Thanksgiving last night was a relaxing and low-key affair with gentle friends, easy conversation, delicious food, cats poking their heads in everywhere they’re not supposed to (i.e. in the masa and in the bowl of brussels sprouts), and a fun round of apples to apples.  The star of the meal, however, was definitely the pozole that Julio took the lead on and which we cooked together.

I swear, Julio is going to have his own restaurant someday, and, right now, he is testing and honing his recipes.  His restaurant will be probably the only one in Mexico where you will be able to get any traditional Mexican dish vegan and allergen-free.  :)

Many Mexican restaurants serve pozole (hominy soup traditionally made with chicken or pork) and menudo (tripe soup) only on the weekends.  Therefore, I had always assumed that there was something particularly complicated about it.  In reality, it’s a pretty simple and easy soup (especially if you make it vegetarian).  The flavor all depends on the salsa, though, and the toppings.  Julio made his salsa ahead of time, so I don’t know exactly how he made it as far as quantities are concerned.  In fact, quantities are pretty loose overall in this recipe.  I’m just going to list the ingredients and not worry about the measurements.  You really can’t go wrong.  Trust your eye and your instinct, and taste along the way.

POZOLE ROJO (Red Pozole)

INGREDIENTS – SOUP

olive oil

carrots, chopped

white onion, diced

potatoes, chopped into small chunks

pozole (hominy) – you can make it fresh which takes a long time or just buy it in a can and rinse

a few bay leaves

salt

INGREDIENTS – SALSA

about 1 cup guajillo chiles (or arbol chiles)

water to cover the chiles

1-2 small tomatoes

INGREDIENTS – TOPPINGS

diced white onion

shredded iceberg lettuce or cabbage

chopped radishes (optional)

avocado slices

fresh lime wedges

fried tortilla strips

TO MAKE:

Heat the oil in a big soup pot.  Add the diced onion and carrot.  Saute for 2-3 minutes.  Cover with water and let cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the bay leaves and the potato and enough water to cover with about 1 inch to spare.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5-10 minutes.  Add the salsa* and the pozole (hominy).  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5-10 minutes.  Add salt to taste.

Serve with the toppings.  I really recommend making the friend tortilla strips yourself and not just buying tostadas.  It’s worth the effort.  All you have to do is cut up regular corn tortillas into strips (I prefer the brand El Milagro).  Heat about 1/4 inch of corn oil in a pot.  When the oil is hot, drop the strips in.  Remove when they are golden brown.  Let dry on paper towel before serving.  You can add salt if you really want to, but I didn’t find it necessary.

*For the salsa, cover the chiles with water and soak overnight.  Blend the chiles with the soaking water and the tomatoes.  Adjust the ratio to taste.

Eat and enjoy!

Note: For meat eaters, simply place a bowl of cooked chicken or whatever preferred meat out as a topping.

**********************

We made tortillas by hand to eat with our pozole, and it was so much fun.  You need a tortilla press and some good masa and a griddle or flat pan or comal to cook them on.  The key is really in the masa.  I bought the masa we used from Los Amigos on 51st and Kedzie.  The cook looked at me skeptically when I walked in and asked in Spanish, “You know how to make tortillas?”  I responded, “Of course!”  I mean, theoretically… my past experiences with tortilla making have always resulted in some very holy tortillas…. and I don’t mind blessed.  This time, though, the tortillas didn’t stick to my hand.  They turned out perfectly smooth and deliciously chewy.  The secret is all in the masa.  Los Amigos told me they buy their masa from Popo Tortilleria.  I’m not sure where this is, but it is on my list of destinations now.

Making tortillas by yourself is meditative.  Making tortillas with friends is one of the most pleasurable cooking experiences I know.

I’m not sure why my captions aren’t appearing on my photos, but in the first picture below, Shea and Julio are making tortillas. In the second pictures, los hermanos Perez (Martin and Julio are brothers) are making tortillas.  They both swore that this was their first time making tortillas, but apparently 20+ years of observing their mother at work taught them well.

