As Mark mentioned I am currently at a residency at the Philadelphia Art Hotel, run by two amazing people, artists Krista Peel and Zak Starer. I am all set up in a the top floor of a row-house in the East Kensington neighborhood in a studio room adjacent to a kitchenette where, thankfully, I can once again prepare all of my own food. My fellow resident, Danielle Rante, and I are becoming fast friends, along with our other roomie, her dog Kanga.

Lo and behold, Danielle is vegan and Zak and Krista are vegetarian, so it was easy for us all to agree on a local eatery the other evening–the Memphis Taproom–which is in our neighborhood. They serve local beers on tap and have a great selection of vegan food on the menu, as the lady half of their operation is vegan. Danielle and I each got the yummy Smoked (Tofu) Coconut Club with fries.

As great as that meal was, it’s not really representative of how I’m eating here. I love getting to see how other (foodie) vegans prepare food for themselves, and Danielle is teaching me a lot in the health realm. At our house, we tend to eat a lot of starches- regular noodles and breads and decent quantities of them. I think of starch as one of my small indulgences. However, since Danielle and I have prepared some simple meals together–of mostly fresh produce and whole wheat pasta, for example–I realized how great (and how much better for me) whole wheat pasta, or sprouted grain bread can be.  One of my favorite new snacks I’ve learned from her is simply lightly toasted sprouted grain bread with part of an avocado smooshed on top, drizzled with some honey (we’re honey eaters) with a sprinkle of salt.

The (Mostly) Raw Kale Salad above was my lunch today.  I learned from Danielle to rub the kale with a bit of olive oil and salt and let it sit to soften it a bit while preparing the other veggies. This makes it easier to eat. This salad also has an herbed salad mix stirred in with the kale, chickpeas (the not-raw part), diced green onions, blueberries, shredded purple cabbage, half an avocado- chopped, carrots and some hummus on the side. In addition to the oil and salt, it has a dash of balsamic vinegar and some cranks from a pepper mill. It was perfect!

With the 4th of July right around the corner, the summer grilling season’s about to hit its peak. The 4th may very well be the actual peak for lots of people.

For vegans and vegetarians fortunate enough to have a largely veg friend group, or a veg party/event to attend, this is always a great time. For those of us with a more “diverse” social group, this can sometimes be a source of stress or anxiety. Amy and I are lucky enough to have a really supportive group of friends, who not only respect our lifestyle, not only cater to our lifestyle when they have parties, but many of whom are happy to eat vegan themselves some or most of the time.

Still, any time you’re in the minority and your beliefs are openly available to public scrutiny–in this case eating–there’s bound to be some conflict, question, or exchange. Over the years, I’ve noticed one really good way to keep this positive is to bring something homemade to grill. Here’s why:

• People are far less likely to criticize something that you made yourself. They may not agree with your beliefs, but they’re your friends, and it’s a bold move to call bullshit on something someone made. It’s a like a personal attack. Invariably, of course, someone will tell you that your homemade brats look like poop. To which you should reply: “That’s funny. So funny that the first time I heard it, I fell off my dinosaur I laughed so hard.”
• In my experience, folks are more curious about homemade grillables. On many occasions they’re even tried our homemade burgers, brats, and patties.
• If you can name all the ingredients in something, it’s not so mysterious. People often ask, “What’s in that?” If you can tell them, it becomes less foreign, more acceptable.
• If you’ve used local, organic ingredients, it’s almost ethically unassailable. The conversation doesn’t always have to be about animal rights. It can be about supporting the local economy, reducing environmental impact, not eating stuff that’s processed, avoiding packaging, steering clear of hormones, food safety, etc. They’re your friends, right? So they’re probably awesome and smart. They like to talk about these things. Any discussion that raises or brings to focus our awareness of the food that we eat is a good discussion. You’re also bound to pick up a few advocates along the way. There are plenty of meat eaters who support local and organic.
• You can vary how “meaty” your burgers/brats/patties are. This ranges from, say, a black bean burger at one end (most people are omnivores, so they do eat beans)–which makes no pretense of being meat–to a seitan brat or barbecued seitan on the other. In the middle, you’ve got stuff like breaded chick(pea) patties, which have a aspire to something chicken-y, but do so in the form of a pretty familiar bean. Generally, the less your grillable aspires to be meat, the less others are likely to criticize and the more likely they are to try one themselves. Small victories, right?

Of course, this isn’t to say that you shouldn’t get pumped about grilling veggies and such (in fact, you probably should have some veggies)–asparagus, squash, zucchini, shish-ka-bobs, portabellas, etc–just that there’s something kind of nostalgic and satisfying about having a “traditional” grillable. So why not kick it the fresh, homemade, vegan way?

