Yamashiro Nighttime Farmers Market

Tucked up in the hills off Franklin Ave, just above the mysterious Magic Castle and neighbor to the Hollywood Bowl, is the Yamashiro Farmers Market.

Gorgeous sunset views of the city, accented by lovely Japanese inspired landscapes, live music, and unique local flavors for sale - this is a wonderful way to spend one's Thursday night.

Cajun Bean Stew w/ Garlic Saffron Rice

This is a really hearty and tasty recipe - it can be quite spicy if that's your thing (its most certainly mine!) or just savory. I adapted this recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, a delightful book I received as a Christmas gift.

This dish is particularly full of yum when served with orzo (Moosewood has a great saffron orzo recipe), or kale, or a thick absorbent biscuit of choice, OR, as I did it this go around, with some garlic saffron rice.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 celery stalks (around 1 cup chopped)
2 bell peppers of your color preference, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (1 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano (1/2 teaspoon dried)
Ground black pepper to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon)
Pinch of cayenne
Pinch of salt
2 cups chopped fresh or canned tomatoes (14 1/2 oz can) - I find I like to get canned tomatoes with a spicy marinade to add more flavor.
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
two 16-oz cans of butter beans
Chopped scallions
Sprinkling Daiya vegan cheese (optional)

In a medium-big saucepan saute the onions and garlic in the oil on medium heat. When things start to give you the first glimmer of brown, add in your chopped celery and bell peppers. Saute for about 5 min more, then add in your thyme, basil, oregano, black pepper, cayenne, and salt. Saute until the onions are really golden, and the textures of the veggies are too your liking.

Add your tomatoes (if your using canned tomatoes try experimenting with how much juice you want to include. If its a marinade it can make for a good stew, or you can drain the tomatoes and go for something a little thicker and less soupy). Along with your tomatoes add the molasses and mustard. Simmer for 5 min.

Add your beans (well drained), cover, and stir occasionally until thoroughly heated.

Serve over your garlic saffron rice, top your dish with scallions (highly recommended!) and - if you are so inclined and in a cheesy mood - sprinkle on some Daiya vegan cheddar cheese.

A really fast recipe and makes for great, filling leftovers (it gets spicier though so beware). Best of all, it makes the kitchen smell sassy.

This also, as my hacking cough and rubber nose can attest, is a fabulous recipe to turn to when I am sick - the spiciness can force some flavor onto my palate, it doesn't require diligent chewing, and its warm & homey.

Vegan Cheesy Potatoes

As often happens when I am stressed out and mindful of my pitiful income, I realized quite suddenly this morning that I was both insanely hungry and faced with a near-bare kitchen. All I had on hand was a well stocked spice cabinet and some scant leftovers from last weekends enchilada madness. Thanks, however, to the dynamic duo (alongside a quick call to mom for inspiration) I was saved. Thus I present to you : Vegan Cheesy Potatoes

Ingredients:

Potatoes (I used small Yukon gold potatoes, about 12)
Garlic (four cloves) and Olive Oil ( about a tablespoon)
One small yellow onion
Daiya Vegan cheddar cheese (shredded)
Rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Lime Juice (remains of Corona drinking!)

Slice potatoes as uniformly as possible and about half a finger's width. Chop up onion and garlic. Heat up olive oil in pan, dump in garlic, potatoes, and onion (yes I like them all in at once). Sprinkle on your seasoning and let cook. As potatoes start to get tender, give them some spritz of lime juice. Once potatoes are tender to your liking, sprinkle on some cheese, let it melt and mix it up, and then - enjoy!

Quite satisfying. Now time to make up the grocery list.

Potato and Kale Enchiladas with Garlic Saffron Rice

I really enjoy cooking most in the company of others, and so I recruit people as often as possible. Thus, Saturday morning evolved into three of us crammed into my tiny kitchen, Coronas on hand, causing a ruckus and emerging a few hours later with a fantastic mess and an even more fantastic dish.

And, once again, the dynamic duo were on hand to make everything especially divine.

Recipes below - both of which have been adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks - Veganomicon.


POTATO AND KALE ENCHILADAS

Ingredients

For the Enchilada Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, cut into small dice
3 large green chilies (such as Anaheim or even Italian-style long green peppers), roasted, seeded, peeled (don't know how to roast? See below!), and chopped.

