Birthday Shortcake

Yesterday we celebrated Paul's 40th birthday! A big occasion! He's never been one for regular cake on his birthday. He likes pie or another kind of dessert. And falling in June, his birthday can take advantage of all kinds of summer fruit (plus enjoying it outside!).

We decided on Strawberry Shortcake this year. But with a twist! The shortcake is a Lemon Lavender Shortcake that I came up with myself! I used a scone recipe from Joy of Cooking for the shortcakes and added lemon and lavender. And just when our lavender in the garden is perfect for baking with!

Strawberry Lemon-Lavender Shortcake

For the shortcake:
Stir together 2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1-2 teaspoons finely-ground lavender buds (grind in a coffee grinder) and the zest of one lemon. Stir in 1 cup heavy cream and the juice from one lemon. Stir in enough extra cream for the mixture to just come together--use a light hand in mixing. Knead in the bowl just until the dough forms a rough ball and transfer to a floured surface. Roll out to about an inch thick and either cut out rounds or cut into squares. Place the pieces on a baking sheet and bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

For the strawberries:
Hull and slice 2 to 3 pints of strawberries. Place in a bowl and add sugar to taste--about 1/4 cup--and a handful of chopped fresh mint.

To assemble:
Split the shortcakes in half. Place one or two shortcakes on each plate and spoon strawberries on top. Dollop plenty of whipped cream on top of that. Enjoy!

Oh, yes, I even made a vegan version of this for Hibi. And it was surprisingly good, too! Instead of adding cream, just cut in 6 tablespoons of vegan shortening, then add enough non-dairy milk for the mixture to come together. Continue as directed. I've seen vegan whipped creams on the market but we didn't think of getting this in time....she enjoyed it plenty without the whipped cream!

Vegan Biscuits and Gravy!

I've been wanting to figure out a good way to make vegan biscuits and gravy, and this morning I made some scrumptious ones! Oh, so good! I got the inspiration from a retreat center cookbook I have, but I changed it enough that I'm taking credit myself. :-)

First, make the biscuits:

Stir together 2 cups flour (you can use part whole wheat or other flour, but I used all white this morning), 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cut in 6 teaspoons non-trans-fat shortening (like Spectrum) until well-blended and the pieces of shortening are very small, about the size of grains of rice. Stir in 3/4 cup plain soy yogurt, then moisten the dough with enough soy milk for it to all come together. Knead just a few times in the bowl, then pat it out in a smooth layer on the counter or a large cutting board dusted with flour. Pat out to about 3/4 inches. Cut out with a biscuit cutter or a large cookie cutter and put on a cookie sheet. Bake at 450 for about 10 minutes, until golden brown and raised.

Make the gravy: toast 2 1/2 cups cashews in the oven--you can put them in while the oven is preheating for the biscuits and leave them until they're done, even with the biscuits in there too. In a small skillet, saute half a chopped onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil over low heat. In a blender, put 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 2 cups water, 2 teaspoons tamari (soy sauce), and whatever herbs you want--I used fresh rosemary and thyme from my garden. When the cashews are done, add them and blend until smooth (or pretty smooth). Add the cashew slurry to the onions and cook over low heat until heated through. Add more water for a thinner gravy. Add salt if desired.

Split the biscuits and ladle gravy over. Enjoy!

Vegan Doughnuts!

Oh my! We are going to have a great Lent! (If you're just stumbling upon this blog and wondering, we are Greek Orthodox and just starting Lent next Monday.)

Recently the fabulous Jennifer Schmoo came visiting our house! And she came bearing a gift. She brought My Sweet Vegan, a treasure for vegans and Lenten-fasters! I immediately said "We're going to have a good Lent..."

We started using it before Lent since Hibi is a vegan, and her birthday was on Tuesday. These wonderful doughnuts are what we had for breakfast. I made up the dough the night before, put it in the fridge, then on Tuesday morning when I got up I formed the doughnuts and let them rise. They were ready for frying when it was time for breakfast, and yum, what a breakfast it was! Not even us non-vegan cheese-fare people were complaining.

Now, normally I would post the recipe. My understanding is that recipes cannot be copyrighted, and I'm within my rights to post them on my blog. But the author of this cookbook Hannah Kaminsky, is still a teenager! She also homeschools. And I find it so amazing that she could come up with such a tasty compilation at such a young age, that I am going to urge you to buy the book rather than posting the recipe. If you are at my house, you are welcome to copy it yourself. :-)

Also I would usually link to the Powells site rather than Amazon, but Powells doesn't seem to have it yet. Hey, Hannah, you should sell your book to Powells! It is definitely up Portland's alley.

Also, the night before we took the Root Beer Float Cupcakes from this book to a gathering as a birthday cake. They were also scrumptious! Definitely a good resource for those of us who avoid dairy and eggs at least part time.

