Fair Weather Vegan

Recipes: Green Beans, Jam Tart

These were part of a lovely lunch served by a friend in her sunny backyard, complete with wandering cat and amazing company. I'm fairly sure the meal was parve, but I didn't even think about it until afterward.  It's always a good sign when it doesn't feel like anything is 'missing' just because there's no dairy.   

This lightly spiced green bean recipe is Mizrachi (via Middle Eastern Jews), and comes from here. 

6 garlic cloves, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 pounds sting beans, ends trimmed
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (optional)
One 6-ounce can tomato paste

1. In a medium saucepan, sauté the garlic in the vegetable oil over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until soft. Add the string beans, allspice, salt, 2 cups water, and, if desired, cinnamon and white pepper. Dollop the tomato paste by the heaping tablespoon over the surface of the cooking liquid. Do not stir. By letting the tomato paste remain undistributed, its thick consistency allows for maximum adherence to the string beans as the cooking liquid reduces.

2. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Note: some people braise the beans in a 350 degree F oven for 2 hours after simmering so that the beans are exquisitely tender.

Yield: 10 servings

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The pastry 'coins' on top of the jam tart looked so beautiful that it was intimidating, but my friend swore it was in fact easy as...tart.   She used peach jam, which was perfect, but I'm sure it will work with any other fruit.  The source is here.  If cornmeal strikes you as being too heavy for pastry dough, be assured it does not taste at all like it has cornmeal in it. 

1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (70 grams) stone-ground cornmeal or polenta
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons (4 1/2 ounces or 130 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg, whole
1 large egg, separated
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/3 to 1 3/4 cups (450 grams) jam (see Note above; I used the smaller amount) or marmalade
2 tablespoons (30 grams) coarse-crystal or granulated sugar

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a food processor, mix the butter and 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar together until smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk (keep the egg white from the second egg on hand for later) and almond extract and beat until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until the dough just comes together.

Transfer about one-third of the dough to a lightly floured counter and shape it into a log about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until needed. (As always, I was in a rush and put this in the freezer.)

Transfer the remaining dough to a buttered 9-inch (23-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom of a 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan. Using your hands, press the dough evenly into the bottom. If using a tart pan, press the dough up the sides to the rim of the pan and set the tart pan on a baking sheet. If using a springform pan, press the dough about 3/4-inch (2-cm) up the sides of the pan. Refrigerate the dough-lined pan until firm, at least one hour. (Again, I used the freezer and it was firm in 30 minutes. I am impatient.)

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Spread the jam or marmalade evenly over the dough in the pan. Cut the chilled dough into very thin discs with a sharp paring knife. Arrange them slightly overlapped in concentric circles over the jam to form a top crust. Whisk the remaining egg white with a teaspoon of water until frothy; brush evenly over the tart lid and then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons (30 grams) coarse sugar. Bake until the top crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Today: Free Doughnut And Beer At Dynamo Charity Event

The Mission's own Dynamo Donuts has created a new flavor in honor of Project Open Hand, the SF non-profit that brings meals to those in need, including HIV patients and seniors.  Dynamo's newest offering is a peanut butter doughnut with a banana-honey glaze and they will be giving them away free from 4-6 today, along with Stiegl Goldbrau beer while supplies last.  I'm sure donations to Project Open Hand will be welcome. 

Bay Area Bake Sale For Japan

If your initial reaction is that this idea is silly and/or will produce a paltry sum, be aware that last year's bakesale for Haiti raised $23,000.  It's sad we're having to do it again so soon, but it can be a powerful weapon for good.  Understand that by bake sale, it also doesn't mean some sad little brownies wrapped in plastic, but a consortium of the Bay Area's finest coming together at places like Bi-Rite to bring you the finest in baked goods.  The sale will take place on April 2nd, and plans are in the works to spread it to other cities.  If you haven't already donated through the Red Cross or another relief organization, or even if you have, drop by and purchase tasty things for charity. 

Lard. No Kidding.

Jiffy, why in God's name would you need to put lard in corn muffin mix?  It's almost as weird as putting beef stock in Hostess cream filling.  I suppose this is yet one more inducement to simply look for the darn heksher, but I can't believe I would be expected to think there would be pig fat in my corn muffins.  For myself, this is not a big deal.  I'll just stop using it.  But this revelation has also made me worry that at some point I've served this particular mix, as cornbread, to my friends.  I don't think so, but I've been to so many potlucks over the years I can't be entirely sure.  I know I made TJ's mix once because who bakes something for a party that costs $.69 (and now we know why, don't we?).  I'm trying to take solace in the idea that any halakhic blame goes to me, and not to people who unknowingly ate something they shouldn't while trusting me to know what I was doing.  Mindful buying from here on out. 

A Wolferman's Hamper!

There's a scene near the beginning of The Wind in the Willows in which Rat is taking Mole on a picnic, and Mole asks him what's in the basket:

'There's cold chicken inside it,' replied the Rat briefly; 'coldtonguecoldhamcoldbeefpickledgherkinssaladfrenchrollscresssan dwichespottedmeatgingerbeerlemonadesodawater——'

'O stop, stop,' cried the Mole in ecstacies: 'This is too much!'

