saag tofu

We love Indian Food. Living in the Lower Haight we were surrounded by a ton of amazing Indian restaurants. However, in NYC we haven't really found one close to our house that we love just yet, so when we got the craving for some saag paneer, we just decided to make it. But we made it vegan, because well, we did. It turned out ridiculously delicious, and made plenty for leftovers. It was also pretty easy, so I imagine this might become a staple around our house. Let's get down to business.

Ingredients:
2 pounds Frozen Spinach
1 medium Onion, diced
2 cups Unsweetened Soy Milk
1 pound Extra Firm Tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 Tomato, chopped
4 cloves of Garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp. minced Ginger
2 Tbsp. Garam Masala
1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Tumeric
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Jalapenos, small dice
2 Tbsp. Safflower Oil (or your favorite cooking oil)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cooking Spray

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and place your tofu in a single layer on it. Sprinkle the tofu with one of the tablespoons of garam masala and some salt. Spray it again with the cooking spray and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes.

While the tofu is cooking, place a large pot over medium heat. Add your oil, onions, garlic, ginger, tomato, and jalapenos and saute' for 4-5 minutes. Add the spinach and cover. Stir every few minutes until the spinach is defrosted. (If you defrosted your spinach ahead of time, or if you are using fresh spinach, just continue on.) Once the spinach is ready add the soymilk, and all of the spices, and season with salt.

Right about now your tofu should be ready to go. Here is where you have to make an important decision: Do I want to blend the spinach so that I have a uniform consistency, or do I want texture and chunks? We chose texture, if you want it smooth, go ahead and get your immersion blender. We can wait.

Done? OK. Add the tofu into the pot and simmer for just a few minutes so that everything is at a consistent temperature. Season again with salt and pepper, and serve with rice, naan, or both.

vegan spinach lasagna

Let me start off by saying two things:

Numero Uno: I like lasagna with a few layers. Not just two really thick layers that collapse and fall apart all over the spatula, and then your plate. It should hold up and be pretty, kind of like a layered cake. Something that takes this much time to prepare shouldn't look like a Rorschach sketch once it is served. All it takes is using a more shallow dish; buying some extra noodz and making the filling a little thinner between the layers.

Dos: Someone needs to make the perfect vegan ricotta. I am so sick of trying to do it, and I think everyone else is as well. Oh shit. This is by far my best incarnation by far. At least as far as pasta goes. Damn, I want to just eat this on crostini. It happens to be thick and slightly difficult to work with (especially with lasagna), but trust me; it will not make your lasagna soggy. Actually, its kinda way better than actual ricotta.

Ok, let's get down to business. Please note we are using a large Pyrex baking dish, not the 9x9 square one, so if you are, well; ummmm, do the same thing we did. I had leftover noodles anyway. I just ate them while cooking.


Ingredients:
2 10 oz. packages of whole grain Lasagna Noodles
1 pound frozen Spinach
1 medium Onion, diced
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp. Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. Safflower Oil
1/2 tsp. Red Chili Flakes
1 jar of Pasta Sauce (we used a jar of amazing sauce canned last Summer by my main man Sean Ulrich). Or you can make your own. We have a lot of recipes for that down the blog...

Cheeze!
1 pound Extra Firm Tofu
1 pound Soft Tofu
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp. Dried Oregano
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
Salt and Pepper to taste

Start your pasta water to boil. It is best to use 2 pots if you can. Lasagna noodles are so big and cumbersome. If you don't have two big pots, then do it in shifts.

Heat a saute' pan on medium heat. Add the safflower oil, and onion. Saute' until translucent. (You know the drill). Add the garlic, chili flakes and lemon juice. Toss the spinach in there and cover with a lid. Turn the heat to low.

In your food processor put all off the cheeze ingredients. Pulse a couple of times to the beat of whatever music you are listening to, and then just pop it on low and let it ride until smooth. Think "hummus" for the texture you are looking for. If you need more liquid you can add pasta water, just do it 1/4 cup at a time.