Note: After I posted this, I thought I should add a thought on enjoying food during Lent: I realize the point of fasting is not to circumvent the rules and make something that tastes as good as the original that we aren't eating. However, as a former neighbor at seminary once said, you can fool your tastebuds but you can't fool your body! I think this is true and we do feel differently during Lent because of what we are not eating. Also, though, the fast is loosened on weekends which is when we would be enjoying things like this. It seems so much more of a treat when you've been fasting strictly all week.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mystery solved! I can remember baking chocolate chip cookies where they turned out nice and plump, chewy and delicious. Then, several years ago, something changed. My cookies would spread in the oven and become paper-thin and too crumbly. I quit making them because it just didn't seem worth it. Hibi started making vegan chocolate chip cookies, with shortening and soy milk, and they came out better than my non-vegan ones! So, that made me think it had to be one of the components that are not in vegan cookies. I thought of eggs, but when I began keeping my own chickens again it didn't improve. I figured it was some change in commercial ingredients that came from the different treatment of farm animals. But I remained in the dark about what specifically it was.

Well, I don't know if that assumption was correct, but it turns out that it has to do with the butterfat content of the butter. I don't remember who it was who suggested it in conversation recently, but someone said "try European butter." My first thought was: uber-expensive Plugra? Wow, is that what it'll take for good cookies? But I found Straus European-Style butter at New Seasons and tried it out last night.

And it was definitely worth it! My cookies still came out crunchier than I like them but that was just because they got left in oven too long. But they have such a nice buttery flavor and they're plump and delicious. I used the recipe from my Kitchen Aid booklet. Oh, yeah, I bought myself a used Kitchen Aid mixer with my Christmas money, and I'm enjoying it a lot! In fact, I said I was still going to knead bread by hand, but I haven't done so since I got my Kitchen Aid.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Place sugars, butter, eggs and vanilla in mixer bowl. Mix on speed 2 (on a kitchen aid--low speed) and mix about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape bowl. Turn to speed 4 (medium speed) and beat about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape bowl.

Turn to Stir speed. Gradually add soda, salt, and flour and mix about 2 minutes. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape bowl. Add chocolate chips and mix on stir speed for about 15 seconds.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from baking sheets immediately and cool on wire racks.

Enjoy!

Egg Cups

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted a tasty treat here. But here's a good one! Especially if, like me, you are the proud owner of chickens, who are beginning to lay once again! Ah, all that fresh, truly-free-range eggy goodness deprivation gone for another year. Hurrah!

I sure wish I'd gotten a picture of these....they are so pretty, as well as tasty. They're pretty easy to make, though the philo is a bit tedious. Someone said that philo cups are available commercially, so that would be worth checking into.

Baked Eggs in Philo Cups with Lemon Sauce

Plan on one or two eggs per person...or more, if they're really hungry! Have as many ramekins on hand as you plan to make eggs. Melt butter and brush each ramekin with melted butter. Open up a package of philo dough and slice a strip off, about five inches wide. Cut this strip into thirds, to make squares (at least close). Brush each piece with butter as you work. Place a piece of philo into a ramekin, layering one on top of another overlapping, to cover the whole inside of the cup and sticking out a bit on top. Put at least 7 or 8 pieces in each ramekin...until it looks like enough, like a little philo cup. Repeat with all the ramekins. (Save the rest of the philo for another use.)

Put about 1 1/2 tablespoons of cream cheese or other soft cheese on the bottom of each philo cup. Then crack in one egg in each. Snip chives over the top (or you could use other herbs), drizzle with just a smidge of cream, and salt and pepper over the top. Place ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for oh, maybe 20 to 30 minutes? Depending on how done you like your eggs.

While the eggs are baking, make the sauce: melt two tablespoons butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add two tablespoons flour and stir and cook until the mixture is lightly browned. Add about 3/4 cup milk (honestly, I didn't measure--just keep adding it until it's the right consistency) and cook and stir until the mixture comes to a simmer and thickens. Add the juice from one lemon. Add more milk if it's too thick.

Drizzle sauce over the eggs at the table. Enjoy!

Briami and Manestra

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted on my food blog! I've been so busy I haven't even been cooking all that much. The week our church was made a cathedral, I realized that it was a whole *week* that I went without cooking a "real" meal, if you don't count fixing a quick-style huevos rancheros with store-bought refried beans, which I don't. :-)

One thing that's making me busy is the cooking class we're doing at church, though. And it's been so great! I am teaching it tomorrow. I figured I'd better test the recipes tonight. Honestly, though I've eaten it and enjoyed it and knew it'd be very easy, I've never before made either of these recipes. They're just which ones fit best with my vegetarian night. And let me tell you--they were *so tasty.* Hibi was very impressed as well! (That's all who are home tonight to enjoy it, though I know Paul will enjoy some later.)

A note about the vegetables: I know it's beyond eggplant season, just barely but still. And zucchini too. Though when I went to pull out my zuke plant yesterday, I found it still had little tiny zukes on it, and I didn't have the heart! So I left it. Anyway, I do plan to tell the folks that, and that they should really make this in late summer or early fall. But this was scrumptious all the same.

