Sweet Potato, Kale, Caramelized Onion Pizza

Have you ever had your dreams literally realized? If your dreams consist of skydiving with your preschool teacher, your crush, and Jodie Foster, for your sake, I really hope not. But tonight one of my dreams came true. You see, last week I had an impeccably and bizarrely precise dream about making kale pizza with four particular people. In the dream I even promised myself that if it were in fact a dream I needed to make it a reality, ANY MEANS NECESSARY. Thus was born the first pizza night of 2013. Nobody was killed in the making of this pizza.

My friends Anna, Grace, and Ben came over and we made this delicious-a$$ pizza, dough and everything. As it turns out, making your own dough only takes about an hour-ish and the only semi-weird ingredient is semolina flour, which isn’t even that goddamn weird! Ben is a good bread-makin’ man, so I shamelessly made him do that. The result? Dope delicious delectable dough THE D IS SILENT.

Sweet Potato, Kale, Caramelized Onion Pizza

Dough recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

• 2 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• pinch o’ sugar
• 1 3/4 cups semolina flour
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, chopped
• 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup kale, chopped
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce or paste
• 1 Tablespoon rosemary
• 1 red onion, sliced

For de dough:

1. Combine yeast and 1 cup warm water in a small bowl. Add a pinch of sugar and let sit for 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl (or standing mixer if you’ve got one!), add semolina flour, all-purpose flour, and salt. Mix the ingredients until combined.
3. Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture. Add 1 Tablespoon olive oil and mix until combined. Knead for about 5 minutes on a counter surface.
4. Grease a large bowl with a bit of olive oil. Form dough into a ball and place in the bowl. Cover pizza dough with a damp towel and set in a warm area to rise (near preheating oven is ideal!). Let the dough rise for 1 hour or until dough has roughly doubled in size.

For de toppings:

1. Preheat the oven to 400º. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spread the chopped sweet potato, drizzled with 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil. Pop in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until soft. Remove and set aside.
2. In the meantime, place a frying pan over low heat and add sliced red onion and ~1 Tablespoon olive oil. Cover, and set to simmer for 30-35 minutes. Remove and set aside.
3. Once the dough has risen and the sweet potatoes and onions are ready, turn the oven up to 500º. If you have a pizza stone, place the pizza stone in the oven to get hot. If not, get out a cookie sheet. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough using a rolling pin. Lightly brush the dough with olive oil and place on the pizza stone or cookie sheet.
4. Top the pizza with sauce (or paste) and sprinkle with rosemary. Layer the sweet potato, onions, and top with kale. Place in the oven to bake at 500º for 8-10 minutes, until the crust crisps up. Remove and set to cool. Enjoy!

Brussels sprouts with toasted walnuts & apple cider-chili sauce

Sauce

• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 shallot, chopped
• generous pinch of chili powder
• 2 Tablespoons Earth Balance margarine
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• pepper to taste

1. Combine cider, shallot, and pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the margarine and whisk it into the mixture. Keep stirring and add the salt and chili powder. Remove the pan from the heat.

Sprouts

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved or quartered
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped coarsely

Preheat oven to 400º

1. Toss the Brussels sprouts with olive oil, rosemary and salt. Pour on a foil-lined cookie sheet and roast 15-20 minutes, or until soft throughout.

2. In the last 5 minutes of baking, spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 4-5 minutes.

4. Arrange the sprouts on a serving dish and pour apple-butter sauce over. Garnish with toasted walnuts.

Curried Samosas

“Time is nature’s way of keeping everything from happening at once.”

Whatever.

Sometimes it moves so slowly, and you’re all, “when the fucking fuck is the next season of Mad Men coming out?” or “how many days til I can walk outside without a jacket and not curse everyone and everything known to man?” Minutes feel like hours and don’t even get me started about sitting in class on Fridays. Either you’re waiting for the next great far-off something to happen, or you feel lost in the day in and day out of your world, orbiting around in the minutia that is Tivo’ed television shows and reddit threads. As ma boy Tennessee one said, “time is the longest distance between two points.”

Other times you can’t believe how fast it is all whizzing by. Am I the only one who can’t believe it’s November? That is a rhetorical question, of course, because nobody believes it’s November. Thanksgiving is in a week and half which means I have a week and a half to do all of the things I said I would do before Thanksgiving: figure out what a cover letter is, do my laundry, learn how to two-step, apply for jobs, write a cover letter,  make my bed. It’s really just too much. Is there ever a point when time feels like it’s moving the right pace? Can someone teach me how to find it?

