Fried Green Tomato BLT

I had fried green tomatoes one time. I was in New Orleans and newly vegan and I was meeting a group of people at a restaurant that had exactly one vegetarian thing on the menu (but, happily, there was plenty of vegan food elsewhere on the trip). I knew that it probably wasn't vegan, but I decided ignorance was bliss and ordered the fried green tomatoes. I may have been a bad vegan, but it was indeed bliss. I've been thinking about them ever since.

So, when I spied green tomatoes at our CSA's farm stand, I knew it was time to make some. Then, when we walked by a restaurant in Fort Collins serving a fried green tomato BLT, I thought it might be my destiny. That sounded a lot like my food soulmate. The only problem: I just started a diet. And, I'm pretty sure that fried green tomatoes and sandwiches loaded with vegenaise are not on the Body for Life  plan. So, I waited until my free day.

And by was it worth the wait. It was also so filling that my free day consisted of a bagel sandwich for breakfast, the BLT, and a teensy-tiny amount of panang curry for dinner--so full was I from that sandwich. I can't wait to have them again.

That fried stuff in the foreground? Deep fried avocado slices.

The Fried Green Tomatoes

3 Large Green Tomatoes, sliced about 1/2 an inch thick
1 1/2 c soy milk
1 1/2 t apple cider vinegar
1 c flour
1/2 c corn meal
2 t garlic powder
1 t salt
Peanut oil for frying

Lay tomatoes in a colander and sprinkle with salt. let sweat for about 30 minutes while you prepare everything else. Whisk together soy milk and vinegar. Set aside to curdle. Combine the corn meal, flour garlic powder, and salt in a long shallow container. Mix well. Whisk in soy milk mixture to your desired consistency.

Fill a frying pan about 1/2 inch deep with peanut oil and heat over medium high heat. While the oil is heating up, gently pat dry the tomatoes with a paper towel, getting them as dry as possible. Test the oil by dropping a small amount of better in the oil. It should sizzle and begin to turn brown. Coat 3 slices of tomato in the batter and drop into oil. Flip when the bottom half is a nice caramel brown color and cook until both sides are that color. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel-covered plate. Continue with all the tomato slices.

A note: This is way too much batter for 3 tomatoes, but I didn't want to worry about running out of batter or having to scrape it together. Plus, I didn't want to do the math, but I think you'd have just enough if you cut the batter recipe in half. Or you could fry whatever you have lying around, which is what I did with that avocado.

Also: This batter was great. It had nice crunch. It stuck and stayed together well--no eggs necessary. And could be used on any number of things, like zucchini. 

The Sandwich

2 pieces of soft sandwich bread (I used light rye)
Vegenaise
3 fried green tomatoes
3 slices of tempeh bacon
3 leaves romaine, chopped
2 slices of tomato

I'm sure you can figure this part out.

Lemony Mint Ricotta-Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Besides enjoying a few hours with friends, there are two definite advantages to spending time Saturday night and Sunday morning preparing a big brunch: 1) the house, or at least the main floor, gets cleaned, and 2) there are lots of leftovers that provide a variety of lunches and dinner for a good part of the week. So, after making brunch again this Sunday (which consisted of a breakfast burrito bar), the last thing I wanted or needed to do last night was make dinner.

That, of course, was until Josh brought home the CSA haul and sitting right on top was a round bag o' squash blossoms. Which I had been hoping for. But have to be used the same day because they wilt hella quick. Sigh.

So, after trying to talk myself out of cooking, I gave in and started thinking about what I wanted to stuff the blossoms with. I even thought of doing quesadillas, but the consensus seems to be that you can't really taste the blossoms in quesadilla form and I thought that a plain vegan cheese quesadilla sounded less than appetizing. Stuffing them seemed the way to go (especially since I'm cooking solely out of the pantry this week), so I threw together a kitchen sink/CSA tofu ricotta and fried 'em up. They definitely needed a dipping sauce of some kind, but they turned out pretty good.

I would definitely make these for a dinner party, especially if I was already using the fryer for vegan cream cheese wontons. They are, above all else, a little exotic and a whole lot impressive to behold.

