Farmers Market

Made it to the Columbia Pike Farmers Market today =). Hopefully I'll be transforming these lovelies into yummy peach pie and baked eggplant parmigiana later this week. Also did some birthday (not mine) baking that I'll post about later.

Vegan Brunch Tofu Scramble

With a little over half an hour to cook and a 6 hour drive to the beach (which became 9 hours due to bad Google directions =/) ahead of us on Monday night, I knew I had to throw something together FAST. Since my omni boyfriend, The Driver, would be sharing this meal as well, I was pretty nervous when choosing a vegan recipe using nutritional yeast. This is a beloved ingredient for many vegans (among others), not the least because it's a good source of vitamin B12 and is considered by some to impart a "cheesy" flavor. But introducing nutritional yeast to someone who's never tried it can be tricky, because many people simply can't stand its unique taste. Fortunately, I lucked out and Patrick really liked this scramble. He praised it for being full on flavor and even noted (without prompting) that the brightly colored vegetables made for a nice presentation. There's reason to hope that I'll make a foodie out of him yet!

This scramble is based on the Basic Scrambled Tofu recipe (p. 19) from Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I altered it to be slightly healthier (less oil) and to use up the vegetables I had on hand. All those veggies released their moisture while cooking, so my version turned out less dry than the original. It's slightly embarrassing to admit this is the first recipe I've made after owning Vegan Brunch for almost 3 months, but now I'm super excited to try more. Even if you don't own it yet, Isa's been so cool as to post a bunch of sample recipes on her site. She's also author of several other awesome cookbooks: Vegan with a Vengeance, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and Veganomicon. Her recipes are generally spot-on and really prove that plenty of great food can be made at home without any meat products. Isa's even coming out with a cookie book this winter that's already on my wishlist. Is there anything she can't do?

Zucchini Tomato Tofu Scramble [Printable Recipe]
Adapted from Vegan Brunch
Spice Blend
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme, rubbed with your fingers
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons water

Combine the above ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Tofu and Vegetables
1 garlic clove, minced, plus a few dashes of garlic powder
(2 of the cloves pictured above turned out to be rotten)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 small zucchini, sliced
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 pound firm tofu, drained and gently hand-squeezed to remove excess water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
salt and black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute, stirring to make sure it doesn't burn.

Break the tofu into pieces of whatever size you prefer and add to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring only occasionally so the tofu has a chance to brown. Then add the zucchini, tomatoes, and a few pinches of garlic powder and salt. (I added more salt to balance the large volume of vegetables). Continue cooking and stirring these until the zucchini and tomatoes have softened.

Add the spice blend and mix to incorporate. Last but not least, add the nutritional yeast and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about another 5 minutes and it's ready to eat.

Muffin WIN

So I'm back and refreshed from a wonderful week at the beach! We actually got in so recently that there's still sand in my ears =), but I couldn't wait a second longer to gush about these scrumptious muffins that I'd brought with us. Although it's not documented here, I've had quite the bumpy history with from-scratch muffins. Sure, I've had some moderate success recently and discovered that recipes with bananas somehow manage to survive even my muffin misfortune. But I struggled on in search of THE berry muffin recipe that could live up to the ideal in my mind: sweet but not tooth-achingly so, bursting with fresh berry flavor, and possessing a tenderness reminiscent of cake, yet with enough substance to get me through an entire morning.


Well call off the search 'cause I FOUND IT. Just in time too. With the specter of one-too-many-rubbery-muffins-past looming over me, I'd begun to doubt that I'd ever conquer this classic breakfast treat. Oh boy did perseverance pay off, and who knew victory would taste so sweet...and tender? I made a few tweaks to make the original recipe even better, I dare say. If anyone else out there is, like I was not so long ago, desperate for their first unequivocal muffin success, please give this one a spin. You won't regret it. Nor will you be able to stop eating them while simultaneously patting yourself on the back (I particularly pride myself on this kind of multitasking). And in case you don't inhale them all the first day (unlikely), these keep well for several days. Just be sure to cool them completely before storing or the topping will get soggy.


S'About Time Blueberry Muffins [Printable Recipe]
Adapted from To Die For Blueberry Muffins posted on Allrecipes
Makes 12 muffins

XIAOLU'S NOTES: I've read that frozen blueberries will work as well, but that you have to toss the frozen fruit in a light coat of flour before gently folding into the batter to prevent the color from bleeding during baking.