Last night, when I went over to Jessica’s house to cook squash soup, beet chips, and brown rice together, I noticed that she had a big pot of something that looked like the ultimate comfort food.  I asked her if it was oatmeal, surprised that she could oatmeal given her allergies that are similar to mine.  She informed that no, it was congee.  I tried it, and I was sold.  The first thing I did this morning was look up online how to cook congee, and, now I have eaten congee with greens this morning, and I look forward to eating it for breakfast for the next two or three days.

Congee is common all over Asia as a rice breakfast porridge.  My first encounter with congee was in Hong Kong, and, as a 15 year old sugar addicted American teenager, I was not particularly enticed by the thick, fishy soup steaming in the bowl.  To be frank, I was quite turned off by the soupiness of the entire dish.

In my research this morning, I learned happily that you can alter the thickness of the congee from soup-like consistency to thick, oatmeal-ish consistency.  Congee is easily adaptable to any flavor preferences, and, seeing that it seems to be eaten in almost every Asian country, I am curious as to all of the flavor and consistency variations that exist.  Jess’s fiance prefers his with pork or smoke fish and an egg.  I made mine with tamari and freshly grated ginger.  If I had some green onions, I would have added those, too.  Apparently, in some areas in the Philippines, the congee is flavored with saffron and black pepper.  That sounds fantastic…..

I will also add that congee is excellent for anyone with an upset stomach.  It is also a good antidote to diarrhea.  It is easily digestible and would be a terrific food for children as well.

I found the recipe on this page.  It offers a lot of different cooking options for congee.  I went with the traditional stove top version for uncooked rice.

CONGEE

INGREDIENTS

1 cup brown rice, washed and soaked for at least 15 minutes

8 cups water (or more if you like it soupier)

a pinch of sea salt

2-3 splashes of tamari

1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger

other ideas for stir-ins or toppings: saffron, black pepper, green onions, scallions, crispy fried garlic, crispy fried onions, kim chi, miso, pickles, soaked dried daikon, soaked seaweed

Put the rice and the water in a pot.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for as long as it takes to reach the desired consistency.  It took mine 1 hour until it was done.

I served it with greens that I think are called Yukoi, although I’m not sure.  I buy them at the farmer’s market, and I’m completely in love with them.

Eat and enjoy!

….. my friends

….. good health and the access to learning more about health

….. a job that I love

….. the rights that I enjoy as a woman given the culture that I was born into

….. the opportunity for growth

….. all of the teachers who have contributed to my growth whether they have taken the form of friends, teachers, yoga teachers, flamenco teachers, the macrobiotic community here, cyberfriends through blogs, books, and it goes on infinitely

….. the grace to change

….. access to a variety of healthy, nourishing food

The list could go on forever, especially if I got more specific about each larger category.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, because it seems to be the simplest (that is, if we put to the side the history of the holiday).  For me, it’s about gathering with friends and sharing food and conversation.

Everyone seems to be making lists of what they’re cooking for Thanksgiving on their blogs, so I figured I would do the same.  I am delighted by how simple and fun this Thanksgiving feels to me.  Yesterday, I shopped for the fresh vegetables that I needed at the very last farmers’ market in Evanston.

I also have to note that I love having a vegan Thanksgiving.  I have not always been vegan, and I have delved into the crazy world of turkey buying and cooking.  It never felt right, and the whole thing always felt unwieldy and anticlimactic.  Now, it’s wonderful to have so much space in the oven and on the table for more delicious plates of grains and vegetables and soups, and, of course, desserts.

Since it will be a potluck, I’m not sure what everyone else is bringing which makes it all the more fun.  For my part, this is what I’m cooking:

* vegan pozole (Julio is in charge of this — I’ll post the recipe after we actually make it) with handmade corn tortillas.  Pozole is a traditional hominy, chile, and chicken soup in Mexico.

