Johnny Appleseed Stuffed Buttercup Squash

I had no idea, but Johnny Appleseed was one of the greatest people to ever live. Who knows really, but he was vegetarian, treated animals with the utmost respect, was a lifelong itinerant, wore shabby clothes, planted apple nurseries, etc. I wish there were more primitive Christians in the world, because then I would be so much cooler with Christianity. Seriously, I'm gonna go to the library and take out all the books on J. Appleseed like tomorrow.

I think this squash is buttercup. If someone reading this knows better, tell me what's up. I'd never cooked one before, but I totally lucked out with the purée I filled it with. So good.

makes 2 halves

INGREDIENTS:

1 buttercup squash, halved

1/4 c. cashews, soaked in 1/2 c. water

1/2 crown broccoli

1/2 hot house tomato

2 cloves garlic

salt and pepper and paprika and hot sauce to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

2. Place the squash, broccoli, and garlic in the oven. Take the garlic out after a few minutes.

3. In a blender, purée cashews and water. Add in the tomato, broccoli, and garlic; purée until smooth.

4. After the squash has been cooking for approx. 25 min., fill it with the puréed stuff and pop back in the oven for another 15-20 min.

I ate this with some delicious baba ghanoush, black olives, and chips that my good friend made and brought over. So nice of her.

 

If y'all missed it on Vegansaurus, there's a Vegan Pen Pals Project! Do it!

Biggie Smalls Bruschetta and Stir Fry

The Notorious B.I.G. was murdered 14 years ago. We all know the story, so I'll just leave ya with a track. So many classics to pick from, but right now I'm partial to "Juicy". Bringing you back.

The bruschetta's just some slices of bread drizzled with olive oil and topped with leftover sauce from the spaghetti I made a couple nights ago. 18 min. in the oven at 375F.

makes approx. 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. long grain brown rice

5 shallots, diced

1 fat clove garlic, sliced

1 lb. tofu, cut into little rectangles

1 1/2 broccoli crowns, chopped

1 hot house tomato, sliced

1/8 c. walnuts, chopped

shoyu soy sauce

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. black sesame seeds

1 tsp. white sesame seeds

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1/4 tsp. cayenne, 90k Scoville

1/4 tsp. salt

sesame oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Simmer the rice 45 min.

2. Sauté the shallots in a large pan in sesame oil. After they start to brown, add the garlic for a couple minutes, then toss in the tofu and broccoli. Douse in soy sauce, cover for a while.

3. Once the broccoli starts to turn bright green, uncover and add in walnuts, tomato, and seasonings. Heat through, try to get the broccoli a little crispy on the edges.

Here's my review of Mike Leigh's most recent film, Another Year.

Telephone Spaghetti

On this day in 1876... I'm just gonna let Wikipedia tell it, because their wording is so endearing. "Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for an invention he calls the telephone." Kooky! There's also a thrilling little narrative over at the Timeline of the telephone page about how Bell and some guy named Gray were neck-and-neck for the patent.

This spaghetti could've really used some more vegetables or mushrooms or olives or something, but it came together out of a desire to hold off shopping until Wednesday, when I get a 5% student discount. Mom taught me well. So here it is, a simple sauce with a special sweet touch and some spaghetti noodles. (Yes, that's the most obnoxiously alliterative sentence I could come up with.) To cook the noodles I used the energy-efficient method provided on the packaging.

makes approx. 2-3 servings

INGREDIENTS:

6 oz. spaghetti

2 small red onions, diced

3 shallots, diced

1 clove garlic, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 clove garlic, pressed

1 15-oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes

1 15-oz. can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes

3 spoonfuls peach compote

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. rosemary

1/2 tsp. parsley

1/4 tsp. sage

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti. After 2 min., shut off heat and let stand, covered, 20 min.

2. Sauté onions and shallots in oil in a pan. After several minutes, add sliced garlic. Stir to avoid burning the garlic. Add the minced garlic, then after a couple minutes the pressed garlic. Give it another minute or two, then pour in the two cans of tomatoes. Let it approach a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add peach compote and seasonings. Simmer 5-10 min., or until noodles are done or you can't wait any longer.

That is all.

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.

Fiume Salad

On this date in 1924, the Kingdom of Italy annexed the Free State of Fiume, revoking after only four years the Treaty of Rapallo. In the 19th century, the city's official languages were Italian, Hungarian, and German. Gabriele D'Annunzio invaded the city for 15 months just prior to the establishment of formal autonomy in 1920. He basically threw a big party, but his brand of anarchism was what Wikipedia calls "anarcho-fascism," which makes sense in that historical moment but would (I sincerely hope) be a contradiction in terms these days.

I haven't made a salad since the summer, but I went to Another Year right after class this evening, so I needed something quick that would use up the half beet and single carrot hanging out in my fridge. I chipped a plate while washing the dishes because I was simultaneously writing the introduction to my review of the film. I've been getting clumsy lately, need to abide more in the moment.

makes 2 servings

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. spinach, very tightly packed

1/2 beet, skinned and cubed

1 carrot, skinned and chopped

1/4 c. walnuts

olive oil

red wine vinegar

mustard

pepper

yeast flakes

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix the dressing in a shallow bowl or plastic container. Pour over the salad and sprinkle nutritional yeast on top.

This family is an inspiration: The Zero Waste Home. Funny how these projects seem always to be initiated by women. Or not funny.

An Open Letter to My Father

Dear Dad,

Do you have stock in a palm oil extraction firm? Not quite sure why you were irritated enough by my "comment that 'Palm oil is bad'" to call it "a gross oversimplification." I should have clarified that I didn't care in the least about the claims that palm oil is bad for one's health. What I believe is a salient ethical consideration re palm oil is the environmental damage its production requires. You're right that I made "a rainforest destruction problem sound like the product itself is dangerous, evil, etc."" You know why? Because a product that necessitates rainforest destruction is itself bad. Your analogy between palm oil and electricity is completely spurious. A better analogy would be between palm oil and diamonds. Bloody, bloody diamonds, which are bad products in virtue of the consequences of their production.

Love,

Tim

National Pig Day Hearty Red Soup

Today's National Pig Day in the US. Apparently, people do all sorts of wacky stuff to celebrate pigs, including eating their flesh. From a newspaper in Arlington Heights, IL (not too far from where I grew up): "Is it time to celebrate what the pig offers by downing spare ribs, bacon, and ham? Or is it time to give the little guys a break - to step back and just appreciate all they offer us?" This makes me hurt so much. Suicidefood says it best.

Composed of mostly red or reddish ingredients, this soup nevertheless contains no slaughtered pigs, making it a good option for NPD. This is the first time I've sliced garlic. I like it!

makes approx. 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb. red kidney beans

3 small red onions, diced

1/2 bulb garlic, sliced

1/2 beet, cubed

3 Red Chieftain potatoes, cubed

5 carrots, chopped

7 crimini mushrooms, diced

6 c. water

1 c. vegetable broth

1/4 c. shoyu soy sauce

4 Tbsp. yeast flakes

2 tsp. fenugreek seeds

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. parsley

1/2 tsp. chili powder

oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Soak the beans in 4 c. water overnight. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for approx. 60 min.

2. Sauté onion in oil in a large stock pot. Add the potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, beet, and garlic as you finish preparing them. Let it all cook for a couple more minutes, then pour in the kidney beans with their water. Add another 2 c. water and 1 c. broth. Bring to a simmer, then partially uncover the pot. Stir in the soy sauce and seasonings. Let simmer for 20-25 min.

Steve Lambert makes good work.