Some of our favorites are:

Black Bean Burgers

Chick Patties

Vegan Dad’s version of Isa’s Seitan Brats

Memphis BBQ Seitan

Seitan Chik’n Cutlet

Happy grilling!

My sincere apologies to readers who visit IV for recipes. It’s been a bit scant lately, because of all the “arts & culture” posts. But think of it this way, if they ever release Trivial Pursuit: Vegan Edition, you’ll be golden. The pink/brown pie will be yours!

Whoa…that sounded kinda gross.

With Amy gone in Reykjavik, it’s time to nestle in for a few weeks of solo-cookin’! Unlike the usual “Mark finds weird-and-occasionally-delicious things to do with leftovers” posts you’ve come to know and love, for the next few weeks I’m going to try to focus more on menu/lifestyle. This is because (a) we ate all of the leftovers before we left, so nothing would go bad and (b) as a culinary dynamic duo, we frequently neglect the often-disparate experience of cooking for yourself. I generally find I’m more inventive and am willing to put more time into a meal I’m making for other people. While I certainly love to eat, I also like to help other people love to eat. The more people, the more time and energy I’ll typically spend. But by myself, it’s easy to get into a pattern of making a giant meal every several nights and just living mindlessly on leftovers.

So, since getting back, I’ve been trying to cook more frequently, but to make quicker, easier dishes. So here’s the rundown:

Night 1

I got home from work and started pressure cooking 2 cups of chick peas. I let them cook for 45 minutes while I took care of other biz, and then proceeded to cheat by going over to Amy’s brother Joe’s place and eating his culinary masterpiece, Spicy Ramen (I will post this soon! You shall wait with baited breath.). I did bring over some fresh local broccoli and tempeh to round out the ramen (it’s especially awesome with seitan chik’n). And, with very little effort, I cooked up a mess of chick peas (more on this shortly).

Night 2

I made hummus with 2/3 of the chick peas, and saved the rest on the chick pea water. I also whipped up a batch of smoky tempeh and made smoky tempeh hummus wraps, including lettuce from our garden.

Night 3

Using the remaining chick peas and some tomatoes that were on the verge of going bad, I made a chick pea, tomato, and quinoa dish. I just cooked 1.5 cups of quinoa in veggie stock, then added the chick peas and tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, then garnished with sunflower seeds and almond slivers for a little crunch and pizazz. I told you I learned something from that last Reykjavik supper. I served it (to myself, of course) with steamed sesame kale–from our garden! Huzzah!

Brunch 4 (and 5)

I made the world’s most standard tofu scramble for brunch (well, I did add in poblano pepper that was starting to resemble a gigantic raisin), knowing that this would provide me a good 3 meals. 1 and 2, down.

Night 4

As many of you know, it’s asparagus season, so I’ve been cooking the hell out of some asparagus recently. I feel like I missed a week, and now I have to make it up (I don’t know what this is going to mean for strawberries…). In keeping with my recent Keep It Simple approach, I just sauteed a head of garlic in olive oil, then tossed in some chopped asparagus and cooked briefly, then covered. I boiled up some noodles, then tossed the noodles, asparagus, and garlic in more olive oil and tossed in fresh chives, oregano, and thyme from the garden, along with a few dashes of crushed red pepper (and salt & pepper, to taste, of course).

Night 5

We made chick patties about a month back, and did a double batch and froze the rest. Sunday was the ideal kind of day to pop one on the grill along with more asparagus (brush both the grill and asparagus in a little oil–I used a blend of olive of sesame oil). This took almost zero effort to make–and was all made from fresh local ingredients. Thank you past self!

Night 6

Remember the hummus from earlier? Remember the smoky tempeh? The lettuce from our garden? Well, it’s been 4 days, so it was time to enjoy another wrap. I’ve also got a stash of local broccoli and tortilla chips, should the wrap prove insufficient and the hummus too tempting.

The moral of the story, my friends, is that all of this has been really easy to prepare, healthy, and satisfying. I don’t feel like I’ve been “bogged down” by cooking (though it’s pretty unlikely that I’d ever feel that way), but also feel that I’ve eaten relatively well without having to rely on any pre-made (except by me) or processed foods.

Stay tuned!

Most people don’t know this, but spicy vegetable couscous is an indispensable staple of the Norwegian diet.

The reason they don’t know this is that I just made it up.

