News – Page 11 – Terry Hope Romero

Category: News Page 11 of 18

Woodstock Muffins Take the Cake

On July 7, 2011

Blueberry Pecan muffins, farmhouse made, people & animal approved

“You look like you just had a massage”, he says when I return home after the 2+ hour bus ride, drop three overstuffed bags to the floor and then flop myself onto the couch.

If by massage he means a marathon 6 hour baking session, two nonstop days of bake sale activity, and fundraising party in the July heat and epic thunderstorms at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in Woodstock, NY, then that’s what we’re going to call it. I’m hard pressed to remember the last time I felt so relaxed; the feeling rivaled that actual massages long gone and unlike those the benefits have lasted not just hours or days, but far longer. Call it the joys of doing hard work for a good cause. Or chalk it up to not checking my email for 3 days. Whatever magical farm charm it was, I feel like a new woman after a weekend among the great people and animals of this little farm animal sanctuary.

Visiting a farm animal sanctuary reinvigorated my dedication to what I do and why I do it. Newly veggie-curious adults and kids (the event was uber kid friendly, including hula hoop lessons and a bouncy castle) should visit a sanctuary like the WFAS to nudge them further in the direction of good action and provide the kind of education that just can’t be gleaned from reading a book or browsing a website. However long time vegans feeling jaded, restless or disconnected (nearly unavoidable conditions sometime in this way of life) could benefit even further; I’m not afraid to call this a “life-changing” experience. “Life changing” doesn’t have to involve costly vacations across the globe, getting another degree or bungee jumping off the Empire States Building. It can be as quiet as petting a sleepy pig who’s life was never intended to span past 6 months or nuzzling a three-legged sheep as nimble and perceptive as any of his four legged piers.

This may come as a surprise, but this was my first visit ever to an sanctuary only for farm animals. My plans to attend WFAS’s Thanksliving event years ago was foiled by an out-of-the-blue flu, and from there general life business got in the way of re-scheduling a visit. I also wanted to be not just a tourist but to also of service, and when Jenny Brown of WFAS asked if I’d like to help out with their upcoming July Jamboree it seemed like the ideal excuse. My contribution were dozens of treats and manning the station for a bake sale, but even then I selfishly got big lungfuls of crisp country air and pursued the affections of the rescued chickens, turkeys, pigs, goats, sheep, ducks, and steer that call the WFAS home. I imagined going up there I would instantly bond with the chickens, but surprisingly the turkeys–spirited, independent and curious–stole my heart, along a few cookies from the bake sale table too.

As far as the bake sale, all of the goodies I made were from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. It was a pleasure to revisit recipes like the fabulous Deluxe Cocoa Brownies and Blueberry Crumb Bars (make ‘em both if you haven’t already!). My crafty favorite, Black & White Cookies, were the sleeper hit of the two day event. New Yorkers know a good thing when they see it, and homemade vegan B&W cookies are a thing to be snatched up in number; one woman alone went home with the four remaining cookies on Saturday. An emergency batch baked up for the next morning went like hotcakes too, or dropcakes (the technical definition of the cookie’s cakey base), in the instance of these legendary New York treats.

Woodstock Cuppers: chocolate cupcake, vanilla filling, chocolate ganache & "W's"

Part of the fun was boarding in the bones of the future WFAS b&b on the farm property. An ancient farmhouse under heavy renovation, it featured a brand new kitchen alongside bedrooms in various states of construction; Friday I baked, sliced and frosted with the back door open to the grassy green yard and front windows with a breathtaking view of a rambling forested hill. Late at night I curled up on an air mattress, reading in the chirping country dark by only the light of my Ipad. The following rainy Sunday morning those green hills peaked through blue slinking mists; an epic background to frost cookies to. It was like the best part of camping plus a full service kitchen; not “glamping” but something far better.

Monday morning I said goodbye with a few batches of muffins (plus a pan of brownies for late risers), inspired by the need to use up leftover ingredients from the bake sale. No Internet access meant I had to access the years of baking in my head, and from that I pulled together these fluffy bakery-style muffins with a crumbly topping of crunchy pecans and cinnamon. The last bag of frozen berries (leftovers from the blueberry crumb bars) went into these muffins, but fresh berries would be ideal now that it’s July.