Curried Samosas

Makes 15-16

For dough:

• 2.5 cups flour
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 teaspoon salt

For filling:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1” chunk of ginger, chopped or grated
• 3 Tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
• 1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
• 1 tomato, diced
• juice of 1 lemon [optional]
• 2-3 medium potatoes, chopped
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1.5 teaspoons cumin
• salt to taste

Preheat oven to 425º

1. To make dough: in a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. In a small bowl make “buttermilk” by combining soy milk and apple cider vinegar- stir and set aside 3-5 minutes, until it thickens. Add the soy milk mixture to the flour and stir to combine. Once a dough forms, use your hands to knead the dough for a few minutes, then form a ball, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. For the filling: pour sliced potatoes a medium pot and fill with enough water to cover. Place on medium heat and bring to a boil. Cook 5-10 minutes, until soft. Drain.

3. Heat a skillet over medium heat-add oil, garlic, ginger, and spices. Once sizzling, add the peas, tomato, lemon, and cooked potatoes. Cook 10-12 minutes, until a thick mixture forms. Remove from heat and set to cool.

4. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll the ball into 15-16 small, 1” balls. Roll each ball out with a rolling pin until you have flat roughly 4” circles. Fill each round in the center with a Tablespoon of filling. Brush edges lightly with water, fold over and seal, pressing lightly with a fork. Generously grease a cookie tray and lightly brush the tops of the samosas with oil then pop in the oven for 15 minutes at 425º or until golden on top. Enjoy!

Smokey Sweet Potato & Corn Black Bean Soup

I’m gonna keep things abbreviated today cuz I really only have two things to say and I want you to hear em loud and clear. 1) Go out tomorrow, cast your ballot then drop it like it’s hot. 2) Make this goddamn soup. My roommate May made it up. Whoever you make it for will want to have your babies. End of public service announcement.

Smoky Sweet Potato & Corn Black Bean Soup

• half a yellow onion, chopped
•  4-5 cloves of garlic
• one big tomato, diced
• one big carrot, diced
• one big sweet potato, diced
• 1/2 cup corn, fresh or frozen
• two cans of black beans (pureed them a bit before adding)
• one canfull of water (or enough to cover the other ingredients)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper, to taste
• “magical south africa smoky pepper flakes” or liquid smoke

1. Sauté garlic and onions in a splash of oil in a medium pot for 4-5 minutes, until golden. 2. Add the tomato, carrots, sweet potato, corn, black beans, and water. Leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the veggies are soft. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, and magic to taste.

Kick the Sick Chickpea Stew

It’s unseasonably cold in Madison and let me tell you SOMEONE’S PISSED. This same someone’s also sick. Don’t give me a glass vase or the kneecaps of someone who crossed the mafia the wrong way cuz I’ll probably break them out of rage without apology. I don’t like to get too graphic here but this morning I threw like all of my laundry on the floor out of frustration. I pride myself on never getting sick so the snot dripping down my face is really only adding insult to cold, bitter injury.

Instead of trying to fight this cold in a rap battle or some other form of public humiliation I’ve decided to take the high road and GET OVER IT. I may have slipped a few harsh words about his mother yesterday but I’m being the bigger person now. To get over said cold I made a batch of this soup which is scientifically-proven* to make you better quick. This soup also just so happen to be the twelfth out of 50 ways to love a chickpea! Boy oh boy this excitement is making me wheeze.

*not scientifically proven

Kick the Sick Chickpea Stew

• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
• 2-3 Tablespoons coconut (olive, or vegetable) oil for frying
• 6 cups vegetable stock (or water + bouillon*)
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 2-3 leaves swiss chard/collard greens/kale
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2” chunk of ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 can chickpeas, drained

1. Heat the coconut oil in a  medium skillet and add the mushrooms. Fry 4-5 minutes or until browned and soft.

2. Place a large pot on the stove and add the vegetable stock plus the veggies, bay leaf, ginger, garlic and chickpeas. Bring to a boil and leave to simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until hot and the veggies are soft.

My Babushka’s Borscht

Some things are inevitable.

It is inevitable that when I buy a new item of white clothing it will be dirty within four minutes of purchase.

It is inevitable that I will spill many a tear on my tacky 80’s pillow when in Russia because I miss kale and nutritional yeast.

