MoFo #11: Cheezy Beer Dip

Ugh, internet.  I have come down with the worst head cold.  The kind where I would really love to just be tucked underneath some blankets, quietly hating everything while the world went about its business. But, I have deadlines to meet and stuff to do, and of course, MoFo!

We actually had today's dip with the latkes yesterday-- I was in the early throes of the cold and wanted something really comforting.  What is more comforting than a big bowl of cheezy beery dippy goodness?!  (With latkes, no less.)



I'll admit it's not much to look at.  (Taking a picture indoors at 8 p.m. didn't help.)  I'm also not posting the recipe because it's just not quite right yet.  I'll tell you that the main components were toasted walnuts (what?  I had a big bag!), onions, and beer, all of which should have added up to a bucket of yum... but which oddly tasted mainly of mustard.  MUSTARD?!  There wasn't any mustard in there, and yet.  And yet.

The idea's a good one, though, so I'll play with it and see if I can't work out what's wrong... might have been the combo of the small amount of nooch I put in and the particular beer.  Might also just have been the cold talking, I don't know.

We had it with latkes this time, but if I made it again I'd want it with fresh veg, some bread, and some cut up seitan sausages.  (Sausages are the natural partner of anything involving cheezy beery flavors, aren't they?)

By the way, that huge bowl of applesauce from yesterday?  GONE.  The Emperor and I split the vast ocean of leftovers for snack this morning.  When I say split it, I mean he ate about 75% of it and I ate about 25%... he's a machine.  We almost never have applesauce at home (not 'cuz it's bad but because I never think about it-- it's a food that barely exists in my mind) and when we do I usually just give him a little, so he was really delighted to get to eat his fill.  Here he is:



He looks more bleary than thrilled, which is kind of where I'm at too, but believe me, he liked it...

A sort of incredible thing is happening in our lives.  The Magician is learning how to walk!  Holy balls!  This seems unbelievable to me, even though I've seen it happen before with E.  As of a couple of days ago, he's stringing together 4 or 5 steps at a time and getting really good at judging how far he can get before he'll fall down.  I have been trying my damndest to get a video of him doing it and totally failing, but I got a differently amazing video of him earlier instead.

I got a video of him jumping.

Watch til the end.  He achieves liftoff!

Okay, that's all for the family-talk... back to food stuff tomorrow.

MoFo #10: Pomegranate-lime-ginger applesauce!

HEY!  Don't think I don't hear you out there.  Some of you are thinking:  applesauce.  That's not a dip. It's a sauce.  Applesauce.  If it was a dip it'd be called appledip.

Well look, mac, I'm not in charge of naming things.  I just make the dips, that's all.  I made this today:



Pomegranate-lime-ginger (whew) applesauce.

I made it to dip these:



Some latkes!  I don't fry things very often, and actually we rarely have potatoes, so these were a treat and a half.  I boiled a couple of large red potatoes, grated them, mixed in a grated onion, added a tsp of baking powder and a 1/4c chickpea flour, and fried those bad boys in peanut oil.  So freaking good.

The applesauce recipe (if you can even that) is extremely straightforward:

Pomegranate-lime-ginger applesauce
makes a boat load of apple sauce

3 lbs or so apples
3/4c pomegranate limeade (such as Trader Joe's)
1 tsp powdered ginger

1.  Slice the apples up (don't peel them) and put them in a large pot with lid.  Add the other ingredients and mix well.
2.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and simmer for 30 minutes.
3.  Use a potato masher to mash to desired consistency.

And you're done.

They were soooo good together.  I always think that potatoes and apple seem like a weird combination, but once again, I'm reminded that I'm wrong about that...

We had a super late dinner after a super busy day and I've come down with what feels like quite a bad cold, so you'll have to excuse how blurry/grainy all my pictures are today.  I kinda think this one of the Emperor is cute though:



He had a bad fall yesterday and banged his front teeth quite hard... so he's on soft foods for a couple of days.  (Hence the latkes...)  He looooved the applesauce, which is good, as I'm going to make him eat like 2 cups of it tomorrow.



The little one liked the sauce too.  And the biggest one is wondering why I don't make latkes more often.  Me too.

MoFo #9: Nutty Pumpkin Pie Dip

Q.  What is smoothy and creamy, sweet and dreamy, awesome tasting yet surprisingly good for you?
A.  Most vegan food PUMPKIN PIE DIP!



Let me be straight with you.  I usually don't get the point in dipping fruit.  Even in my pre-gan days, if I saw yogurt dip or whatever with cut up fruit, I would kind of roll my eyes and pass it up.  Why put anything on fruit?  Fruit is so wonderful the way it is!

(Let it also be known that I also don't see the point in smoothies or straight up fruit sorbets.)

Now I know why.  It's not about dressing your fruit up.  It's about finding some vaguely healthful excuse to shovel some incredibly tasty dip into your mouth.  LIGHTBULB!