These are a little rich if I was making them for just for myself, but they’re still considerably less sweet than anything you’d find in a bakery store. Overfilling the muffin cups will give you big, puffy bakery-style results. If using ungreased tins spray each cup generously with non-stick spray. Or if you prefer to use paper liners, give the insides of each liner a blast of nonstick spray too.

Pre-B&B Blueberry Pecan Struesel Muffins
makes 12 big muffins

Enjoy as is for a brunch treat, or wholesome it up for weekday breakfasts by replacing half the oil with applesauce, use whole wheat pastry flour and skip the topping (or just sprinkle muffins with a few chopped pecans for crunch).

Topping
1 cup of chopped pecans, divided
3 tablespoons softened Earth Balance margarine
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour

Muffin
2 cups plain soy milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
½ cup canola oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
½ cup sugar
2 ¼ cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (don’t thaw frozen berries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and generously spray muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray, or line with paper liners and spray insides of liners with nonstick cooking spray. Make the topping first and set it aside: in a small bowl with a fork or pastry cutter blend together softened margarine, brown sugar and flour to form course crumbs. Blend in half of the chopped pecans.

Prepare the muffin batter. In a large measuring cup stir together soy milk and vinegar to curdle the milk. Whisk in canola oil, maple syrup, and sugar. In a large mixing bowl sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Form a well in the center of the ingredients and with a rubber spatula fold in the soy milk mixture; stir just enough to moisten all of the dry ingredients to form a thick batter. Sprinkle an extra tablespoon of flour over the berries and fold into the batter. Immediately scoop batter into muffin tins (an ice cream scoop is convenient), filling batter above the top of the tins. Sprinkle tops of muffins with pecan topping. Bake for 25-28 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a tall muffin comes out mostly clean; a few moist crumbs and berry juice is fine. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from tin and serve warm.

Strawberry Poppyseed Salad Mayhem

By Terry Hope Romero

On June 29, 2011

In News

A confession, the salad above is not the one in this post.

But the salad recipe in this post is a salad worthy of your attention. And I had a nice still life ready for you, strawberry salad enthusiast, to get you motivated and excited about attacking the windfall of fresh leafy greens that are so prime in late Spring and early Summer. Arugula, spinach, Boston, berries, you name it, it’s all the rage right now.

And I hope you have it in you to excuse the above photo…it’s actually another salad from Viva Vegan! (the “summer” version of the traditional Mexican Noche Buena salad), a photo I didn’t end up using. Why the photo switch? I’m a recent member of the tribe of DIY food photography. I stepped up my game this past December and bought a slammin’ entry-level digital interchangible lense camera (a Sony SLTA33), and since I’ve been infected with a case of “take a photo of that food before you cram it into your face”, something that works out great most of the time.

But this time something happened. All those shots of pretty greens and fruits and poppy seeds, at least 30 something photos, went “poof”. Not audibly, just not in my camera when I was ready to download them a day after the shoot. Like a crime scene detective I’ve replayed the scenario a dozen times in my head: memory card in, viewfinder confirmed, recalling some photos even selected and just a few deleted. I swear they were there! Now, all gone. But not older shots from previous days. Did I somehow find that mystery feature that deletes only photos taken in the past 48 hours? In my hunger (I’m always too hungry when doing food shots), did I press the wrong thing? I may never know, so I’ll just let it go (it’s been a few days so I’m feeling zen about it).

Lesson learned: get those photos off the camera right away. And consider a new memory card too. It was annoying and a little disheartening, but it was just stuff for a blog post, only roughly “styled” in a few minutes. Not something labored over or for publication purposes. That’s a heart attack moment I’ll hopefully never need to have after this practice run.

Anyway, enough with that. Let’s talk about this salad!