You could substitute other vegetables for the out-of-season ones....like peppers or carrots, and in season you could use green beans. I also used rosemary, even though the recipe I was following said to use dill. I don't have dill, and I do have rosemary growing in my garden. This recipe is very conducive to adaptation.

Briami (Roasted Vegetable Casserole)

3 zucchini, cut into 1" rounds
5 large potatoes, cut into 1" rounds
1 eggplant, cut into 1" rounds
1 medium onion, chopped coarsely
4 garlic cloves, chopped coarsely
2 tablespoons mint
2 tablespoons parsley
1 small piece of rosemary
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and place in a large baking pan. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours or until all vegetables are tender. Check frequently and add water if vegetables seem dry. Liquid should be absorbed when done.

Manestra (Orzo with cheese)

1 16 oz. package orzo
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
mizithra, feta, or parmesan to taste

Cook orzo in boiling water until al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water. Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet until butter is melted, and add orzo. Stir for a couple of minutes. Add cheese to taste.

Enjoy!

We heard recently that there's a new restaurant in our area of town called Nutshell, and that it's all vegan. Now, I probably wouldn't have tried it if we didn't have a vegan in the family, but we did tonight. And I have a message for non-vegans and non-vegetarians: if you love good food, go to Nutshell! It was amazing food. The only complaint I have is the very slow service. And I do mean *very slow*. Don't arrive very hungry. Though we perhaps should have expected to wait for awhile because we did get there at 7:15 on a Friday evening, but I've seen lots of other reviews saying the place has very slow service.

Anyway, three of the four of us loved the place. Zachary did not love the place, but even he had things he liked about it. He didn't like waiting so long--we got there at 7:15 and put our name on the waiting list. I don't know how long we waited, but it was a long time. We were finally seated, and then quickly ordered, but it was again a long time before our food came. We were in our car driving home at 9:30. That's slow service!

One word about the price: some would consider the price to be a negative. It was a bit pricey. My entree was $14. But I say it was worth every penny, plus the wait....well, I could really get rid of the wait and be much happier!

But on to the good stuff. After we ordered, I saw the olive oil menu sitting on the table and remembered that I'd seen a review that talked about their olive oil menu. So we ordered some. You can select from about 5 different breads or an assortment, about 6 or 7 olive oils from all over the world, and a ton of different salts. We chose the assortment of bread, the Chilean olive oil, and a volcanic salt. Well, I know what good olive oil and salt and bread taste like. But we were all blown away by how good it tasted! "Like and explosion of flavor in my mouth!" were the words uttered by my jaded 13 year old. I'd like to go sometime and just have something simple like soup, along with a variety of breads and olive oils and salts.

After the long wait, our entrees finally came. Zachary didn't like his spaghetti, but the rest of us did! It was spaghetti with a creamy porcini and truffle sauce. It was just how you'd imagine it to taste, with the very pungeant truffle flavor throughout the spaghetti. It was delicious. I've got the leftovers in my fridge for my lunch tomorrow. :-)

Hibi had a grilled pineapple and avocado sandwich, which came with bamboo fries. She really loved it. I was interested to try those fries, but I have to admit, I was expecting them to be...well, woody. Not at all! Very interesting flavors and we all enjoyed some.

Paul had the potato pancakes, which he also enjoyed. They were very interesting, too--they were basically like puffs of mashed potatoes, with interesting toppings. I don't remember much about them because I was so focused on my own and the kids' meals.

I had the Jamaican BBQ and it was all delicious. It had lots of different things in it....red beans and rice, corn fritters that were SPICY!, something like a hash browns but I'm not sure it was potatoes. Boy, I sure wish I'd remembered what all was supposed to be in it! Then there was an orange half that was hollowed out a bit and stuffed with a mixture that could have been potatoes or yucca or something like that....but it definitely had coconut in it, and it was nicely sweet but not overly. Oh, and grilled squash and onions.

We did not stay for dessert, as we'd already been there a long time! Though it's just a half block from Pix Pattiserie, which I was thinking of going to after....but after I did not give a second thought to this idea. I was already sated with some of the best food I've eaten in a long time.

The Citysearch review we looked at for Nutshell says it's a good place for kids. I'd have to disagree, unfortunately. Though it's probably fine for kids to make noise, as it's a pretty noisy place, there's not much that's kid-friendly on the menu. They did offer to make Zac plain spaghetti with vegetables, but he chose the truffle spaghetti because I told him that truffles are very expensive. ;-) But really, I felt a bit out of place there, myself, and not just because I had kids along (they were the only kids in the restaurant). It is a very trendy, hip place where it's cool to be in your 20s and hanging out with friends.

But don't let that stop any of you non-twenty-somethings from trying it! Because why should the twenty-somethings get all the good vegan food?