I didn't have a lot of time this morning and J already had some idea of what he wanted to feed himself and the Emperor for dinner tonight, so I decided to take a break from dip-ner today and put together a snacky dip.  Of course, Vegan MoFo would not be complete without at least one gratuitous pumpkin crap post, so the can of pumpkin puree I had in the cabinet was going in there.  Then I grabbed some other stuff from around the kitchen and banged this out in about 15 minutes (mostly inactive), without even having to take the blender back out.  Woo!

The resulting dip is sooooooo good.  Don't believe me?   Check this guy out:



Between the two of us we ate 4 apples and almost all of that bowl of dip.  I asked him if he wanted to have this again for snack some time and his face lit up as he said "yeah... TOMORROW?!"  Ha ha ha.

Here's the recipe!  Gluten free, soy free, awesome full.

Nutty Pumpkin Pie Dip
makes about 3c of dip

2/3 c walnuts (pieces or whole)
1 can pureed pumpkin (16 oz, not the mega-can)
1/4c pure maple syrup
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg

1.  Toast the walnuts over medium-low for about 10 minutes, til somewhat darkened and fragrant.
2.  Grind the walnuts into a fine powder/paste using a spice grinder (or your weapon of choice).
3.  Put the walnut paste into a bowl and, using a fork, mix half of the pumpkin into the paste.  Really beat the heck out of it so it gets very smooth.
4.  Add the rest of the pumpkin and mix again until smooth.
5.  Add the rest of the ingredients (syrup, sugar, spices) and mix to combine.

Serve with apple slices or anything you think would be good dipped in pumpkin pie.  I wished I had oatmeal cookies, because um, that would be kind of amazing.  (Will note:  about the spices:  the quantities are a bit small because I wanted to be able to taste the pumpkin as well as the spice.)

Okay, I need to go prepare for a presentation!  I will leave you with a picture of a funny pair of pants someone gave the Magician recently.  Here you go:



Seeya tomorrow!

Vegan MoFo Day 8: Queso blanco dip!

Hey!  It's week 2 of MoFo and here we are!  8/31 of the way through 31 dips in 31 days!

(Actually, if you want to be technical about it, I've done 10 dips so far.  But there are still 23 more on my list, so good lord willin' and the river don't rise, we should end up slightly over 31.)

Tonight I actually made a test recipe for dip-ner!  Yes!  I'm still testing recipes for Isa Chandra Moskowitz's next cookbook, and she posted one that sounded so good and so in line with my MoFo theme that I was like YOINK.  Check this stuff out:



Queso blanco!  She says you can use it is as a sauce or a dip, and of course you know which one I picked.  It's really mild and tangy and good.  If you've made the the Cashew Queso recipe on the PPK and liked it, you'll want to try this one when the book comes out!  It's similarly awesome, yet different enough that it's worth having in your repertoire too.  I already want to make it again and use it as a sauce for mac... *drool*

Also per her suggestion, here's a big bowl of homemade kale chips (just made in the normal oven!).  What's a year of Vegan MoFo without at least one big bowl of kale?

We had a couple of dippers of my own devising tonight too.  We took a break from cut up raw vegetables because, get this, we're out of them.  I started out the week with two bunches of carrots AND a big bag of baby carrots, three or four cucumbers, 1.5 big bunches of celery, two bunches of radishes, and a big head of cauliflower... and it's all gone now except for a tiny bit of the cauliflower.  Wow!



Anyway, since we didn't have much in the way of raw veg left, I instead made a batch of baked potato skins and some chickpea nuggets.  The potato skins + nuggets + queso kinda transported me back to superbowl parties I was dragged to in my youth... except I kinda liked this one.  Oh, we had watermelon the table too-- not to dip!  (Watermelon plus queso?!  Oh no no.)

The melon was really for the Emperor's party, but we were all so stuffed from dip + cake that we never cut it up.  Then Josh dropped it on the counter and it had to be cut up right away... so why not have some with dinner?  It was such a nice summery treat on a lovely fall day...

Here's the Emperor out enjoying the lovely weather today:



And here's the Magician doing what I'd like to be doing now:

Vegan MoFo Day 7: Salsa, guac, and bean dip! And cake!

Okay guys, I'm going to open up with the dips even though the only picture I got is atrocious:



For the Emperor's birthday party, I made a trio of dips for him:  salsa, guacamole, and a creamy bean dip.  (Recipe at the end!)  We had two types of tortilla chips per his request-- blue chips and normal yellow corn rounds.  We also had yellow carrots, celery, red radishes, cauliflower, and cucumber for dipping.  Excellent dipping was had all around.

After dips, we moved on to what birthday parties are really about:  CAKE.  Here's the cake before serving:



Here's the Emperor trying to lick the frosting before serving:



And here's a piece of the cake after we cut into it:



It's a lemon genoise cake with triple berry jam (jam homemade by a friend!) in the center and raspberry frosting and fresh raspberries on the outside.  Very close to the cake I made him for his second birthday, and just as delicious.  We banded together and managed to eat the entire thing before the party was through.