Our new friends and fellow adventurers, the Norwegian artists Torgeir Husevaag and Catrine Thorstensen adapted this from a meal they often prepare, kindly subbing veggie stock for chicken stock. After a long day inside making art and avoiding the ash cloud (did you know there’s an official weather condition on weather.com, “ash cloud”?), we ventured out briefly to the vinbudin to grab some beer and wine. Shortly after returning, Tor and Catrine started preparing this delicious dinner, over which we hatched the next day’s plans to hit the hot springs (or “hot pot” as everyone seems to like calling it).

These hot springs, in Hveragerdi, aren’t to be confused with the now Disneyfied Blue Lagoon (I’ve not been, but I have it on reliable authority that it’s a total tourist trap)–these are the real deal. You hike in a small, beautiful mountain range for around 2 hours to get to get to the point where a geothermally heated spring meets a cold spring, producing bath-water like conditions–naturally! Along the way, we encountered various small lagoons of boiling water and mud–volcanic heating produces very hot water–as well as geysers of steam.  Amy posted about the experience on her blog, if you’re interested in seeing photos.

But I digress. We were talking about delicious couscous. So without further ado, I give you:

Couscous Somi Oslo

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into medium-length strips
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into disks
• 1 zucchini, cut into half-disks
• 2 tomatoes, diced (or 1 can)
• 2 cups of chick peas (or 1 can)
• 2 red chili (or fresno/serrano) peppers, seeded and minced
• 4 – 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 – 2 tsp ground cumin
• 6 – 8 cups veggie broth
• a dash of cinnamon (to taste)
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 – 3 cups dry couscous (cooked in 4 -6 cups of water)

Like our vegetable soup, this looked pretty straightforward. Saute the veggies in oil in a large pot over medium heat until they’re tender, then in add in the tomatoes, veggie broth, chick peas, and spices. Bring to boil and then let simmer. Meanwhile prepare 2 -3 cups of dry couscous in 4 -6 cups of water (bring the water to boil, add the couscous, reduce heat and cover, cooking until the couscous is soft and the water is soaked up). Serve the veggies over the couscous. This is excellent nourishment for a long day of hiking and thermal bathing!

Up next: Julie and Nina make a fabulous Volcanic Eggplant Quinoa!

After a long day hiking up Mt. Esja, we decided to forgo any notion of “cultural” American cuisine (what would have been a good choice for this?) and make a hearty veggie soup with what produce was available to us.

Since much of Iceland is covered in volcanic rock and ash, a lot of veggies are grown hydroponically or in greenhouses or are imported–so it’s a lot tougher to get fresh produce, and it’s all pretty pricey. We opted for potatoes, carrots, kidney beans, chickpeas, onion, garlic, celery, leeks, and tomatoes for this incarnation of a very simple vegetable soup.

We didn’t have a large pot, so we made this in two pots using two slightly different methods. I cut my potatoes into large cubes and only used the white part of the leeks; Torgier cut his potatoes more finely and used the green parts of the leeks as well. I don’t think anyone else noticed, but Torgier and I both agreed that the larger pieces were slightly better. So that’s settled, once and for all.

Check it:

Super Simple Veggie Soup

• 3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 large leek, cut into disks
• 2 medium-sized carrots, cut into half-disks
• 2 stalks of celery, cut into quarter-disks
• 2 small onions (or 1 large), diced
• 6 – 8 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 large tomatoes, diced (or 1 can)
• 2 cups (1 can) of chick peas
• 2 cups (1 can) of kidney beans
• 8 cups veggie stock
• 2 tsp thyme
• 4 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground sage
• salt & pepper, to taste
• additional water, to desired consistency

Veggie soup should be easy, and carefree–you just use what you have on hand. Saute all of the veggies (including potatoes) except the tomatoes in a large pot over medium heat, in your oil of choice. Once they’re tender, add in the tomatoes, stir well, and cook for a minute or two. Add in the stock and spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or more. Eat with bread.

This recipe is pretty adaptable to any conditions or locale and seemed to go over pretty well with folks here. Of course we probably would have eaten spiced tree bark we were so tired and hungry…

Up next: Torgier & Catrine’s Spicy Vegetable Couscous!

A guest post by our pal Ryan!  Let’s hope he behaves himself… 

I wanted to call this Mod’ed Polenta with Lemon Asparagi and Chickplease but my hands were slapped, and I was told NO because it isn’t nice for folks searching for a delicious dish with asparagus and chickpeas. I could have told the hosts of this guest post to go stuff it and f-off, but I guess I can surrender to a bit of authority for a moment in pleasing some friends.