It is inevitable that when I go to a club in a back alley in Russia by the name of “Jesus” I will dance with a guy and he will spin me over his shoulder (can someone please explain to me why this keeps happening?).

Most inevitable of all (inevitable-est) is the fact that I am posting a borscht recipe straight from my babushka’s top-secret old Russian woman vault.

Before I left for Russia I made my own borscht, which I liked but knew was far from authentic. My heart skipped a beet (punzzz) the day I came to the kitchen table and my Bab set a bowl of steamy hot borscht down at my place. Cabbage, beets, and the possibility of pink pee? Nothing better. Besides, her borscht is absolutely delicious. Can’t be beet. Alright, I’m done.

I finally got her to spill the juicy details of how to make this soup so damn good. I offered (begged) to help prepare it once but she promptly declined and demoted me to photographer/kitchen stalker while she sliced and diced her way to the masterpiece. My babushka believes her kitchen is her kingdom and my trying to help will cramp her style. We talk a lot about the importance of food as a means of bringing people together and how sitting around enjoying a meal is a tradition which we need to fiercely protect. I still haven’t gotten her to agree to let me help her but her resistance is futile. We will be the greatest cooking team there ever was. It’s inevitable.

My Babushka’s Borscht 

The taste of Russia in your mouth. 

• 1/2 head large cabbage, sliced thinly
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 1 small onion, chopped more finely than you think possible
• 3 potatoes, boiled, peeled, and sliced more finely than you think possible
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 5-6 cups water or vegetable stock
• 3 beets, boiled and shredded (pickled work best!)
• 3 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1 Tablespoon fresh dill
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
• chopped green onion to garnish

1. Do all of the chopping. Combine cabbage, carrot, onion, potatoes, garlic, salt and water in a large pot. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes. Note: use pre-boiled potatoes and beets or the time will be a bunch longer and much redder.

2. About halfway through add the fresh herbs and shredded beets. Salt to taste. If not using pickled beets and want it to be bitter (the Russian way!), add the juice of 1/2 a lemon.

3. Garnish with green onion and fresh dill. Enjoy the feeling of real Russianness.

Swanksgiving: Poppy Seed-Crusted Butternut Squash with Kale and Pomegranates

Thanksgiving is a time to appreciate. It’s a single day to gather with friends, loved ones, or even strangers to give thanks for all that we are lucky enough to enjoy in our lives. In my family this translates to making endless fun of my mom on car rides [all weekend], throwing back a few glasses of wine/beer about five times over my normal college student alcohol budget, petting my grandma’s face (88-year-old skin is the softest), talking about Life Plans with my cousins then abruptly switching to topics like Big Sean, or going on several semi-drunken tangents about one or more of the following: 1) Russia 2) veganism 3) Putin 4) how underrated Wisconsin is 5) #occupyyourmom jokes. Don’t make me explain #5.

The one of the best things about Thanksgiving is leaving and realizing that as all of the children in my family get older (I’m the middle of nine), this holiday gets exponentially better. We’ve become—or are ast least in the process of becoming— real people, which is wobble-dy wobble-dy wawesome. That was a Big Sean reference. OK.

This year I walked away from Thanksgiving with another realization:

My family is THE SHIT.
I mean, I’ve always kind of realized it in an obtuse way but now I can see that everyone is not only interesting, smart, funny, and overall great, but in a setting surrounding food I felt  lucky to have so much support for my veganism. I was given creative freedom to make a vegan appetizer, two side dishes, and a dessert, and people not only tasted my concoctions but complimented them and asked for seconds. I recognize that “fake butter” is not everyone’s cup of tea so I appreciated the open minds and positive feedback more than my family could know.

For what I’m calling my ”Swanksgiving” meal I tried to make dishes which were not only delicious but erred on the side of “just so happen to be vegan,” since tofu and fake cream cheese are not two of the things which make me most proud to not eat meat or dairy. The first of these dishes Poppy Seed-Crusted Butternut Squash with Kale and Pomegranates with a recipe adapted from My New Roots. This blog is loaded with awesome recipes using delicious, wholesome ingredients. Czech it out!

Poppy Seed-Crusted Butternut Squash with Kale and Pomegranates

Serves 4

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon melted coconut oil (worth the investment!)
• 3 Tbsp. poppy seeds
• ~1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 cups packed shredded kale
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Peel, de-seed, and cube squash. Pour on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and toss with garlic, coconut oil, poppy seeds, and a generous sprinkle of sea salt. Roast 30-40 minutes until soft but not mushy.