2-3 teaspoons chili powder, preferably ancho
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 (28-ounce) can roasted diced tomatoes with juice
1 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2-2 teaspoons salt

For the Potato and Kale Filling:

1 pound waxy potatoes (Yukon gold or red)
1/2 pound kale, washed, trimmed, and chopped finely
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup vegetable stock or water ( i actually prefer to use vegetable bouillon, to me the flavor is much richer as I control the amount of water I add)

3 tablespoons lime juice (an excellent excuse to buy a bunch of coronas and limes)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

12-14 corn tortillas
Optional and highly recommended: A helping of Daiya Vegan Cheese - shredded Cheddar (can be found at many Whole Foods) to sprinkle on top

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and have ready a shallow casserole dish, at least 11 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches.

Prepare the enchilada sauce first: In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, saute the onions is oil for 4 to 7 minutes, until softened. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, bring to a simmer, and remove from the heat. When the mixture has cooled enough, taste and adjust the salt if necessary. Puree with an immersion or regular blender until the mixture is smooth and even.

Prepare the filling: Peel and diced the potatoes, then boil them until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. Cook the olive oil and minced garlic in a sauce pot over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the garlic is sizzling and slightly browned (be careful not to let it burn). Add the kale, sprinkle with a little salt, and raise the heat to medium, stirring constantly to cover the kale with the oil and garlic. Partially cover the pot to steam the kale until it has wilted, 4 to 6 minutes. (BTW this is a great way to just quickly prepare some Kale as a yummy snack or side dish!)

Remove the lid and mix in the potatoes, vegetable stock, lime juice, and salt. Mash some of the potatoes. Cook another 3 to 4 minutes, until the stock is absorbed. Add more salt or lime juice to taste.

Create an enchilada assembly line (this was the best part! And the main reason enchiladas should always be a group effort): Have ready a pie plate filled with about 3⁄4 cup of enchilada sauce, a casserole dish, a stack of corn tortillas, a lightly greased, heated pan (for softening the tortillas), and the potato and kale filling.

Ladle a little bit of the enchilada sauce onto the bottom of the casserole dish and spread it around. Take a corn tortilla, place it on the heated pan for 30 seconds, then flip it over and heat until the tortilla has become soft and pliable. Drop the softened tortilla into the pie plate filled with sauce; allow it to get completely covered in sauce, flip it over, and coat the other side.

Now, place the tortilla either in the casserole dish (the easiest way) or on an additional plate. For best results I highly encourage you to layer it with another heated, sauce-covered tortilla; then run the potato filling down the middle and roll it up. Continue with rest of tortillas, tightly packing enchiladas next to each other.
Pour about a cup of sauce over the top (reserving some for later), cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until edges of the tortillas poking out of sauce look just a little browned. Top off with Daiya Vegan Cheese, letting it melt. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Top individual servings with any remaining enchilada sauce, warmed slightly.

HOW TO ROAST GREEN PEPPERS (One of the funnest things ever!)

The easiest and most enjoyable way to do this is to get some tongs and roast them right on the stove top (provided you have a gas burning stove, electric wont work). These peppers can take it! Slowly rotate them over the fire until the skin gets blackened and blistered - you want to go until about 75% of the veggie is covered in burnt skin. Then place them in some kind of heat-resistant bowl or tupperware and cover with a lid or cloth and let cool for about 10-15 min (trapping in the steam helps the burned pepper skin loosen up). Once cooled you can peel off the skin and then seed and chop the pepper.


GARLIC SAFFRON RICE

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup of water
1 vegetable bouillon cube
Pinch of saffron threads (5-6)
2 table spoons oil
5 garlic cloves, minced finely
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 cup long grain white rice (jasmine or basmati)
Pinch of ground coriander
Salt and pepper

In a medium sized sauce pan boil the water, add the bouillon cube, and cook till it has dissolved. Then turn off the hear, stir in the saffron threads*, cover and set aside.

In another medium sized pot take our dynamic duo (that would be the olive oil and garlic) and saute them over medium heat until the garlic starts to turn golden. Add the onion and saute a little longer (as I have said before, I like my onions to still have some color and crunch so I tend to move on before they turn translucent). The onion should take about 5 minutes. Next add the rice and saute for about a minute before adding in your saffron and veggie broth along with the coriander (don't be afraid to be generous).

Cover your pot and bring the concoction to a boil, stir it up once, and then reduce the heat and let it sit for about a 1/2 hour. Make sure the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Remove your now-glorious rice and let it sit for about ten minutes. Then give it a stir - its ready to meet the world!


* Saffron is expensive. Until the delicious little red threads appeared under my Christmas tree this year, I adamantly avoided recipes that centered on them. I was delighted to discover that I can save and re-use my prized saffron threads! (Thanks Veganomicon!) All one needs to do is, pour a small portion of the broth into a small cup (about 1/4 a cups worth) and add in the saffron threads. Let it steep for a good 15 minutes or longer. Then use a strainer (like the kind for tealeaves) to pour back in the broth - let the saffron threads dry off and then add them back into its carefully guarded container!