* Heidi’s roasted pumpkin wild rice salad

* yam-rutabaga mash (this time I’m adding some garlic to the mix)

* maybe brussels sprouts, if we need them — they’re quick to make and I’d like to try Heidi’s recipe

* apple pie with toasted walnuts on top instead of almonds – also, I’m using apple cider for the liquid in the crust and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Mix to simplify the process for the crust

* sour cherry cranberry compote

I have some new candles to spread across the apartment, Apples to Apples to play for fun, and some good music for everyone to relax to.  I’m really excited about sharing the food that I’ve been exploring for the past 6 months or so and relaxing with friends.

As for the cats, they’ll get some tuna juice on their usual homecooked food for a Thanksgiving treat.   Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

 

This is probably one of the easiest, healthiest, and most comforting desserts I know.  I tasted my first cherry compote at Natasha’s dinners and then discovered that I would have to request a bag of frozen, pitted sour cherries at the Evanston farmers’ market…. a very undercover ordeal indeed.  And so worth it!

Without further ado, here’s the recipe.  It’s very malleable, so change up the quantities as you wish.  I added cranberries, because I have them on hand, and I’m making this for Thanksgiving in a few days.

SOUR CHERRY CRANBERRY COMPOTE

INGREDIENTS (for one serving)

1 cup frozen sour cherries (or not frozen, whatever works)

1/2 cup frozen or fresh cranberries *

1-1/2 cups apple cider, apple juice, or apple pear cider (or whatever mixture you want)

1 Tbsp brown rice syrup **

1 tsp. kuzu

optional: 1 cinnamon stick

* If they’re frozen when you toss them in the pot, they maintain their form really nicely.  They might mush more if they’re fresh, but I don’t see a problem with that.

** I only used the brown rice syrup when I used the cranberries, too.  If I’m only using the cherries, then no sweetener is needed.

Put everything in a pot, bring to gentle boil, simmer for a few minutes, stirring gently.  Let cool and serve.

If you want it thicker and more like a relish, use less liquid and a little bit more kuzu, so that it holds together more.  I like it a little soupy.  This is also a nice treat for a disgruntled stomach because of the kuzu.

Mung bean pancakes are something that I had never eaten before much less tried to cook myself… until yesterday.  My dear friend, Alex, in Oregon suggested them to me and sent me his recipe with the list of ingredients but no measurements.  He told me these were one of his favorite foods to eat while he was living in India.  Since pancakes have been kind of a theme this fall, I had to try them out.

I began by soaking the mung beans for about a day.  Apparently, you can sprout them, too.  Next time, I’ll plan way ahead and give them time to sprout, but they seemed fine as they were.  A little note on mung beans… they are originally from India but quickly spread into Chinese cuisine as well.  They don’t need to be presoaked if you’re cooking them, and they are easy to digest.  They are superstars in the ayurvedic system, because they are tri-doshic, meaning that they are balancing for all three doshas…. pretty rare and pretty cool.  Mung beans are high in protein, fiber, and potassium.  As an added bonus, they’re usually cheap to buy.  Hooray for mung!

So, how to make the pancakes?  I did a little online research and found that mung bean pancakes are not only made in India but also in Korea.  The Korean mung bean pancakes remind me of okonomiyaki in Japan but without the eggs.  If you’re looking for a great okonomiyaki recipe, try Heidi’s at 101cookbooks.com.

I started with Alex’s recipe, but I followed some of the measurements used in this recipe.  Here’s what I ended up with:

ALEX’S MUNG BEAN PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup soaked mung beans

1/2 cup cilantro

1/4 tsp cumin powder

1/4 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp sea salt

toasted cumin seeds to garnish (I didn’t have these on hand, but Alex swears by them…. I need to get to Patel Brothers on Devon to pick some up before I make these again)

Blend all of the ingredients in a blender with a little water.  I made them runny enough so that they were like regular pancake batter but just a little thicker.

Heat a frying pan or griddle or comal to medium high heat and spread a thin layer of olive oil or other vegetable oil on it.

Flip the pancakes when they start to get dark brown/blackish around the edges.  They won’t bubble as much in the middle like regular flour pancakes.  They take about 1-2 minutes for each side.