After an afternoon of working in a hot and sweaty room, staring at computer screens, a dish that was light and delicious was in order. So Mark, Amy, Val and I (of imjustdoingthisthing) cooked down a delicious meal. Amy in her quest to eat healthier found this amazing looking recipe on FatFree Vegan Kitchen. Since the recipe is mod’ed I’ll try to really only point out the differences and save pixels (mods of ingredients are in italics).

Alright, I probably didn’t need to re-post the recipe and wasted more pixels than I wanted to, so here is where I am going to save on pixels. The polenta and the chickpea/onion mix of goodness were cooked as suggested by the FatFree Vegan Kitchen recipe, go there for how to cook that part. The asparagus was the big change and if you have ever read Val’s and my blog (another shameless plug) you would know that I like to grill. In preparation for the grill: rub the oil on the asparagus, sprinkle on the salt, pepper, paprika, sesame seeds, and thyme. Toss on the grill, over a medium high heat, and cook until al dente. Be sure to flip them over once so that you get nice purty grill marks on both sides. Once done remove from the grill let cool (to handle) and chop them into 1-1/2 to 2 inch bits. Pour some lemon juice on, sprinkle the zest on top, and add salt and pepper to taste if necessary.

We had a salad on the side made of freshly picked lettuce  and radishes from the IV garden, carrots, red onion, tomatoes, and candied pecans lightly tossed in vegan caesar dressing. Our bellies are full. Hopefully you will one day enjoy this meal.

Alright this has been fun; hopefully someone will at least spell check for me before posting. This is Ryan signing off from a guest blogging stint.*

*Amy here: I think Ryan was an all-around superlative guest!  (and spelling…checked!)

There are a lot of chanas (chick pea curries) out there. Generally, though (at least in my experience at Indian restaurants in America, mostly in the Midwest), they can be divided into masalas and pindis. While there are some differences in the spices, the fundamental difference is that masalas have a tomato/onion gravy and pindis don’t. Recently, we’ve been more into the pindi-style chana, but this is an old standby that I find myself returning to over and over, largely on account of its simplicity.

It isn’t particularly authentic–there are way more spices in a genuine chana masala–but it is delicious. It’s also a really good starter chana, something to develop. In my early Indian cooking days, I over-spiced everything. I took this in the reverse direction, letting the chickpeas and tomatoes do more of the work. The optional veggie stock gives it a little extra body, but moves it further away from authentic chana masala.

Chana Marksala

• ~ 4 cups (2 cans) cooked chick peas
• 1 large tomato (1 8oz can), diced
• 1 medium-sized onion, diced
• 2 -4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp ground ginger powder (depending on desired level of sweetness)
• 4 cups water or veggie stock (you can use veggie bouillon and/or chick pea water)
• salt, to taste
• handful of diced cilantro (optional), for garnish

Saute the onion and garlic in high heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the onions start to become tender, stir in the spices, coating the onions well. Add in the tomatoes, then the chickpeas, then the water/veggie stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to then reduce heat to low and let simmer–at least 45 minutes, but the longer the better. Before serving, add in the diced cilantro, if using.

That’s it!

We mentioned last week that our friends Stef and Ken had decided to rock the vegan action for a week, so we thought it would be fun to get together and do some serious cooking. They were game for any type of food, so we thought we’d try an Indian feast.

The Menu

• Gluten-free naan
• Pakora w/dhaniya (cilantro sauce)
• Chana Marksala
• Aloo Gobi
• Rice

Two nights later, we also revisited our old Indian Dal recipe as well as a standard vegan naan, just for good measure, thus declaring this Indian Week here at IV. We’ll be posting all of these recipes throughout the week, so stay tuned!

And…Some Thoughts

As with many vegans, Indian food was one of our first exotic culinary love affairs. Over the years, we’ve gotten closer and closer to authentic on many dishes, but have never fully mastered any of them, so every time we try it’s sort of an adventure. And did I mention? Team Stef and Ken got cooks. So what better way to perfect a recipe than to get some feedback from other folks?

Cooking with other people is one of our favorite activities. It’s not just the task-sharing or equal-stakes-in-the-meal thing; it’s a way of connecting with people. Everyone has a different cooking style and, depending on the mix of people, will fall into certain roles. Some folks love the chaos of managing multiple dishes on the stovetop, spicing at will. Others like the regimented baking process. Still others are happy to sous chef or are “runners” (those folks awesome enough to run to the store for that one ingredient you inevitably forgot).