2 1/4 cups (10 oz.) all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
Slightly rounded 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup yogurt (thin out with milk if too thick) OR buttermilk
1/2 Tbsp lemon or orange zest
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup (1.5 oz.) all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp butter, cubed
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 3 T butter, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix with fork, and set aside.

To Make Muffin Batter: Sift together 2 1/4 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder into a medium to large mixing bowl. Mix dry ingredients to combine thoroughly and make a well in the center. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the eggs, yogurt or buttermilk, zest, and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and mix very gently just until combined. Gently crush about a third of the blueberries with your hands or a spoon, then lightly fold all the berries into the batter.

To Assemble and Bake: Fill muffin cups right to the top (I like to use my 2 oz. cookie scoop for this), and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture (I was pretty generous in application and still had a little left over). Bake muffins for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Desiderata

Hello hello! I'm having a great time on vacation and didn't really expect to be posting so soon. But I was introduced in NYC to this an amazing poem by Max Ehrman that perfectly condenses the philosophy I'd like to have toward life. Please read it for yourself below and after the jump. Seeya after the beach!

Desiderata by Max Ehrman

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Snickerdoodles (no relation to Snickers)

Yep, I baked for work 2 nights in a row on top of overtime...so I'm crazy alright. Frankly, this cookie recipe looked kind of vanilla to me after the "fancy" (as one coworker called it) flavor combination in yesterday's banana bread. Trust me though, I just inhaled 4 of these babies in an embarrassingly short amount of time so I'm confident they'll hold their own against other baked goods.

In case you're not familiar with snickerdoodles, as I just learned several people weren't, they're essentially sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking. For my first time making these from scratch, I chose Mrs. Sigg's Snickerdoodles recipe, posted on Allrecipes. With over 2,000 rave reviews, I figured I'd keep substitutions to a minimum and simply link to the original recipe. I used all butter and no shortening and doubled the amount of cinnamon sugar to make coating easier. As the photos show, mine were missing the cracked surfaces characteristic of snickerdoodles. On top of that, the cookies baked on different metal sheets and liners consistently set up differently from each other (see below):

Cookie baked on sheet with lower rim lined with a Silpat silicone mat (left) and
cookie baked on insulated sheet with higher rim lined with parchment paper (right)

I'd love to figure out what caused both of these results, but it'll have to wait. I'll be on vacation in NYC then NC all of next week. Superw00t! Bye for a while!

Not My Usual Banana Bread

Bananas have become one of my favorite ingredients to bake with in recent years. They're cheap, fairly healthy, and, when allowed to ripen sufficiently, provide amazing flavor. But for years before this, I'd largely avoided banana-flavored treats. Let's just say it took a long time to overcome the trauma of some close encounters with artificial "banana" flavoring. I'm so glad to have gotten over that though, because banana bread done right can do wonders for a bad (or good) day.

I was lucky enough to find a great banana bread recipe on my first attempt a few years back. The Very Moist Banana Nut Bread recipe (with minor variations) from Recipezaar has since become a regular in my baking repertoire and is always gobbled up wherever I take it. While that remains my go-to recipe, I really enjoyed trying an unconventional twist from Cooking Light. Their Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze has already gotten plenty of coverage in the food blogosphere, but a good recipe deserves all the attention it can get. Plus, I was itching to upload my first photos taken with the new camera. There hasn't even been time for me to try any setting other than full auto, but that's what next week's vacation is for (so close I can taste the freedom!!). But getting back to the food, you can find the full recipe with my notes after the jump.

The key flavors (left) and lemon glaze (right)

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime (or Lemon) Glaze [Printable Recipe]
Adapted from Cooking Light

*My comments/changes in italics

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
*I also added 1/4 teaspoon of coconut extract
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice *I used lemon juice and added 1 teaspoon of rum

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk to combine.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, rum, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. *Mine took 65-70 minutes to bake through.

Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Combine powdered sugar and juice, stirring with a whisk; drizzle over warm bread. Cool bread completely on wire rack. *I did remove mine from the pan to cool for a while but put it back for lack of a better container.

UP NEXT: Snickerdooooodlez!