Ta-da!  They’re done, and they’re delicious. Alex eats them plain with a little olive oil and freshly chopped cilantro on top.  I decided to top mine with a tiny bit of tamari sauce and a pressed salad of turnip, daikon, carrot, and cabbage (no dressing, just pressed)… see the first picture in this post for this combination.  I’m curious as to what else would taste good on top…. maybe some kind of chutney?

The second version of mung bean pancakes are Korean Mung Bean Pancakes.  I followed Gluten Free Gobsmacked’s recipe for the most part, but I adjusted some of the ingredients for flavor and availability.  I did’nt have green onions, so I left those out, although I’m sure they would be perfect in these pancakes.  I also left out the agave or sugar.  I used only 1/2 cup diced onion, I cut down the salt to 1/2 tsp, and I only used 1 clove of garlic.  I also used only 1/2 tsp of chili powder, and that gave the pancakes the perfect zing for me.

The picture below is of the Korean mung bean pancakes cooking.  You can see how the texture is completely different because of the cabbage and rice flour.  They reminded me of potato latkes, but not quite as heavy in the stomach afterwards.

I topped them with a splash of tamari sauce, and that seemed to be perfect.  There is so much cabbage inside that topping them with me turned out to be a bit much.  These were the perfect food for a cool evening, and I felt like these would be a lot of fun to make with a friend or for a party.  Once the batter is made, they’re ready to go, and everyone can eat them hot off of the comal.

Let me know how you like to top your mung bean pancakes.

If you haven’t heard this song yet, look it up on youtube or itunes.  It was written by the Chilean composer Violeta Parra, but it was made famous by the incredibly talented and grounded Argentinean singer Mercedes Sosa who died in October of this year.  The song “Gracias a la vida” starts like this….. “Thanks to life which has given me everything…. it has given me eyes that when I open them, I can distinguish perfectly between white and black and heaven covered with stars and the multitudes of the man I love….”

Her voice is deep and rich and erupts straight from her heart as if she is singing from the very core of the earth.  In remembrance of her life and talent, my Spanish teacher, Constanza, another beautiful and inspiring woman, organized a small potluck to gather friends.  We talked about her life, and many people talked about their experiences seeing her sing for the first time years ago or listening to her songs on the radio as youth.  After we talked, we put on CDs of her songs, and we sang together our favorite songs of hers.  Finally, after hours of sharing, we ate together — sauteed spinach with tomatoes and mushrooms, a steaming soup from Guatemala, white rice cooked with a lot of salt that makes it so delicious if not exactly healthy, homemade hummus, spinach and artichoke dip, some creamy chicken dish, and this roasted pumpkin salad recipe that I found on 101cookbooks.com.

I made this dish exactly as the recipe said to, except that I substituted brown rice syrup for the honey.  It turned out so amazingly delicious.  The wild rice and the sunflower seed dressing are scrumptious, and the squash is sweet and tender.  The caramelized onions melt in your mouth.  This is a dish that is really simple to make and yet looks beautiful on a potluck table.  It is rich and has that full-mouth feel, and it reminded me of the same satisfaction that I used to get from eating a big serving of steamy stuffing and gravy on Thanksgiving.  I am thinking that I might make this for my own Thanksgiving potluck next week.

Pancakes

Just the word “pancake” cracks me up nowadays (I’ll explain why in a second), and this morning, for the first time in years, I woke up thinking, “I want pancakes for breakfast!”  Maybe it’s because I didn’t sleep well, maybe it’s because I didn’t eat enough variety for dinner last night, maybe it’s because I don’t eat enough variety in general…. maybe I just wanted comfort.  Yes, I think that’s it.  I’ve been grading like a fiend all week and all weekend, and I woke up feeling like I need some warm and nourishing.