And what else are you doing? You can talk while you cook. You can drink while you cook. There’ll be time for games or a movie after you eat (unless you don’t eat until like 10:30 and drink waaay too much while cooking…then there will just be sleeping).

A Brief Stroll Down Memory Lane

I remember my first experience really cooking down with other people–making Indian food in my friend Uncle Nathan’s kitchen (I think that first menu was Spicy Chick Peas and Kale [like a chana], Kofta, some sort of naan, and rice). I’d only been vegan for a year or two at that point, so I was sous chef-ing for the most part. I’d just begun my own forays into Indian food, which at the time seemed pretty good. In retrospect, I can’t imagine using roughly a cup of spices (I later learned about hot and cool spices from an Indian friend).

[Actually, my first forays were into collaborative baking--in this case "Man Baking" with my friend and vegan sire Nick, which involved splurging on good vodka, drinking a lot of it, then making cookies with kids cereal (think Cocoa Puffs) in them.]

An Invitation

Interested in cooking down? We’re always hip to cook together, taking fledgling vegans under our wing, embarking on culinary adventures with the vegan-curious, or just communing with friends who like great food.

This is going to seem weird: baked potatoes slathered in Earth Balance ™, topped with homemade chili, topped with homemade tempeh soysage. Behold, the Li’l Spudley!

But furrealz, is it any weirder than chili cheese fries? I think not. Amy’s had a taste for some kind of chili potato for the last few days, so I thought I’d surprise her by acquiescing (note 1: I was the initial hater). Sadly, I hadn’t though in advance to soak cashews to make sour cream and we were out of silken tofu. But chili and potato somehow wouldn’t be enough…so why not move in the entirely other direction?, thought I: tempeh soysage. Amy has highly skeptical of this twist (note 2: Now Amy’s the hater). Luckily, our friend Maddog was here and was game for my experiment, putting the pressure on Amy to indulge my strange flight of culinary fancy. As it turns out, this was pretty awesome (note 3: It’s awesome!). The buttery potato brings out the sweetness of the chili, while the soysage brings out the spice. It’s just right.

All you need is:

• baked potatoes
• Earth Balance ™, optional
• chili: Roasted Poblano Chili or Standard Chili (I recommend the Poblano for this)
• tempeh soysage (you could also use tempeh soyrizo, for a switch)
• green onions (optional)

We had this again a few nights later, with green onions. Unlike Amy, I’m a potato musher-downer. Deal with it.

Fantastic!

Amy’s triumphant return from Budapest brought Grab ‘n’ Growl week to an end, as well as a large bag of authentic Hungarian paprika. Given these two fantastic new developments, it was time to cook it the hell down.

We’d been searching for a good recipe for Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup for quite some time, never really satisfied. I recently stumbled upon this one from Sweet Cheeks in the Kitchen, in turn nabbed from the Candle Cafe Cookbook. It was sufficiently awesome that it required almost no modification–we added half a cup of soy creamer; that’s it. I also learned something really interesting: when a recipe calls for a dry white wine, it’s acceptable–nay, preferable–to use a dry vermouth. It’s cheaper, dryer, and saves better than an average white wine.

Not surprisingly, we rounded the soup out with breadsticks and an amazing salad based on our recently acquired paprika.

The salad was inspired by VeganYumYum’s Avocado Wasabi Salad, with paprika taking the central role in place of wasabi.

Check it:

Paprika Cashew Chickpea Salad

Cashews & Chickpeas

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• 2 tsp sugar OR enough maple syrup to coat the cashews
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp soy sauce/tamari/shoyu
• salt & pepper, to taste

You can approach the cashews one of two ways: baking or sauteing. We sauteed them, but our friend Ryan has baked them with better results. So.

Baked Candied Cashews

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium-sized bowl, coat the cashews in maple syrup. Once thoroughly coated, toss in 1 tbsp paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bake until brown, stirring often.

Fried Candied Cashews

In a medium-sized pan over medium heat, saute the cashews in high heat oil, coating in sugar, 1 tbsp paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper. Cook until the spices and oil have congealed. Remove from heat. Note: they’ll seem soft at first, but they’ll firm up.

Paprika Chickpeas

In the same pan (if such a beast was used) as you cooked the cashews, saute the chickpeas in the soy sauce and remaining spices, until well coated and no liquid remains, salting and peppering to taste.

Salad Dressing

• 1/4 cup hummus
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey/agave
• water, to desired consistency

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Finally, the salad

Toss the chickpeas, cashews, some diced purple onions, and cherry/grape tomatoes (optional) in with some fresh lettuce and enough dressing to coat lightly.