What I've Been Eating This Week

I eat most everthing from this little white bowl. Except certain pancake- and waffle-type things.


Tofu Scramble with Vegetables

Onion, celery, tofu, turmeric, curry powder, cumin and water.



Pumpkin Soup with Rice


Half an onion, one carrot, one stalk of celery and a quarter of a fresh pumpkin (about 3-4 cups, peeled and chopped large), sauteed. Vegan soup base, salt, pepper and curry powder go next, followed by 4 cups of water and about a cup or brown rice. Simmer til rice and vegetable are tender.



Cous Cous Salad

Cook couscous as always, adding some salt and garlic powder to the water as it come to a boil. Toss with chopped snow peas, blanched broccoli florets, half a carrot (sliced with a vegetable peeler), handful of currants, and olive oil. Add salt, pepper, onion or garlic powder to taste. Hot or cold.

Inclusive Chocolate Chip Cookies - vegan, gluten-free, soy-free

These cookies are free from everything but deliciousness- no soy, eggs, wheat or milk required! The cornstarch can also be eliminated without much trouble; try an equal amount of potato starch.



[photo will arrive shortly]



The Inclusive Chocolate Chip Cookie
makes about two and a half dozen medium cookies

8 ounces non-hydrogenated palm shortening
.25 C sugar
1.25 C lightly packed light brown sugar

3/8 C white rice flour
.25 C quinoa flour
.25 C sorghum flour
2 T bean flour (garbanzo or garbanzo-fava blend)
.25 C cornstarch
2 T tapioca starch
1 t xanthan gum
1 t kosher salt
1 t baking soda
.5 t ground cinnamon

7 T H2O
1.5 t vanilla extract
1 t apple-cider vinegar

10 ounces gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free chocolate chips (EnjoyLife Brand is excellent)

Combine all the flours, starches and powders in a medium bowl and stir with a fork to combine. Set aside.

Combine the sugar and shortening in the bowl of an electric mixer and cream just until combined – there should remain a few small pieces of shortening within a generally homogenous mixture. Blend in the flour mixture. Add the water, vanilla and vinegar and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl before incorporating the chips.

Chill the dough at least one hour. About 20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350°F. Portion dough by #40 scoop onto baking sheets, preferable parchment-lined. Bake 12-14 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool 2 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pumpkin Sticky Buns - vegan

In honor of those who are leaving the area before the start of our gorgeous, crunchy, chilly, squash-filled fall, I present the perfect autumn bruncheon fare. It may seem to be a terribly involved recipe, given the multiparagraph directions, but it's really quite simple once you get going.



Pumpkin Sticky Buns
makes one dozen buns

for the dough
.5 C WWW flour
2 t yeast
.5 C water, 110ºF

2 C AP flour
.75 C pumpkin puree*
2 T sugar
2 T non-hydrogenated margarine, melted
1 T canola oil
1 T flaxseed meal
1 t salt

1-2 C AP flour for addition and dusting

*in my case the Jarrahdale puree I made and froze last year

for the filling
2 T non-hydrogenated margarine, melted
.25 C brown sugar
.5 t ground cinnamon
.25 t ground cloves
pinch nutmeg
pinch ground allspice

for the pans
.25 C non-hydrogenated margarine
.5 C brown sugar
.5 t cinnamon
.25 pepitas, chopped


Combine .5 C water and the WWW flour with the yeast in the bowl of an electric stand mixer and let stand, covered, half an hour to 3 hours.

Fit bowl into mixer and attach dough hook. Add 2 C AP flour, pumpkin puree, sugar, margarine, oil, flax, and salt; mix on medium-low until combined and a soft, tacky dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until, about 10-15 minutes, adding more flour to the dough and surface as needed, up to 1 Cup, until the dough is springy and no longer sticky. Form dough into a round and turn to coat lightly in flour. Place the round on a clean plate or sheet pan and cover with a clean, damp tea towel or plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Combine all of the filling ingredients except for the margarine in a small bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.

Also, prepare the pans. Cream together the margarine, brown sugar and cinnamon by hand or with an electric mixer. Divide the mixture into each of twelve cups in a standard muffin tin and spread to cover the bottom. Sprinkle pepitas evenly amongst cups.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press evenly with knuckles to disrupt and evenly distribute air pockets. Knead the dough briefly and form into a round once more. Cover with towel or plastic wrap and elt rest 5 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to form the dough into a rough rectangle of about 8”x13”, with the long side parallel to your body. Brush the melted margarine over the rectangle, leaving a .75” border on the long side farthest from you. Sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the margarine and pat down lightly. Roll the dough tightly away from you so that the edge without the margarine forms the outer seam of the roll; press this seam to seal.

Cut the roll into quarters and each quarter into thirds, forming a total of 12 pieces. Fit the buns into the prepared muffin tin and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Remove plastic wrap and bake rolls 30-50 minutes, until the internal temperature of the rolls reaches 180ºF and the tops of the rolls are golden brown*. Remove from oven and immediately invert pan onto wire rack or sheet pan. Allow to cool slightly before serving.