The dressing is intensely fruity–great for kids and salad-doubting adults with a sweet tooth–from a secret ingredient: orange juice concentrate. It adds zesty orange flavor without watering down the dressing, plus a touch of minced shallots and poppy seeds adds additional depth. I love using this dressing as a marinade for baked tofu to turn the salad into an entree.

The agave glazed pecans are a little showy for a weeknight meal (toasted pecans are perfectly fine), but ideal if you want to pull out all the stops for salad. Just remember if you’re photographing the whole affair and your camera decides to play games with your photos (and heart), I’ve been there too. The pics may be lost, but at least we know we’ve eaten some damned good salad.

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing
serves 4 as a starter salad, 2 as a entree salad

The ingredient list may look long, but most of the work is chopping vegetables and most of the time is inactive with tofu marinating and baking.

The poppy seed dressing does double duty; a light fruity vinaigrette and as a marinade for a grilled protein for an entree salad. If you prefer to skip making the tofu, substitute purchased flavored, baked tofu. Steamed, cubed tempeh can be substituted for tofu.

Make ahead tip:
The dressing can be made and stored in the fridge up to 4 days in advance, along with the tofu. Store washed, spun dry greens in a green bag for up to a week.

Dressing, double if using as a marinade
3 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, semi thawed
2 tablespoons olive oil or grape seed oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, rice vinegar or lime juice
2 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup
1 teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
freshly cracked pepper to taste
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 shallot, peeled and finely minced

Baked Poppyseed Tofu
1 lb extra firm tofu, sliced into 8 horizontal slices
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Poppy seed Dressing, half of a doubled recipe
additional oil for brushing

Pecans
1 cup pecan halves
2 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup
¼ teaspoon red chile flakes or more to taste
sea salt

Salad
8 cups salad greens such as: baby mixed greens, spinach, arugula, red leaf lettuce, Boston lettuce, butter lettuce, etc.
3 cups of a mix of the following: Sliced strawberries, bite sized pineapple pieces, blueberries, papaya, apples
1 medium red onion, peeled, sliced in half and sliced into paperthin half circles
¾ cup toasted pecan pieces or walnuts

For the dressing whisk together all of the ingredients in a large glass measuring cup until well blended. If doubling the dressing, reserve half of the dressing for the salad and set aside the other half for the tofu.

Make the pecans: in a small skillet heat agave over medium heat until bubbling, then stir in pecans to coat with syrup. Sprinkle with chile flakes and continue to stir until pecans are toasted and syrup has turned into a dark brown glaze over the nuts. Remove from heat and spread nuts on a lightly greased baking sheet or a silicon mat; sprinkle with sea salt as desired. Let cool then roughly chop.

If preparing the tofu, press it first for half an hour to remove excess moisture. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and lightly oil a 9 x 7 ceramic baking pan. Slice each piece of tofu diagonally to form triangles, then layer in the pan. Pour marinade over and let sit for 15 minutes, then bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, flip tofu over and brush any marinade from the pan on top of tofu. Return to oven and bake another 20 minutes. Turn oven off, remove from oven and flip tofu one more time. Let cool as you prepare the rest of the salad. Wash, spin dry and tear the greens into bite sized pieces. Place in a large mixing bowl, add the fruit, onion slices and and warm tofu triangles. Pour on dressing and use tongs to toss everything and coat evenly with dressing. Sprinkle with pecans and serve!

Chocolate brownie tamales, sí!

By Terry Hope Romero

On June 24, 2011

In News

Dessert tamales can be unexplored territory for many Latin food fans. But once you’ve been inducted into the club–the steamy world of sweet treats enveloped in sweet corn dough–it’s a membership you’re likely to invoke often. Making a small batch of sweet tamales to end a big tamale fest is a fun way to wrap up (couldn’t resist a tamale pun) a special meal all about the corn husks. And chocolate is always, always invited to the party.