We had a really lovely party.  It was so nice to see some friends we haven't seen in a while, and great to see the Emperor having so much fun.  It's weird, but I sometimes tear up when I see him really lost in enjoyment-- I love seeing him just that happy.  Maybe this is why people cry at weddings, I don't know, I've never been one to do that.

Anyway, if I'm a bit incoherent it's 'cuz I'm exhausted-- up late to make cake, up early to get ready for the party, and then more socializing in 4 hours than I usually do in 4 days.  I feel exactly like the Magician looked when we got home from the party:



And on that note, I'm outta here for tonight.

Oops... forgot I promised that bean dip recipe.  Here it is!

Creamy Bean Dip
makes about 3c

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 c cashews, soaked for at least an hour
1 c water
2 tsps ground cumin
2 tsps chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp coriander
1 can vegan refried beans
more water as necessary

1.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil.
2.  Fry the onion, pepper, and garlic until soft and somewhat brown, about 10 minutes.
3.  Place the cooked vegetables, the cashews, the water, the cumin, the chili powder, the salt, and the coriander in a blender and puree til smooth, about 5 minutes.
4.  Pour into a bowl and stir in the refried beans.  Mix well.

Taste for salt and serve!

Vegan MoFo Day 6: Tzatziki! (with kebabs!)

Though I would happily eat raw vegetables and dip every day in October, I know that my family would be a little less thrilled by that.  So I've been working on thinking about what else we can dip, and tonight I think I did a pretty good job by dreaming up these:

Broiled kebabs!  I whipped up a light marinade (equal parts lemon juice and olive oil, a tsp of salt, 2 tsps za'atar YES MORE ZA'ATAR GUYS) and then cubed up some stuff I found in the fridge:  a potato, a zucchini, an orange carrot, a yellow carrot, some cherry tomatoes, and some tofu.  Let it marinate for an hour or so, then popped them in the oven to broil for about 12 minutes, turning now and again.

To dip them in, I made a dip I've never tried at home before:  tzatziki!  This Greek dip (which is almost identical to Turkish cacik dip) is traditionally a combo of yogurt and cucumber.  I based my recipe on the cashew-based version in Veganomicon with a few little tweaks of my own.  It turned out delightfully:  smooth, creamy, cucumbery yet not at all watery.  Here it is:

Paired nicely with the kebabs.  We also had some leftover multigrain pita chips and baba ganoush.  I only made 6 kebabs-- we're not usually big kebab fans-- and really should've made more.  We could all have eaten another one.  Even the Emperor really loved these.  Here he is picking off a piece of potato:

To my surprise, the Magician really liked the tzatziki dip.  He generally hates anything that I have to put in his mouth for him... but he kept eating more tzatziki.  I'll have to remember this.  I mean, obviously he needs to eat more food!  Look at the poor skinny little thing:

Tomorrow's the Emperor's birthday party, so I'll likely either update very early or very late-- but there's definitely a post coming!  Happy first week of MoFo everyone!

Vegan MoFo Day 5: Baba ganoush!

So that exam yesterday?  It went about as badly as it could.  I came out of it knowing I did badly but not knowing why.  I really don't know how I could've studied differently to make that go well.  And that is just a dreadful feeling.

SO.  The point being:  I was in a bit of a MOOD today and really needed a pick me up.  So good thing I was already planning on making one of my very favorite dips in the world:  baba ganoush!!

Baba ganoush, baba ganoush.  One of the least beautiful, most delicious foods in the world.  I thought about garnishing it with something green but I decided that would only make it look more grey by comparison.  That's just who baba g is!

My baba g recipe is fantastically simple.  It pretty much goes like this:  cut some eggplants in half, slice the insides up a bit, brush with olive oil and broil on low for 45 minutes, turning once.  Let cool in a sieve (to let some of the extra water out), then scoop out the insides and blend with a couple cloves of garlic, about 1 tbsp tahini per pound of eggplant, a tsp of salt and juice of a couple of lemons.  Bam.  DONE.

Today we had the most GIGANTIC eggplants.  Check out this beast:

Literally the size of the Emperor's head.  Which, by the way, is almost the same size as mine.  (He has a huge head for a three year old!)  Amazing.  I got them for a song too.  

For dippers, we of course had raw vegetables:  celery, cucumber, carrots, and red bell pepper.  As an extra special treat, I decided to bake bread too.  I made za'atar foccacia and it was, frankly, fantastic.  Here's a picture:

And our whole spread tonight:

(Sorry for the blurriness.  We get home late on Fridays so of course all the natural light was gone by the time dinner hit the table.)

Yummm.  A fine dinner.

Well, I need to go because I'm being paged-- by this baby who still isn't asleep at 8:30 p.m.  So let me wrap this up with a picture of him being cute this morning:

Goodnight!  Seeya tomorrow!