Pancakes make me laugh, because I have a senior who is writing his college essay on when he did his first successful pancake on the football field.  Apparently, a pancake is when you push against the other guy until he topples over and you basically flatten him.  Pancaked!  I think this sounds terrifying and somehow really hilarious, like knocking over weeble-wobbles.  Every time I see my student, I want to call him “pancake” in the way that I call other students “sweetheart,” “honey,” or “pumpkin” on occasion (usually when I want something from them — “Sweetheart, can you throw this away, please?”).  This kid, though, my sweet pancake, is a huge, hulking guy with a round baby face.  If I could shrink him to 1/10 of his size, I would probably just walk around the classroom rocking him in my arms while I teach….and he would probably like that.  He’s extremely needy and any small feat of compliance must be observed and loudly acknowledged – “You brought your book to class today!  Great job!”  I usually end up standing next to his desk while we’re discussing during class either to keep him awake or to minimize his off-topic comments.  He’s definitely disruptive but in a non-malicious way, and, so, in honor of both my cravings and his neediness, here’s a recipe for pancakes.

I adapted this from Cristina Pirello’s recipe.  I’m not sure why, but these pancakes cook really fast which make them even better for cooking early morning and sharing with friends.  Cristina says that her recipe makes 10 pancakes… I only 6 out of the recipe, and I ate them all.  If you’re sharing, I recommend doubling the recipe.  You can always save them for a snack later.

PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

1 tsp. baking powder

1 pinch sea salt

1 tsp. umeboshi vinegar

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 cup vanilla rice milk

Whisk the dry ingredients together.  Add the vinegar and oil, then add the rice milk, whisking until smooth.  Heat a griddle or comal to medium heat.  (I didn’t grease mine, but you could if you need to).  Scoop out 1/4 of batter onto the griddle.  The pancakes are ready to flip when bubbles appear, and the edge is clearly defined.

I ate these with a little bit of brown rice syrup and apple butter on top.  Delicious!  These would be fantastic with a blueberry or sour cherry compote on top.  Also, you don’t have to use cornmeal, but I think it gives the pancakes a more interesting texture.  Eat and enjoy!

Pancakes on the Comal

Washing

I have so much respect for anyone who makes enormous amounts of apple butter or jam or jellies or anything that requires preserving.  For some reason, I thought that I could just toss a bunch of apples in a pot and let it cook away for a few hours while I graded papers and, ta-da! , I would have apple butter.  Not quite.

It’s not that apple butter is difficult.  It’s not at all.  It’s just that, like most things, it requires a lot of attentiveness and care.

Cooking the Apples

I used Heidi’s recipe from 101 cookbooks, except that I left out the sugar completely, and I added some shakes of allspice to the spice mix.  The process is straightforward.  Wash, cut, and cook with enough apple cider to cover the apples until they are soft.  Then, puree the cooked apples.  Return the pureed apples to the pot and cook for a few hours (1-2) until the liquid thickens into butter.  THIS is where things get exciting.

For one thing, the pot you use is really important.  I used two pots for 1/4 of a bushel of apples (probably less, actually).  The thick stainless steel pot worked wonders, while the thinner pot that I usually use for soups took forever to thicken.

Cooking Down the Apple Butter

When you’re cooking down the apple butter, it turns into this lava-like substance that pops and spurts everywhere.  My floor is a sticky mess now, and I’m dreading the prospect of scrubbing down the stove.  I recommend covering the stove with aluminum foil before you start to save yourself the extreme cleaning that will inevitably be needed post-apple butter extravaganza.

The sterilizing of the jars was a bit tricky as well, since I don’t have the proper equipment… not even tongs, so I was using wooden spoons and soup ladle to slide the jars down the side of the pot into the boiling water.  I started with 8 full jars of apple butter.  Only 6 survived.  Not a bad rate, I don’t think.