Below is my first experiment with vegan chocolate tamales, made for students from last week’s tamale making class. Well, I’ve never made a non-vegan tamale but this is not the first time I’ve made dessert ones (see Viva Vegan! for more traditional pineapple anise sweeties). I wanted to push the brownie theme so into the dough went melted chocolate. Regarding the filling, there are two options I played with, both rewarding and tasty and one requiring less work on your part. The truffle-style orange ganache filling is smooth and sophisticated, while the sprinkle of chips and toasted nuts fast and toothsome. Either way the dough has ample powdered chili, an absolute necessity when it comes to Mexican-style chocolate consumption (well at least for me).

It’s easy enough to make these days before you plan on serving; just re-steam tamales for 8-10 minutes until the dough is hot and filling melted. Eat them right out of the wrapper, or plate alongside a scoop of coconut vegan ice cream, a drizzle of melted chocolate and a few segments of clementine or strawberries. Chocolate dreams no longer have to be just about cake, there’s room in a corn husk too.

Chocolate Brownie Tamales

makes about 18-20 tamales

For really fluffy dough use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, but a powerful, hand held electric mixer does the job too.

2 cups Mexican masa harina flour (DO NOT use corn meal!)

⅓ cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground Mexican chile powder or ground cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 ¾ cups warm water

½ cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

½ cup vegan non-hydrogenated margarine, softened

¾ cup sugar

3 tablespoons plain or chocolate almond milk

Chocolate Filling, 2 ways (choose one or make a little of both!)

Orange chocolate ganache filling

⅓ cup plain or chocolate almond milk

1 cup semisweet vegan chocolate chips

2 tablespoon vegan non-hydrogenated margarine

½ teaspoon orange extract or 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

Chocolate Pecan filling

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

½ cup finely chopped toasted pecans

18-20 large corn husks

several additional corn husks torn into ½ inch wide strips, plus additional husks for lining the steamer (about 10 more husks)

big double boiler pasta pot (the kind with a deep fitted colander basket) or a tamale steamer if you have one

1. Make the ganache filling first if using: in a small saucepan bring the almond milk to a rolling boil over medium heat. Turn off heat and add chocolate chips, margarine, and orange extract. Stir continuously until the chips are melted and the mixture is very smooth. Pop the pan into the refrigerator and let cool until very firm.

2. Prepare the corn husks: place husks in a large container and cover with enough hot water to submerge, pressing down on the husks occasionally. They should soften up in about 20 minutes. When softened, tear a few large large husks into ¼ inch wide strips and keep moist. Line the bottom of the steamer with a few smaller husks.

3. In a large mixing bowl stir together masa harina, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, chile powder, and salt. Stream in warm water and beat until all the liquid is absorbed and a semi-firm dough forms; cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside. In a separate bowl cream together margarine and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula frequently. Resume beating the masa harina dough, adding spoonfuls of the creamed margarine mixture into the dough. Continue to beat the dough, adding the almond milk one spoonful at a time to create a soft creamy dough. If the dough is too wet beat in one tablespoon of masa at a time, but take care not to make it too crumbly. You can test the dough by dropping a pea-sized bit into water; when it floats it’s ready to use…but I found this usually only happens when I use a stand mixer and rarely a hand mixer. No worries if it’s not though; as long as the dough is not overly sticky and on the fluffy side you should be good.

4. For each tamale spread scoop a rounded 1/4 cup of dough and in the center of a large, soaked corn husk and pat into a oblong shape about ¼ inch thick, leaving bare a least 1 1/2 inches on both sides of the husk. Spread down the middle a heaping teaspoon of ganache filling into the center, or sprinkle 2 teaspoons each chocolate chips and nuts. Grab both edges of the corn husk that are not covered with dough, bring edges toward each other and press the dough to now surround the filling. Gently fold the edges of the corn husks around the tamale so that they overlap. Fold the long top and bottom ends of the tamale on top to form a square or squat rectangular package. Use a corn husk strip to tie the package together in the middle, keeping the long ends of the corn husks down. Repeat with remaining dough, filling and husks. When you’re almost done assembling tamales, get the steaming pot ready.

