway, the thing is, pizza dough is just so malleable, you know? You can be the sculptor, shape it into whatever your heart desires. This time, when a leftover ball of dough was placed in my hands, it told me it wanted to be cinnamon buns, and listening was the best decision I have made this month! (Besides, perhaps, those petits fours.)

Also, due to the nature of the glaze, this is the ideal opportunity to gush a little bit about Spekuloos, which I believe may actually have come to me from heaven, though for some reason, now they're calling that place Wafels & Dinges. I ordered a jar of this otherwordly stuff about two months ago, but didn't get around to trying it until November. When I finally did, even after planning to use it in several special recipes, it proved impossible because all I wanted to do was eat heaping spoonfuls of it, all by itself. UGHHHH, it's just so GOOD!!! Now it's gone, though. Used the last of it to boost my buns all the way into the next life. :)

Pizza dOughMG Cinnamon Buns
makes 9 buns

[Buns]
1 small-medium pizza dough
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger

[Glaze]
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted in microwave
1/3 cup Spekuloos spread
3 tablespoons agave nectar
1/4 cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400. Mix together cinnamon, ginger and agave in a bowl. Fold in pecans. Push out the dough with a rolling pin until it's a nice rectangle about a 1/2-inch thick. Spread the filling mixture evenly over the top of the dough, then roll it up the long side of the dough. Cut the roll into buns, nine in total. Stick 'em in an ungreased square pan, three by three, and bake for about 15 minutes - until golden-brown on top.

Blend the glaze ingredients until smooth. Pour over the hot buns. Cut and serve!

Celeb Inspiration: Marie Antoinette

So my birthday was this weekend, right? And it happened to be a birthday significant in the States for the reason that when one reaches the age of 21, one is allowed to purchase alcohol legally. For this reason, I attempted to put together the most outrageous and decadent party that I possibly in order that I might dance, drink champagne and eat cake all the live-long day/night. Since any excuse to channel Marie Antoinette/Sofia Coppola's representation of her is quite enough for me.


My ensemble was assembled from various sources, encompassing things old, new, borrowed, and blue, pulled together with a few accenting pops of pink and a fabulous pair of fake eyelashes. The decor and food were of course conceived around the general theme of decadence, hence the abundance of flowers, bubbly and sweets.


You may or may not be able to identify in the picture above (from left to right) my moderately successful attempt at recreating Vegan Yum Yum's petits fours, the chocolate-chocolate chip cookies from Veganomicon courtesy of my boyfriend, a bowl of ever-delicious and surprisingly vegan Jordan almonds, the tree of chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting, and my personal bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne popped alongside the perfect birthday goblet that my mom magically discovered for me in time for this occasion. Ever-so appropriately, it reads "Let them eat cake!"

Fall in a Bowl, Pt. 2

Salad, risotto, and wine: a well-balanced birthday din-din.

For his birthday, I granted my dad a coupon for a special home-cooked meal as soon as I got the chance, and tonight happened to be it. I swooped down on Whole Foods to gather my ingredients, then set to work putting his surprise dinner together. This process was observed from a comfortable distance - the menu wasn't revealed until the moment it hit the plates.

This was my first time taking the care and indulgence necessary to carry off risotto and, uh, it was way worth it. It absolutely melts in your mouth. Devote an evening to making this and I solemnly swear you will not be disappointed.

Butternut Squash Risotto
adapted from the Barefoot Contessa, serves 6

1 medium butternut squash
5 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons margarine
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
4 cups no-chicken stock
2 cups water

Preheat the oven to 400. Halve the squash, de-seed it, and place cut-side down on a cookie sheet greased with two tablespoons of olive oil. Place the squash in the oven for 45 minutes.

Pour the stock and water into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. In the meantime, saute the shallots in the remaining three tablespoons of olive oil and three of margarine until translucent. Stir in the rice, coating thoroughly with butter and oil. Add the wine, simmering for about two minutes. Add two ladlefuls of the warmed broth, plus the salt, white pepper and turmeric. Allow the broth to be absorbed, stirring every coupla minutes. Once it starts to seem a little dry, add another two ladles of stock. Continue this routine for about 30 minutes, until all the broth is used.