20 squash blossoms (you can do less but you'll have extra filling)

Lemony Mint Ricotta Filling
1 lb. extra firm tofu
1/3 cup tofutti cream cheese
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 read onion, finely diced
4-5 sprigs mint, chiffonaded
4-5 springs basil, chiffonaded
Zest of 1/3 lemon
Juice of 1/3 lemon
Coarse ground salt and pepper to taste

The Batter
1 cup AP flour
1 cup club soda
1/2 t salt

In a small saute pan, saute garlic and red onion in a bit of olive oil on medium heat. Cook until the red onion in soft and beginning to carmelize. Meanwhile, drain tofu, squeezing as much of the water as possible out of it. Crumble into a bowl and keep massaging it until it resembles the texture of, well, ricotta. Add cream cheese and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Add fresh ground salt and pepper until you get the desired flavor. Put filling a gallon size ziploc bag and push it all toward one bottom corner.

I used a deep fryer, so, at this point, I filled the fryer to the maximum line with canola oil and heated it to 375 degrees.

Next, you need to prep the blossoms, which basically involves removing the stamen. Many sites say you need to use a knife or cut the blossom open, but it's easy to get out while leaving the flower *ahem* intact. Just gently pull the petals apart, stick you finger into the blossom, and press the stamen to the side of the petal (believe me, I tried to make this as non-sexual as possible as I was writing it--it's a challenge). If they're fresh it should break off easily, then you can shake the stamen out. You may need to use you nail, but it should break off easily. I did all of them this way without any mishaps.

Once the blossoms are ready, cut half an inch off the corner of the filling bag. Hold hte flower in one hand, using your fingers to pull back the petals, and squeeze a couple tablespoons of filling into each flower. Twist them closed gently. They won't stay closed but they don't need to. Just make sure it's not overflowing with ricotta.

Lemony Mint Tofu Ricotta Filling

Next, you have to fry them. The blossoms are delicate, so I went with the deep fryer--which had it's challenges. Because they're battered, the first two blossoms stuck to the frying basket. So, with the frying basket lowered into the oil, I would dredge a blossom, covering it at least 3/4 with batter (which is thick), and drop it into the oil. Give it a couple seconds, then gently nudge it around with tongs to make sure it didn't stick to the basket. Then I'd add another dredged blossom. I only did two at a time, frying until they were a golden brown color. After the first couple, they came out fine. But, if you're doing this for the first time, I'd plan on making more then you need.

Refried Beans

Let me put this bluntly: I love refried beans. And, while I don't mind using canned ones for adding to burritos and whatnot, I would never eat them straight. Canned refrieds just don't cut it. After hearing a lot of buzz here and there on the internets, I decided to try this recipe, which has gotten stellar reviews (5 stars with 708 people reviewing the recipe). Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I thought they lacked flavor and it wasn't for lack of salt (which, strangely, the recipe calls for before the beans are cooked...I'm guessing that's why they take so long). So, I set about trying to combine this recipe with mine and the results were pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.
"Fat-ish" Refried Beans

1 pound of pinto beans, sorted and rinsed
3 cups of veggie broth
Water
1 onion, quartered
1 California bay leaf
1 piece of kombu
1 t cumin
1 t garlic powder
Fresh ground pepper (to taste)
3 t salt (more or less, to taste)
1/3 cup of oil (I've used olive and canola and liked them both)

In a large bowl (I use the insert to my slowcooker), cover pinto beans with serveral inches of water and let soak overnight. The next day, drain the beans and rinse them. Put them in a slowcooker, add the veggie broth and cover the rest of the way with an inch of water (You can also use all veggie broth or water). Add all the ingredients, except the salt, pepper, and oil. Cook on high for 5 1/2 to 6 hours. Using a ladle remove as much liquid as you can (just try to get the liquid level below the beans) and set the liquid aside. Add oil and salt, and cook for 15 more minutes. Using a hand blender (or mash them with a fork or potato masher), puree the beans, adding the reserved liquid as needed to achieve the desired consistency. I usually like them thinner as a side dish and thicker for the filling of burritos.

Refried beans freeze wonderfully. Just add a little bit of veggie broth as you reheat them, since they will thicken up in the freezer.

Spicy Chickpea Puree

While Aspen was here, I made a lot of beans, since she seems to like them and every meal was hit and miss on whether she'd actually eat it. This Spicy Chickpea Puree was a great big fail with Aspen (she likes beans, she likes hummus, but the chickpea puree is a fail? Teenagers.). BUT, it was an unqualified success with the adults and toddlers in the house. It may only be a slightly dressed up version of hummus, but there's something about this meal that felt fresh. On another note, the chickpea puree is spread on a loaf of bread that I baked that day--the practice loaf out of My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method. Due to a small error on my part, it came out slightly dry/tough, but the flavor was incredible and it was one of the easiest loaves I've ever made.

