Roasted String Beans with Aioli
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Snap off the ends of the beans and pull out any stringy bits. Rinse. Toss in a roasting pan with a drizzle of olive oil and a shake of salt and pepper. Put in oven for 20-30 minutes, until they're starting to get brown and crinkly. Squeeze a lemon over the top and serve with aioli to dip.
To make the aioli:
Mash a clove or two of garlic, stir it into 1/2 c vegenaise with a splash of lemon juice.
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There is an organic vegan French-Japanese bakery-deli-cafe in Torrance called Casa de Tree. Do I really need to say more? Just go.
Okay, fine, it is in Torrance, you may need some more convincing. They make vegan donuts, and pancakes, and quiches...I recommend the spinach-mushroom. The quiches are served with a choice of sides from the deli case; if they have the salad with fried onions and chickpeas on top of perfectly dressed mizuna, get that. They also prepare interesting sandwiches on bread that is made in house. Just popping in for a snack? Get the curry vege donut. One of my new favorite foods. Ooh, and please, whatever else you order, have a lemon tart for dessert.
One more thing... you ought to know, I have a thing for tapioca pudding. My Grandma Sally used to make it, and it's one of those simple classic comfort foods for me. I've been on a casual quest for a vegan version for the last six years. Now, I was, of course, delighted to find that Casa de Tree had such a pudding on their menu. However, what with this being a French-Japanese impeccable little bakery cafe, it is not my grandmama's pudding. It is so much better. It's thin, which was at first off-putting since I was searching for that classic custardiness, but it's peppered with this sneaky little dice of surprising fruit like watermelon, kiwi, strawberries, and canteloupe that perfectly contrasts with the creamy pudding. Actually calling it a pudding seems inappropriate. It transcends pudding.
Oh, like I said, just go, eat here.
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Despite my dismay at the decline of the L.A. Times Food Section, I, of course, persist in reading it, hoping each week that it will have returned to its former glory, back from the edge that is its current near advertising supplement status. Last week was pretty good, I found myself interested in several articles, and what was especially exciting, even using a recipe. I veganized the Molasses Cookie recipe from Regina Schrambling's review of the recently reissued Silver Palate Cookbook. They turned out absolutely delicious.
Molasses Cookies
3/4 c. margarine
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. black strap molasses
1 flax egg
1 c. flour
3/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1. Get out your ingredients and prepare your flax egg (1 Tbsp. ground flax + 3 Tbsp. water). Heat the oven to 350 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the margarine over low heat. Remove from the stove, and mix in sugar and molasses. Add the flax egg and blend well.
3. Whisk together the dry ingredients and stir this mixture into the wet. The batter will be oddly gelatinous. That's okay.
4. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto the prepared cookie sheet, leaving about 3 inches in between each mound.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies have just begun to brown. Remove from the oven while they are still soft. Let cool on cookie sheet. Makes about 20 large cookies.
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Do you see that? That's the current lunch special at Mother's Market and Kitchen in Huntington Beach. It's a vegan shrimp papaya salad. With a coconut basil dressing. In addition to all that goodness, it also came with at least a half of a perfect avacado. Finely chopped red onions and cilantro on top. Big ol' mess of fresh salad greens on the bottom. The whole thing had this lovely cobb salad sort of feel that really works with the vege-friendly Marie Callender's type ambiance that the cafe has. Such a nice little outing to the OC, plus it's a market, so you can tell yourself that you're just going grocery shopping as you get into your car to cruise down the coast. Just don't forget your beach chair, Mother's has a radical deli case for packing picnics and Crystal Cove State Park is only a few more miles down PCH if you need a little day long vacation...and I know you do.
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Employing my teacher skills, I have devised a seitan rubric to help objectively judge this little contest. Here it is:
The Rubric:
Ease
5 - Contained fewer than 8 common ingedients and involved no kneading.
3 - Contained more than 8 ingredients and involved some kneading.
1 - Required at least 10 minutes of kneading.
Texture
5 - Meaty. Passed the dad test.
3 - Good, slighty spongy or tough.
1 - This is a meat sponge, and not in a good way.
Total Score /10
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