A Christmas present just arrived for us from Aunt Mindy and Uncle Aunt Mindy's Husband Who Does Not Yet Have A Pseudonym, and it evokes much the same sentiment, right down to arriving in a basket.  It contains three kinds of English muffins, plus something called English muffin bread, crumpets, two kinds of jam, a lemon tea cake, some scones, an iced breakfast loaf, an unexpectedly non-English baklava, some cocoa, and, because it's a Christmas gift and traditional gifts must contain this item despite its unpopularity, a small fruitcake...wait...it's actually something called a cinnamon toffee mini bundt cake?  Toffee in a breakfast item.  Pinch me.  Like Mole, I may have to ask to be the one to do the washing up.

Kara's Seasonal Flavors

Run, do not walk, for the peppermint: a chocolate base with deliciously sweet peppermint icing.  I didn't get to the pumpkin in its first bloom of youth and the pumpkin cake was a bit insipid, but bourbon cream cheese icing makes up for almost anything. 

Things I Am Thankful For Even Though I Can't Eat In Restaurants Very Often

A state of affairs that two years ago I would have considered intolerable.  Mostly I don't even notice, aside from not having quite enough blog fodder these days.  Among the things that help me:

• Lucky supemarket sushi.  Most sushi you find in stores is vastly inferior to what you can get at a sushi place.  The Lucky on Sloat (and, I suspect, Luckys in other places but I don't know) makes sushi that is a cut above.  It still ain't restaurant-style, but it's a good alternative. 
• Finally perfecting the gravy for biscuits and gravy.  It took me far too long to figure out the right way to use corn starch instead of flour as a thickener, but now I can replicate one of my favorite restaurant meals at home and not have to pretend it doesn't taste like paste.  Which leads me to...
• Egg whites, a nice invention that makes it possible to use breakfast-at-dinner as a low cost meal alternative and not die of cholesterol poisoning.
• Belfiore mozzarrella, both higher quality and cheaper than any other comparable cheese, and made right here in Northern California
• Salad bars, not only for salads but as a source of sandwich toppings so I don't have to waste half a bag of lettuce. 
• Trader Joe's.  Really no need to say more here.  Other than it's worth it to spend the extra $.50 on the Gravenstein apple juice varietal, which is rich and textured and doesn't taste like apple-flavored water.  
• Golden's blintzes.  Which are made directly from crack. 
• Mama's pizza dough, although not the whole wheat kind.  With some veggie pepperoni and quality cheese, calzones from your oven courtesy of a locally-made dough. 
• Baguettes, which make sandwiches seem special and as a bonus often come in all-paper bags
• Grocery store ice cream.  I always used to wait until the premium brands went on sale, and they're still more expensive than twice the amount of the generic brands, which under the amount of chocolate sauce I tend to put on ice cream taste exactly the same anyway.  I do wish they made a wider range of flavors, but Safeway Rocky Road got me through my latest work deadlne.  
• Beets.  Does anyone have a good borscht recipe? 
• Did I mention Trader Joe's?  Another good thing they've started doing lately is carrying staple home items, like Tom's toothpaste and green laundry detergent. 

I'm sure I'll think of other things,  and then I'll have to do another post.  Now I'm going to work on the salad I'm making for the annual Very Kosher Thanksgiving at Oh and K's.  Yes, no more vegan green bean casserole, since I was the only one who ate it.  Happy Turkey/Tofurkey Day one and all, and be sure to count your blessings, whatever they may be. 

And A Little Cranky With Zingerman's

They are very careful that their foods arrive intact, because when you are paying $25 for a small-sized coffee cake I suspect you are rather unhappy if it shows up on your doorstep in pieces.  But really, is there any point in sending a box that could hold a Christmas ham that I have to hunt through for my bag of pancake mix and candy bar, after removing fourteen plastic air pillows?  Just because the hot cocoa coffee cake is one of the most unbelievable things I have ever tasted and finally justifies the existence of Scharffen Berger chocolate, does that mean it needs to come in its own separate heavy box with huge amounts of filler?  I appreciate that the box was cardboard and the filler was paper, but that doesn't excuse the air pillows.  Fourteen!  They do make compostable packing materials nowadays and everything. 

Oh My Sweet God

A dear friend had a birthday yesterday, and co-workers brought her treats from this place.  Why did no one tell me this place existed?  As it is, I will have to add it to my mythical New York fall trip that includes tickets to the Cherry Jones revival of Mrs. Warren's Profession, and the new production of Arcadia, and....

7x7's 50 SF Sweets To Eat Before You Die

The trendy insider magazine names its dessert favorites.  I'm a little sceptical, given that the few things on the list I have tried generally didn't blow me away.  Recchiuti truffles are fairly hit or miss. Claire's Squares aren't sweet enough for my taste.  I have not had good experiences with Dynamo's chocolate doughnut base.  And calling anything made by Tcho 'plain and simple' is hilarious.  Someone at 7x7 also likes coconut more than the average person (I mean, I really like coconut too, but is it the best cupcake at Kara's?).  There's  far too much lemon, a dearth of sweet fruit, and way not enough chocolate on this list.  That said, I fully intend to get to a bunch of these things, especially the ones that contain toffee.