2. While the squash is in the oven, make yourself useful by shredding the kale, slicing it in thin strips and removing the spines. Add the juice of 1 lemon, a pinch of sea salt and massage into kale to wilt. Set aside.

3. Remove the pomegranate seeds. Fill a bowl with water, cut the fruit in half, then roughly pry out the seeds with your fingers and let them fall into the water. The seeds with white pith will float to the top – remove the pith as much as possible leaving the seeds, which will then sink. Drain them and set aside.

4. For dressing, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup, and dijon mustard. When the butternut squash is done, remove from oven and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Add to kale and pomegranate seeds and mix. Top with dressing and mix well to coat. Season to taste and serve!

Now that’s something I’m thankful for.

Roasting is For Lovers and Yourmomegranate

Howdy partners,

First off, happy Halloween. Halloween is one of my very favorite holidays because when else is it acceptable to claim a badge of pride for making out with the Dalai Lama, dancing with a Sims family, or striking up an intellectual conversation with a toothbrush? Halloween is one day of the year when it is socially acceptable for us to be anything we want: glorified dress-up for adults. I’ll get to that in a minute.

Secondly, please bescuse the lack of posts recently. The last several weeks have been midterms and I am just now able to finally give the tiny people sorting through file cabinets in my brain a bit of unpaid vacation. Hey, I never said the job came with benefits.

Because I’ve been crazed with textbooks and essay questions lately, I’ve fallen into the straight-forward pattern of roasting the crap out of everything I eat. Brussels sprawesomez, squash, cauliflower, apples, carrots, tomatoes, you name it. I tried roasting a plum last week. Not bad.

The method for my roasting madness? 400º oven. Olive oil to coat. Salt.Pepper. For squash/root vegetables/cauliflower 40-45 minutes, about 30 for smaller things like Brussels sprouts.

Plus a trusty old recipe for turnip fries!

Returning to Halloween. For several weeks my roommates and I tried fruitlessly (pun intended…wait for it) to come up with a funny and creative group costume for three. We had nixed dozens (I was the only one in favor of being three different parts of the human ear). When Saturday afternoon rolled around, “pomegranate,” “beet,” and “pomegranate beet farmer” sounded like our best option. Because that is a natural trio.

At 5:00 I went to the nearest craft store and by 5:30 PM I was setting to work constructing my shell.

This was surprisingly easily accomplished with malleable wire, tissue paper, and lots of tape.  Next, I set to work on my seeds. I used rolled up paper towel, tissue paper, and a glossy coating of sparkly spray paint.

My amazing friend Haya helped stitch the seeds onto a dress, I made astem/crown, and pretty soon my costume was ready. The whole thing was whipped together in about 4 hours !

Being picked by the farmer.

Hope all y’all’s Halloween was spooky scary [boys becoming men, men becoming wolves].

Holy Shiza Pepper & Chickpea Pizza with Tomato-Cashew Special Sauce

Oh man oh man. This is to die for. I made this last weekend while visiting my lovely Aunt Ali. She begged for the sauce recipe so here it is, Al!

Tomato-Cashew Special Sauce

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1 small, ripe tomato (1/2 to 1 cup chopped)
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast [Don’t even think about omitting this!]
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Blend in a food processor or blender, add water as needed to loosen up. You want it to be a thick, spreadable pizza sauce. This can be modified to be a nomtastic spaghetti sauce by adding 1/4 cup of water.

Izzy Pizzy Pizza

• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup Tomato-Cashew Special Sauce
• 1/4 cup chickpeas (of course.)
• 1 pre-prepared whole wheat pizza dough or make yo own

1. With floured hands, stretch out pizza dough by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands. If this feels overly ambitious, simply roll it out on a floured counter (das what I did). Lay the dough on a corn meal-ed pan or preheated pizza stone. Pop in the oven for 5-6 minutes at 450º. Remove from the oven- the dough should be getting firm and crusty.

2. Throw the onions and peppers in a pan with a splash of olive oil. Sauté for 6-7 minutes, until the veg are browned and soft.

3. Throw that Special Sauce on the pizza, dangit! Spread evenly and top with sauteéd veg, tomatoes, and chickpeas. Add a splash of olive oil and pop the whole thing back in the oven at 450º for 15-20 minutes, checking often to be sure it doesn’t burn.

That simple. Try not to burn your mouth shoving this deliciousness in it.