The apple butter turned out delicious, and I love being able to give these jars to my friends as a fall treat.  Tomorrow night, I’m making cornbread to spread the butter on.  In the meantime, I’m savoring the sweet and spicy smell that of the apple butter that is lingering in my apartment even though I made the apple butter 3 days ago.  It sure beats the stink of cabbage that my neighbors complain about when I make my macrobiotic healing drinks.  :)

Apple Butter Ready to Eat and Share

Gourds in the Ann Arbor farmers' market

This weekend, I drove to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to visit my dear friends Eva and Tom who recently moved there.  I was eager to see them in their new home and also to have a very restful and food-full relaxing weekend.  I have been really fortunate to have spent a week in Eva and Tom’s home in Barcelona two years ago and to have had Eva spend a week in my home a year and a half ago.  All of these sleepovers have led to some great feasting.  We are not so comfortable in each other’s kitchens that sometimes I get confused when I don’t automatically know where a pot or a certain utensil is in her kitchen.  We are quite a vegetarian team in the kitchen, and we cooked a fantastic squash soup, the recipe for which is below.  We spent the weekend going to the farmers’ market, apple picking, cooking apple pie, having long leisurely meals with lots of conversation, and just enjoying each other’s company in a beautiful setting of russet and golden leaved trees.

The squash soup is really simple and very nourishing.  Don’t worry about pureeing it like most squash recipes call for… the squash gets so soft when cooked then you can mush it with your spoon in the bowl.  I added burdock and tamari when I made it again this afternoon, because I like them, but they’re not essential.  Also, if you’re allergic to cumin (hi, Jess!), you could just leave it out.  I think just adding cinnamon would really give it enough flavor.

Squash Soup

SQUASH SOUP

INGREDIENTS

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. cinnamon (or 1 cinnamon stick)

1 small butternut squash, seeds removed and cut into smallish pieces (leave the skin on)

1/2 cup sliced burdock root

1 Tbsp. tamari sauce

1 tsp. sea salt

Saute the onion and carrot in the sesame oil for 2-3 minutes.  Add the spices and stir to mix.  Cook for about 2 minutes more.  Cover with just enough water and cook for 2-3 minutes more while you’re cutting up the squash.  Add the squash and burdock.  Cover with just enough water, maybe about one finger’s width of water above the squash.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.  In the last 5 minutes or so, add the tamari sauce and salt.  Eat and enjoy!  (You can also garnish with parsley or cilantro….)

kale, chard, and collards at the farmers' market

herbs at the farmers' market

me loving the mint

me with a sunflower

apple freshly picked from the tree

Eva eating an apple in the orchard

picking Spy apples

Eva with the Spys

Beautiful fall colors in the orchard

Eva and me at the farmers' market

Pear Compote

I hardly ever eat fruit anymore now that I have been eating so many vegetables and whole grains as part of macrobiotics.  When I do eat it, the natural sweetness of the fruit doubles in intensity and delicious satisfaction.  Last weekend, the pears looked so gorgeous and so fallish, so I picked up two Bartletts and let them ripen on my counter for about 4 days.  Finally, tonight I made pear compote inspired by Natasha’s amazing peach mint compote that she served at September’s macrobiotic dinner.

I have always loved the combination of pear and ginger as well as pear and hazelnut, so I combined all of them in this recipe.  When I came home from school today, I mixed this together and let it sit while I threw two loads of laundry into the machines in the basement and went for my daily walk to enjoy the afternoon.  I love recipes that you can leave alone for a while, and, when you come back, they have work their magic with the help of time.

GINGER PEAR COMPOTE

INGREDIENTS

16 oz. apple juice (2 cups)

1/3 cup brown rice syrup

pinch of salt

1 tsp. vanilla (if you have it on hand, if not, it’s not completely necessary)

1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger

1/2 cup raisins

2 Bartlett pears, ripe and cut into slices

1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped roughly

Mix the apple juice, brown rice syrup, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl.  Add the ginger, raisins, and pears.  Stir lightly to coat the pears in liquid and to disperse the ginger and raisins.  Place a plate on top of the pears and liquids.  Place something heavy (I always use my molcajete — my curious cats don’t stand a chance against that hunk of lava rock) on top of the plate.  This is the same technique that you use to make a pressed salad.  Let sit for at least an hour or longer.  When you are ready to serve, spoon out some pears with liquid into a bowl and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts.

Eat and enjoy!