Stress Wars

I know. Don't yell at me! It's been forever since I've blogged. Call it a Happy Valentine! Believe me, it hasn't been without remorse. I'll admit there were days i was just lazy or not in the mood to write. And then, there were days that all I wanted to do when I got home was crawl into bed and sleep for hours. And other days when I woke up at 4 am and yet couldn't seem to function enough to do anything. That's what this darn winter term has done to me!!!!! Somehow professors have decided that 8 page papers are okay to give the week before finals, 40 minute presentations are not unreasonable, and you can speed up on harder material just to squeeze it all in and meet your quota.

Yeah.

Oh, and then it's also okay to deny someone who has been actively looking for a job for two months an opportunity for a job she really, really tried for....?

Sorry, it's not like me to be this way.... Maybe it's the AntiCupid playing tricks on me!

So why don't we all digress back to my favorite topic- some tasty food. Of which, I've made a lot of this month, even if they haven't all made it to paper. Here's a taste:

Vegan Gibassier (if you've never had a gibassier- go and get yourself one right now! They are light, yeasty, flowery puffs of heaven with sweet, candied orange and anise flavors that don't overpower each other or the nature of the bread itself. Thanks to Portland for providing a home for this treat and leading me to it at Pearl Bakery!)

Cherry Splits - Black and whites with a whole lot more flavor and valentine flare!

Loverberry Cheesecake - Yes! A soy-free, vegan cheesecake that is soooo good! Sorry, I ate it too fast to capture a photo!!!!


Oh and then there is Daring Cooks, which I'm participating in for the first time this month, so you'll get a small taste of savory inspiration too.

This month the Daring Cooks theme is: patties. The Daring Cooks’ February 2012 challenge was hosted by Audax & Lis and they chose to present Patties for their ease of construction, ingredients and deliciousness! We were given several recipes, and learned the different types of binders and cooking methods to produce our own tasty patties!


For my part, I decided to make the Potato Rosti (partly because it was the easiest to veganize, and the least expensive). To be honest, I didn't have great expectations. I mean, sure, I've had potato pancakes before, and that's basically what this was- big pancakes. Except that they were soooo much better! Seriously. Try some. And make sure you really do get at least a kilo of potatoes - I only had half, and i could barely keep from eating both of    the two small cakes I made! I also added some Zaatar (my new favorite spice) for extra flavor.


Another tip- when the recipe says to squeeze / press out all the water, DO NOT skimp on this step! I ended up with a bunch of liquid in my bowl that came out while I waited for my pan to heat. AS long as you drain that liquid, you'll be fine, but it's a lot easier if you can 
press it out first!

Potato Rösti

Servings: makes two large rösti
adapted from a family recipe

The classic rösti; cheap, easy and so tasty.

Ingredients:
1 kg (2½ lb) potatoes
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) salt

approximately 2 teaspoons Zaatar, optional

2 teaspoons (10 ml) (6 gm) black pepper, freshly milled
1 1/2 tbsp. EnerG egg replacer mixed with 2 tbsp. water
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (½ oz/15 gm) cornflour (cornstarch) or use all-propose flour

3 tablespoons (45 ml) oil, for frying

Directions:

1. Grate lengthwise the peeled potatoes with a box grater or a food processor.
2. Wrap the grated potato in a cloth and squeeze dry, you will get a lot of liquid over ½ cup, discard liquid since it is full of potato starch.
3. Return dried potato to bowl add the egg, cornflour, pepper, and salt.
4. Mix until combined.
5. Preheat a frying pan (cast iron is best) until medium hot, add 2 teaspoons of oil wait until oil shimmers.
6. Place half of mixture into the pan, flatten with a spoon until you get a smooth flat surface. Lower heat to medium.
7. Fry for 8-10 minutes (check at 6 minutes) the first side, flip by sliding the rösti onto a plate then use another plate invert the rösti then slide it back into the pan, then fry the 
8. other side about 6-8 minutes until golden brown. Repeat to make another rösti

I served mine with some Vegetarian Bolengese from Vegetarian Times. Yummy!!!

And now, for an extra bonus, I'll give you the recipe for my cheesecake!

Loverberry Cheesecake

Your favorite crumb crust, baked for 10 minutes in a greased 9" spring form pan in a 350 degree oven.

/2 tsp. vanilla

Lower oven temp to 325.