5. Prepare the pot/steamer basket for steaming. Fill pot with only enough water so that it does not touch the steamer basket, about 2 to 3 inches of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Set tamales standing upright in the corn husk lined basket: don’t pack them in too tight, leave a little bit of room to allow tamales to expand during steaming. Top tamales with any leftover soaked husks and cover pot tightly.

6. Steam tamales for 45 to 55 minutes. Check pot occasionally to make sure that not all of the water has evaporated; add more hot water as needed. Test to see if tamales are ready removing a tamale and peeling back some corn husk; fully cooked tamale dough will be tender but solid, not mushy, and peel back with little effort from the husk. Remove entire basket with lid from pot, place on a dinner plate and let stand for 8 minutes to cool before serving.

Rock down to cupcake avenue

By Terry Hope Romero

On June 15, 2011

In News

Having a great day? Or just an alright one? Either way you could stand to gaze at a lovely few cupcakes; looking at excellent vegan baked treats can be part of recommended daily dose of happiness. These charming cupcakes are from a recent field trip to the vegan cupcake bakery Sweet Avenue Bakeshop in Rutherford, NJ.

We required samplings of these handsome cupcakes; chocolate glazed raspberry; banana cream pie; and chocolate peanut butter had our attention. The team favorite–that team being Plant-Based Foodie, Kitchen La Boheme and I–was the Cinnamon Roll cupcake. The tender spice cake with the aroma of cinnamon toast, cream cheese frosting and cinnamon icing swirl made for a memorable treat that would be equally welcome at breakfast or a birthday.

I appreciate how Avenue’s cupcakes have just the right amount of frosting: enough creamy goodness to contrast with the cake but never so much it overwhelms the entire cupcake or fillings. Yes, fillings! The banana cream “pie” cupcake had a gooey banana center, and Margaritaville (my second favorite) a touch of tequila-kissed lime curd. The tiramisu cupcake with coffee liquore was a little dry, but still darling with a plump swirl of cream cheese icing and a single coffee bean.

I inquired about some of the more unusual flavors long retired, including an “elvis” banana peanut butter cupcake topped with a strip of soy bacon: I was secretly hoping this was still on the menu, but alas it’s a thing of the past.

If you’re on your way to or through Rutherford (a speedy 25 minute bus ride from Port Authority), hop off the bus and take a stroll to Sweet Avenue. And if you’re in need of a groovy ghouly outfit you’re also in luck, looks like cupcakes and costumes makes this field trip a one stop shopping destination.

Slammin’ baking contests & upcoming appearances

By Terry Hope Romero

On June 10, 2011

In News

Just a quick post today. I’m super excited to be a sponsor for Bake and Destroy’s slamtacular wrestling-themed virtual baking contest! I love wrestling and you probably suspect I love baking too, so just look at the amazing poster above and tell me this doesn’t make you want to do a moonsault into a pool of peanut butter vegan buttercream right now? If that wasn’t enough the mighty wrestling diva Beth Phoenix herself will be among the contest judges. You better start getting your best wresting promo game on, it’s going to be a Royal (icing) Rumble like no other.

I’ll be contributing toward the prize pool copies of not just Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, but also a raincheck for our much anticipated Vegan Pie in the Sky out this fall. Sounds like a sweet deal to me, so if you feel you have the passion, commitment and cojones to rule the ring of online vegan baking send your entries to the SugarSlam before July 11th. The amazing prizes alone should get send you immediately into your both your best day-glo wrestling trunks and baking mitts.

And Madisonites, remember that I’ll be in your town in a few days for Mad River City’s very own Veg Fest on June 19th. I’m taking my seitan potato taco demo straight to you and there will be samples! Plus don’t miss the other fantastic presenters such as Jasmin and Mariann of Our Hen House and Kelly Peloza, the Vegan Cookie Connoisseur, plus many more.

Lastly there’s still space for my seitan tamale class next week at the Brooklyn Kitchen! June 16th, starting at 6:30 learn to make spicy red chile seitan tamales, or give the class as a gift to someone you wish would make you tamales. Remember to mention “terry’s discount” in the check out for a store credit towards most anything at the fabulous Brooklyn Kitchen!