Rhymes With Vegan

rhubard cake w/ sweet rhubard compote

in the spring in minnesota, rhubarb grows around every corner.

in abundance. 

so, about a week ago, my friend jamie dropped by a big armload of the stuff...hmmm, what to do, what to do?
then i remembered that my partner's mother is a world champion baker, so i contacted her for her rhubarb cake recipe. a few substitutions here and there, and voila!

vegan rhubarb cake.

i made up the compote at the last minute and it makes quite a delicious addition.

di timmer's rhubard cake w/ sweet rhubarb compote

2 cups vegan sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups barley flour
1/2 cup earth balance
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups fresh chopped rhubarb
1 tbsp cinnamon

pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

 in a large mixing bowl, combine the following:
1 1/2 cups vegan sugar, barley flour and baking soda.  mix togather well.  now add your earth balance, vanilla, almond milk, unsweetend applesauce and rhubarb.  mix together very well until all ingredients are combined and smooth.

in a small bowl combine the rest of the sugar and and the cinnamon.

pour your cake batter into a cake baking dish and bake for 45-55 minutes.  add your cinnamon/sugar mixture on the top of the cake in the last 5 minutes of baking.

when you have approximately 10 minutes left of baking time, you can begin to make your rhubarb compote.

you will need:
2 tbsp agave nectar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup water
3 cups fresh chopped rhubarb
2 tbsp earth balance

in a small skillet heat your earth balance until melted and bubbling.  add your rhubarb and cook until tender, approximately 6-8 minutes.  you can now add the water, salt and agave nectar.




cook until all of the ingredients have combined and the rhubarb has broken down into a jam type texture.
remove from heat.  serve over a slice or two of the warm rhubarb cake.

enjoy!

grill plate

got friends coming by, but don't have time to prepare?   if you have some veggies and tofu lying around, i suggest a "grill plate".  it's fast, easy and gosh darn good looking!

grill plate

1 bunch asparagus
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1/2 bunch bok choy
2 zucchinis - sliced
1 bunch swiss chard
2 red onions
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 large package of super firm tofu - drained well
1 loaf of mutli-grain bread - sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp old bay seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

 in a small mixing bowl, combine 1 tbsp olive oil, the tamari and minced garlic.  you will use this mixture for the tofu and veggies for basting.

wash all of your veggies and prep them for the grill (except the swiss chard....that will be used for garnish).  take the ends off of the asparagus, and let your spears soak in cold water for 10 minutes to pull out any sand that might be locked in.

slice your tofu into 1 in. thick cutlets.  baste each cutlet with your tamari mixture.  sprinkle the old bay seasoning on each as well.   add salt and pepper. 

put the cutlets onto a 400 degree grill.  turn over after 5 minutes, or until a nice golden brown.  remove and let cool.

once your asparagus has soaked, you can baste all of your veggies with the tamari mixture.

add them all to your grill.

keep the peppers whole, as they will begin to roast on the grill.  the veggies should take about 8-10 minutes, depending upon your grill.  the onions will finish first, so be sure to watch them closely.

once you've removed all of your veggies you can throw your bread onto the grill using the rest of the olive oil to keep them from burning or sticking.

time to plate...

lay the swiss chard onto a large serving platter and begin laying your veggies down.  you can pile them up or do whatever looks fancy to you!

serve the whole platter with some different sauces, such as bbq sauce, braggs, basil aioli and hummus.

oh, and don't forget a cold beer!

enjoy!

souper duper

this little diddy is a nice "light" soup to serve on a warm evening.  you can serve with bread, pita or a big green salad.

feel free to experiment with this one...i did.

tofu/bean and collard greens soup

4 large collard green leafs - chopped
1/2 package of well drained tofu - sliced into 1 in. cubes
1 can of white beans
3 celery ribs - sliced
3 carrots - sliced
4 cloves fresh garlic - rough chopped
1/2 cup tamari
1/2 cup fresh chives - chopped
1 tbsp dried onions (optional)
1 tbsp dried oregano (optional)
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

in a large pot, bring 9 cups of water, the garlic, chives, onion flakes, celery, carrots, oregano and tamari to a boil.  turn down to medium heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  the broth should reduce a bit.

add your tofu, collard greens, red pepper flakes and beans.

let simmer for another 20 minutes.

add your fresh parsley, salt and pepper and olive oil.

serve with a nice hunk of warmed baguette and a glass of white wine.

enjoy!

 

what a spread!

 

slather 'em on a baguette. pile 'em on a cracker. spread it on a sandwich. eat it off a spoon. however you choose to spread these spreads, you can't lose. what i love most about these little numbers is how flavorful and fulfilling they are. i promise, if you serve these to your guests, no one will ever miss the cheese!

and the great thing? you just throw your ingredients into a food processor, blender, or whatever machine you have to your disposal, and away you go!  how easy is that?

kalamata/garbanzo spread

5 kalamata olives
1 can garbanzo beans
3 cloves fresh garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
squeeze of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

siscillian green olive spread

6-7 siscillian green olives
1 tbsp vegan sour cream
1/2 can garbanzo beans
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

sun dried tomato stuffed olive "cheese" spread

5-6 sun dried tomato stuffed olives
½ cup vegan cream cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

serve with a chilled glass of white wine.

enjoy!

mayday 2009

r i was happy to participate in the annual mayday parade in minneapolis on sunday, may 3. this is one of the most unique and interesting events in minneapolis! the animal rights coalition, a sponsor for rhymes with vegan, marched with banners and signs promoting the vegan lifestyle. that's me, in my homemade vegan t-shirt. the mayday celebration is all about grassroots activism; people celebrating environmental movements, paganism, and dissent, and speaking out against human and non-human injustices. go veg!