2 cups "Incredible Almond Creme Cheez" from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Jo Stepaniak, pg. 42 (or you can use any vegan cream cheese you like, I just wanted mine soy-free)

150 g. granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

10 oz. coconut or almond milk yogurt

2 tbsp. tapioca starch

pinch of salt

approximately 1/2 cup good-quality blueberry jam

Cream the "cheez" and sugar together in a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla and yogurt. Once combined, add starch and salt, mixing just to incorporate.

Pour filling mixture into the baked crust.

Dot the top of the filling with blueberry jam. If you want to swirl the jam, you may want to heat it up so it's more liquid and can be moved around. Otherwise, you can let the dollops of jam sink to the bottom and create its own layer on top of your crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 65-80 minutes, or until almost set. Cool completely, then chill thoroughly, for at least 4 hours, before serving.

More recipes and food inspiration to come soon, I promise! First I need to put this trimester behind me, and my teenage years for that matter! That's right, I'll be turning 20 in... 16 days!

Sometimes I feel so much older than that!

No matter, I've got lots to do and think about in my 20th year, and i'm excited to get it started. It will start with a new blog.. can't have pastryteen for a 20 year old, now can we? No worries though, I'll keep you updated! Thanks for 2 years of loyal reading!

Tarts, Tests, and Tantrums

Ah finals. Hate them!

Reasons why I hate finals:

Stress.

Long weekends that only serve to make you stress more.

Knowing that you really don't have anything to worry about but you do anyway

A professor who thinks his study guide is a gift, but really just confuses you more

Buses that don't seem to care about being on time

Scantrons that should never have been invented

Teachers who don't seem to remember why you can't use Scantrons.

An overwhelming desire to scarf down every sweet thing in site in hopes of relieving your stress.

Oh yes, finals. Three times per year is three times too many.

But the one thing that might make finals a little better is knowing that a nice long breaks lies just 24 hours in the future. And even better, this break involves one great holiday- Thanksgiving.

So, in honor of Thanksgiving, and in need of emptying out the refrigerator of all my farmers' market finds, I decided to combine a few classic fall flavors into one great holiday pie. Of course, it's not even seven days away yet and, three days after making this delicious dessert, it's nearly gone. That's stress and a lack of breakfast eats for you!

Now go get ready and make this pie / tart / dessert / whatever you want to call it!

Pickin’ Pie

Note: I think next time I will caramelize or partially cook the apples before putting them on top of the squash filling (and will bake the filling for 30-40 minutes instead of 20 so that it doens't over-bake). The way I did it this first time, the apples came out kinda chewy.

Crust

132 g. sugar

18 g. molasses

120 g. flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

60 g. rolled oats

76 g. Earth Balance stick margarine, cut into cubes

2-4 tbsp. apple cider

1. Combine sugar, molasses, flour, baking soda, slat, vanilla and oats. 
2. Cut in margarine with your hands, rubbing it until you get small, pea-like pieces of fat.
3. Add enough cider to bring the dough together into a workable dough.
4. Form dough into a disk, wrap and chill for 1 hour or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9” pie plate with high sides or a 9” cake pan.
6. Roll dough out to about a 10” disk (easiest way is between plastic wrap). Transfer to the greased pie plate. Dough should come about 1/2 to 1” up sides.
7. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until browned and firm to the touch. Meanwhile, prepare squash filling.

Squash Filling

2 cups butternut squash puree (from about half a small, roasted squash)

2 cups apple cider, cooked over medium heat until reduced to 1 cup

1 tbsp. molasses

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

5 tbsp. tapioca starch

1 tbsp. coconut oil or shortening

8 . Combine all filling ingredients in a blender, pureeing until completely smooth and evenly distributed.

9.Pour into baked crust. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile prepare apples.

Apples

3 medium, semi-tart, firm apples (ex. Empire), peeled, quartered, and thinly sliced

3 tbsp. brown sugar

the juice of half a lemon

3 tbsp. tapioca starch

1 tsp. fresh grated ginger

10. Toss apples with all other ingredients. Let sit for at least 10 minutes (can do ahead of time and keep in fridge)

11. When filling is starting to set, remove pan from oven and arrange apples in a single layer on top. I arranged mine in sort of a rose pattern, overlapping apples slightly in rings, but you can do it however you like it best.


12. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until apples have begun to brown.


13. Remove from oven and cool completely. Serve immediately or store in the fridge.

Great with banana "ice cream" (especially pumpkin-flavored)! Get the basic recipe here! Also great for breakfast!!!!

Oh and by the way: If you like all the great, creative treats I've shared on my blog, please check out my Etsy page! Thank you!