(Recognize those little red stems? Each flower only caries three! Native to Southwest Asia, Saffron is the worlds most expensive spice by weight.)

Pasta with Tomatoes and Artichokes

The more I cook the more I become convinced that garlic and olive oil can transform anything into the edible. This pasta dish is an excellent quick fix when jar sauce just won't do. Total time from prep to plate - 1 hour (or less). Depending on your sauce/pasta ratio preference this serves about 4.

Ingredients:

Can diced tomatoes
GARLIC ! (today I used four fatty cloves, the amount varies depending on my mood)
Olive Oil
Oregano
Basil
Artichokes (quartered)
Onion (one tiny one or half a big one)
Pasta of choice (I prefer Rotini)

I chop up the garlic (my favorite part) and drop it into my too-small frying pan with a generous douse of extra virgin olive oil. I usually add the chopped onion immediately thereafter because I like my onions crispy and I hate when my garlic gets overcooked. Normally the BF chops up the onion but as I was flying solo this afternoon I had to brave the tears and go for it. Sometimes I add some salt and pepper to the garlic and onions, just so that there is more of a party going on.

As soon as I have the garlic near-brown I dump in the diced tomatoes, generous with the juice. Usually I don't use the whole can but today I did because I was lazy and couldn't think of a reason to save the leftover tomatoes. Too many canned tomatoes can smother the rest of the flavor (aka the garlic and olive oil!) so I compensated by cooking the sauce longer and letting juice burn off. Immediately after adding the tomatoes, I added a generous helping of artichokes. Mine happen to be lightly marinated which I think adds a nice kick. Lastly I sprinkled on some dried basil and oregano. Cook the sauce with occasional taste tests until you think its ready - usually when I get a nice balance of flavors and loose the "can" taste in the tomatoes.

When I boil my pasta I usually add a bit of olive oil to the water pre-boiling, its something I saw a lot of Italians do in Italy, and if its good enough for them its good enough for me. (To be fair I think I've seen a lot of California moms do it to, so the secret has been out for a while). If you don't cook your pasta this way though, I highly recommend it.

If I had a decently sized pan I would add the pasta to it with my sauce and mix it all together stir-fry style. Sadly my pan is a bit of a runt, so instead once the pasta is drained I dump the sauce concoction into my pot of pasta and mix it all up under low heat.

This is definitely my lazy-day go to pasta dish because the truth is, as long as you have the dynamic duo (that would be garlic and olive oil) and some pasta, you can scrounge your fridge and cupboards for whatever else looks good and toss it in and have a quick and yummy dish.

If you want to fancy it up, splash some white wine in when you add the tomatoes.

Cornbread Muffins & Hiking -> Pure Luck & Scoops

I kicked off my morning with some yummy yummy cornbread muffins, whipped up on the spur of the moment from Dr. Oetker's Organic Baking mixes (I used egg replacer for the one egg required). Cornbread is something I oddly crave often and rarely encounter in vegan form. These were wonderful, sweet with just the right cornmeal texture. I find so often with food that texture is everything - especially when dealing with vegan or vegetarian food that is attempting to be a kind of homage to their meaty counterparts. If something is mush when it should crunch or runny when it should be thick, it throws a bad light on the taste. These muffins held there own, warm and crumbly and particularly enjoyable with a dollop of agave nectar (Ever since i made the impulse purchase at whole foods I've been seeking out opportunities to use my agave).

Armed with the success of a good breakfast, I sat out on a hiking adventure with some friends to Santa Ynez Falls. One of these days I'll find a way to do proper justice describing the wonder of tramping through a forest. I think the effect is particularly striking after spending an hour elbowing my car through traffic to get there. I think many would agree, LA can be quite claustrophobic and unyielding. Whereas nature is welcoming and completely supple. For a few hours my friends and I found inspiration while scrambling over rocks, tripping into creaks, and sliding down mudbanks.

This evening, after rewarding my bruises and scrapes with a hot bath, the BF and I headed off to Pure Luck for a BBQ meets Mexican delicious dinner. Pure Luck has introduced me to the wonder that is jackfruit, and its eerie ability to sub in for carnitas. I also owe them for surprising me with the joy of pickle chips and garbanzo bean salad. The best part of Pure Luck is being able to walk across the street and find ice creme heaven in Scoops. Bright blue tile, local art featured on the walls, and a giant mobile made out of colorful oversize plastic spoons, are some of its more notable features. O fcourse the heart of the place comes from Scoops' assortment of quirky flavors (both vegan and not) - from bacon and cheese to chocolate and Guinness. I enjoyed a helping of Oreo cheesecake while Adam chose Oreo mascarpone.