Polygamy Outlaw Edamame Salad

I'm stealing facts from the NYT now (via Wikipedia. of course). Congress outlawed polygamy on March 22, 1882. I'm guess I'll state that without editorializing.

This meal came together in 15 min. It's leftover edamame and sweet corn fried with half an onion, half a tomato, and an avocado in soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds. Plus 1/3 c. quinoa. Simple. I realized that I often use spices too liberally.

This is the first time I've truly procrastinated in maybe two years. I've got a paper due 4pm on Thursday and I haven't written a single word. Time to get cracking. And then after that maybe I'll stop procrastinating with respect to what I'm doing after graduation.

How to be a plant.

Ides of March Black Beans with Vegetables and Quinoa

Julius Caesar was stabbed to death 2055 years ago. It's incredible to me that such an historically distant event could have enough cultural significance as to admit of reference without elaboration. But of course there are tons of similar examples. The continuity of tradition.

I have to study for a modal logic midterm tomorrow, so this recipe's gonna be sketchy. I've been able to cook kidney and navy beans and chickpeas satisfactorily, but for some reason dry black beans resist me. Even after an overnight soak and 2 1/2 hours on the stove they were a bit starchy/hard.

makes approx. 3 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. black beans

4 c. water

1/2 c. quinoa

1 c. water

bagful of kale, leaves torn and stems chopped

1 Satina potato, peeled and cubed

1 c. frozen sweet corn

5 shallots, diced

coconut oil

water

agave nectar

salt

ground black pepper

cumin

coriander

sherry

hot sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Soak the beans overnight. Simmer for at least 2 1/2 hours.

2. Sauté the shallots in coconut oil in a large pan. Add the kale stems.

3. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Cook potato until tender.

4. Add corn and kale leaves to the pan. In a measuring cup, mix water, agave nectar, and seasoning. Pour into pan with sherry and cover.

5. Simmer quinoa for 15 min.

6. Uncover pan and add potato. Heat through.

Real bad news for people who resist animal oppression. As if there weren't enough reasons to hate the prison-industrial complex. The government better get wise to the fact that this level of repression is going to come back to bite them.

(UPDATE 3/16/11: My favorite song is appropriate for the occasion.)

Svetlana Alliluyeva Stir Fry

Stalin's daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva, defected to the US 44 years ago. I guess she's living in Wisconsin now. Weird.

There wasn't any special method to this one, so I'm just gonna tell you what's in it. Tofu, edamame, corn, Red Chieftain potatoes, crimini mushrooms, shallots, garlic, soy sauce, turmeric, cumin, paprika. Use hot sauce too!

I made some cookies for a little get-together Saturday night. My brown sugar is a solid block for some reason, so I used all white sugar. Funny how they turned out like sugar cookies with chocolate chips tossed in, rather than proper chocolate chip cookies.

Not sure if I ever posted a link to the second installment of my comic, so here it is.

Also, watch these horrible yuppie foodies rationalize eating a live lobster. They eat an animal while it's alive. They ain't comfortable, but they do it.

Reichstag Fire Lentil Patties

In 1933 someone set the German parliament building on fire. Been reading about Nazis for my moral psychology class.

The reason I ate these patties on sandwich bread is that Whole Foods (where I had to go to buy bulk nuts) didn't have hamburger buns that were free of both animal products and palm shortening. Palm oil is bad, friends. This spread isn't as good as the others I've made, but it goes pretty well with these patties. Oh, and the avocado was unnecessary. Best keep it simple with tomato.

makes approx. 4-6 patties

INGREDIENTS:

Patties
INGEDIENTS:
3/4 c. green lentils
1/4 c. long grain brown rice
2 small red onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 small carrots, peeled and diced
6 large crimini mushrooms, diced
1/4 c. broth (e.g., water from boiling navy beans)
1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/3 c. vital wheat gluten
1/3 c. bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:
1. Simmer the lentils and rice together in a pot until tender. The lentils will be overcooked, but that's fine because you're just gonna mash 'em up anyway.
2. Sauté onion in a large pan with carrots and mushrooms. Add garlic, and couple minutes later add broth, lentils, and rice. Mash the lentils with a spatula. Mix in seasonings.
3. Preheat oven to 350F.
4. Let the mixture cool for a couple minutes. (Eat some to tide you over, it's good!) In a mixing bowl, mash it up some more, then add wheat gluten and bread crumbs. Knead with a wooden spoon — wouldn't want to get your hands dirty.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form patties and bake for 15 min. each side.
6. Heat some oil in a pan. Fry the patties a few minutes on each side to brown them and firm them up.

Spread
INGREDIENTS:
1 c. frozen edamame, thawed
1/2 c. frozen corn, thawed
1 c. spinach, tightly packed
1/4 c. broth
1/4 c. water
4 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. tahini
1/2 tsp. chili powder

DIRECTIONS:
1. Purée everything in a blender. Get frustrated that it's too thick to get properly smooth. Scrape the sides, stir with a spoon, pulse, shake, etc.

Devil's Footprints Edamame Salad Over Noodles

Exactly 156 years ago, the Devil's Footprints appeared in Devon, England. No, seriously, cloven hoof prints continued for over 100 miles, crossing bodies of water and traversing rooftops and whatnot. SATAN. Or wood mice, or good old mass hysteria. Good thing we don't succumb to that anymore...

This dish I cooked up real quick after helping my roommate with an art installation that needs to be ready for Thursday, when all the wealthy donors come to the new Creative Arts Council building to ooh and ahh. I gotta be at work in half an hour! I maybe went a little overboard with the seasoning — my love of soy sauce and cumin.

makes approx. 2-3 servings

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. frozen edamame, thawed

9 oz. frozen sweet corn, thawed

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 handfuls pea greens

5 grape tomatoes, quartered, forgotten in the fridge by my roommate, who will never notice they're gone

5 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced

1/3 pack rice bran Pad Thai fettuccine

1/4 c. shoyu soy sauce

1/4 c. yeast flakes

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. turmeric

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put the noodles in a large pot over high heat to get the water boiling. Once boiling, cook for additional 8-10 min.
2. Fry onion in oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once translucent, add  edamame, sweet corn, and pea greens. Cook for several minutes, until the greens start to wilt.
3. Add soy sauce, yeast flakes, and spices. Turn heat up to medium-high and cook for several minutes.
4. Add both kinds of tomatoes, cook for a couple minutes. Combine with noodles.

From Hyun Höchsmann's and Yang Guorong's translation of Zhuangzi, "The Great and Honored Teacher" (123):

Another day Yan Hui saw Confucius again and said, "I have made progress."
"What do you mean?" asked Confucius.
"I sit and forget everything."