Once the squash is cooked through, peel off the skin and cube with a knife. Stir into risotto.

Fall in a Bowl

For a gluten free, yet highly nourishing breakfast on chilly mornings like those of the past week, I always go for Cream of Buckwheat. I have a friend who really digs 'em as a grit-replacer, with just salt and nutritional yeast mixed in, but my favorite preparation is slightly sweet with lots of mix-ins. Today, my buckwheat was flavored in the spirit of fall:

Butternut Buckwheat
serves 1

1/4 cup Cream of Buckwheat
1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup mashed butternut squash (I had some roasted leftover in the fridge)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
10-20 drops liquid stevia (or your preferred sweetener)
a dollop of cranberry sauce
a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds

Bring the almond milk to a boil, add the buckwheat, and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes, until it has thickened up to a grit-like consistency. Mix in squash, cinnamon and stevia, then transfer to a bowl. Top with cranberry sauce and pumpkin seeds and enjoy.

Dr. Cow Climbs Mount Tostada

It's been a real trip finding delicious ways to enjoy my limited supply of Dr. Cow's Tree Nut Cheese, and it's not over yet! Last night, in an attempt to use up some farmers market veggies beginning to look sad in my fridge, I adopted a pile-on strategy that resulted in some sweet yet spicy tostadas I have already wholly consumed. Aged macadamia beats queso fresco any day in my book.

Spicy Sweet Potato Tostadas
serves 6

6 corn tortillas (I used sprouted all-corn ones)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 poblano peppers, cored and sliced
1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced
1/2 large sweet onion, sliced
your favorite enchilada sauce (love the one from the Hot Damn & Hell Yeah cookzine)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Ancho chili powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and drop in the sweet potatoes. Leave these to boil for about 20 minutes, until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan, then toss in the poblano, bell pepper and onions. Cook until softened and set aside. Mash the sweet potatoes well, mixing in the chili powder and salt.

Prepare your enchilada sauce, if you don't have it ready, while toasting the tortillas for 5-7 minutes in the oven. Then begin assmebling! Smooth a scoop of the sweet potato mash onto each crispy tortilla. Load on the peppers and onions, drizzle with enchilada sauce, crumble on or melt some cheeze of your choice on top, and DEVOUR.

Vegan MoFo

Did y'all know that November in the food blogosphere is Vegan MoFo, or Vegan Month of Food? Well, I remembered a little too late to officially register Soul Food for the challenge of posting every weekday with some recipe or tip or tidbit about vegan food and how much I love it, but I'm observing this holiday anyway, along with all the others that seem to pop up this time of year.

As a matter of fact, a dear friend's birthday was yesterday, so to celebrate, she hosted what is known as a food orgy. (Here I go again with the suggestive party names!) There's lots of food to eat, BUT you cannot feed yourself - you must have someone else feed you! It was really a lot of fun. Seeing as it was potluck-style, I made these roasted veggies and a big pot of yummy cranberry sauce, which I paired with some Dr. Cow's Tree Nut cheese in Macadamia and Cashew-Brazil Nut I got on sale over at Vegan Essentials.



Today, I was brainstorming ways to try my cheezes in other gustatory contexts, and landed on a salad. So I roasted a big, beautiful chioggia beet, crumbled some of the macademia over a bed of spinach, and topped it all off with a Dijon mustard viniagrette. Looks tasty, eh?!

Anyhow, if you're in need of a sugar-free, yet uber-delicious cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving this year, I'd recommend giving this one a try.

Spiced Cranberry Sauce
makes a lottt

12 oz. fresh cranberries
1 lemon's zest and juice
30 drops liquid stevia
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon xantham gum

Combine all ingredients except xantham gum in a saucepan. Add just enough water to cover the fruit, then heat over medium-high until boiling. Lower the heat slightly and simmer until the fresh berries start to pop. At this point, get out your potato masher and start smushin'. After about 5 minutes, most berries should be crushed and the mixture beginning to gel a bit. Stir in the xantham gum, turn off the heat, and BAM! Done.