What Do Vegan Toddlers Eat?: Day Two

Breakfast
1 brown rice sausage breakfast patty
1 banana pancake
Note: This is a lot of tan food. He actually only ate the pancake and then ate half a banana. He ate the sausage for a snack. The sausage is my attempt at replicating the deliciousness they serve at Vertical Diner: Gimme Lean, brown rice, oil, maple syrup, thyme, and cayenne all mixed together and lightly pan fried.
Snack
1/2 banana
A handful of green grapes

Lunch
1/2 cuban black bean burrito
Note: Eames finished what Aspen didn't eat. I made 2 pounds (!!!!) of cuban black beans last week and finally finished the last them in burritos yesterday. Cuban black beans and rice is one of the cheapest, most delicious meals ever.

Snack
Strawberries, nuts, blueberries, and some plantain chips
Note: On some afternoons, Eames goes next door so I can try to get some writing done. He usually eats a big pile of fruit while he's there and this is what he had left in front of him when I went to pick him up.

Dinner
1/2 Daiya quesadilla with avocado and tomato
Note: This is a standby for me. Since Daiya hit the market, I've been making quesadillas for him--mostly, because I can. I make them with spelt tortillas and try to serve it with a deconstructed salsa. One that he can feed himself. Eames loves this dish.

Liquid
Water
Green banana soymilk
Note: Spinach makes the banana soy milk green. He goes back and forth on this. Sometimes he slurps it down and other times he won't touch it. I think it depends on how strong the spinach tastes. Occasionally, it's pretty strong no matter how much I put in. On another note, Eames has taken to drinking my coffee, but I'm not going to put that on here. Bad mommy.

And, when the fruit is gone, the bowl makes a spectacular hat. The aliens can't penetrate his mind this way.

What do Vegan Toddlers Eat?: Day One

For a couple of reasons, I thought I'd take the time to document what Eames eats--if only to see if he eats as much as it seems like most days (though where it goes is still a great mystery). I took these picture hastily, because Eames loses his sunny disposition when there's food to be had and it's not sitting in front of him. He ate all the food pictured here. The oatmeal turned into second breakfast, because, like his mother, no other food can compete with a jalapeno bagel.
Breakfast and Second Breakfast
Pre-breakfast snack (via Josh): 1/2 banana
1/2 cup 7 grain oatmeal soaked in plain coconut milk yogurt
1/4 jalapeno bagel with tofutti cream cheese, cuke, tomato, and avocado

Note: I soaked Bob's 7 grain hot cereal mix in coconut milk yogurt overnight. I serve it with blueberries and topped with ground flax. The bagel is the same breakfast I have every morning. It is sprinkled with salt, pepper, and nooch.
Lunch
1 piece of rye, toasted
1/4 cup diced cucumber smashed with 1/4 avocado
10 green grapes
2 raw coconut rhubarb cookies

Note: This avocado smash has been a huge hit around here for a while. I mix in a little apple cider vinegar and top it with salt, pepper, and nooch. The cookies I made for the first time recently. Eames--and the rest of us--loves them, but he feels compelled to pick the coconut off the top first.
Dinner
5 organic tortilla chips
small bowl of refried beans w/ calabacitas

Note: Eames only ate about half of this, because I tried to feed him too close to bed time. But, he likes it a lot--mostly because it's mixed with refried beans.
Liquids
12 ounces water
4 ounces iced green tea

Note: On top of this liquid, he nurses once when he's going to bed and once (or twice) in the middle of the night. He also takes a liquid multi-vitamin.

Nachos with Braised Greens

1 pile of tortilla chips
1 bunch braised greens, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
10 mini bells, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 package soyrizo
Daiya (as much as you'd like)
Guacamole (to top)
Oil for sauteeing

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. on an oven proof plate, pile as many chips as you'd like (this pile fed two of us--one of whom eats a lot). Heat pan over medium high heat. Add onion. Cook for a few minutes, then add garlic and bells. Stir frequently so garlic doesn't burn. When bells have softened some, add braised greens. Cover with lid until greens wilt. Take pan off heat and stir in soyrizo. Set aside. Sprinkle with Daiya. Put chips in oven and cook until Daiya melts--just a couple of minutes. Remove from oven and cover with braised green mixture, top with guacamole, and add a few dashes of Cholula. Enjoy immediately.