Stir your spinach every few minutes so that it gets evenly cooked, and keep an eye on your pasta.

Once the spinach is cooked and the pasta is done it is time to assemble. Preheat your oven to 350 and get ready to rock! I always start with a little sauce on the bottom so the noodles don't stick to the pan. Then I layer noodles, and then... I am sure you have done this before, so go for it. If you haven't, look at the close up picture below for details. When you have finished building your masterpiece, cover the pan with foil, making sure that the foil is not resting on the top of the lasagna. Make a little tent with the foil. Now bake it in the oven for 40-45 minutes. As tempting as it will be to eat it as soon as it comes out of the oven, wait about 7-10 minutes for it to set before serving, it will make it far less messy and lead to less clean up later.

An Ode to FFTY

A few years ago we were inspired to eat locally and seasonally. We decided to keep a record of out experience and blog about what it's really like to join a CSA. I mean seriously!, a farm bought local produce to our doorstep each week! I know, pinch yourself. Too good to be true right?

Not really.

Moving across the country to NYC has been a blessing in many regards. Both of us are closer to family and a lot of friends. But there is a big empty hole missing from our hearts where our FFTY used to be. Besides a few friends, and the burritos, the thing we miss most about SF is getting our box each week!

Luckily for anyone in the Bay Area, all you have to do is sign up for one of their boxes which are an amazing value. $25 for a small veggie and fruit, it's way more than worth it! G'head take about a few minutes to look back through our photos! PLUS, they really customizable! Don't like fennel? Just say so and you NEVER have to receive it!

To summarize: It is seriously almost absurd not to take advantage of this! People who live in the bay area LISTEN UP! They will drop it at your house (w/NO DELIVERY FEE!)

OMG there IS MORE!: Enter code 482 under the promo code to get 20% off your first box.

We have over 2 years of recipes here if you get need inspiration, plus we are always available for questions and advice ! Just hit us up (csadelivery[at]gmail[dot]com) if you need anything, and we will keep blogging from the Big City. (We will still be jealous of your box.)

A bit of a break...

No, we are not going to post even more inconsistently... we are heading to the Bay Area for the weekend to hang out and hit up some @SFBeerWeek stuff.

ZOMFG BURRITOS!!!!!!

Just downloaded the new Blogger app for Android, so hopefully we will be posting updates from out yonder here or there.

Who wants to go to Ike's with us?!?!?!?!?!?!

carrot ginger soup

OMFG its cold! Being back in the Northeast for a full Winter has me realizing just how full of shiat Whats-His-Name was when he was talking about S.F. Summers being the coldest thing ever. But the Northeast's Winters, and the year round S.F. climate have one thing in common; they are both perfect for soup!

Everyone loves soup. If you don't love soup you must be an alien, because you certainly are not a citizen of this planet. So far this Winter we have spent a lot of meals (and not a lot of time or money!) eating soup. This particular one came to me right before I was leaving work. I was thinking that the only produce I had in the house was potatoes, carrots, and scallions; but I didn't really want to go shopping for a bunch of stuff, and alas, it was born. This here soup is hearty, packs a lot of flavor, and the ginger warms you up pretty damn well. Plus, its not too carrot-y. So yeah, let's go!

Ingredients:
Soup:
2.5 pounds of Yukon Gold Potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
4 large Carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 large Yellow Onion, diced
4 cups (1 Quart) Veggie Broth
2 Tbsp. 2X Tomato Paste, because its awesome
2 Tbsp. Earth Balance
1-2 cups Unsweetened Soy Milk
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
2 Tbsp. Ground Ginger
salt and pepper to taste

Cilantro Scallion Pesto: *
1 bunch of scallions, washed and de-rooted
1 bunch of cilatro, washed and de-rooted
2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 cup + of Safflower Oil (remember, I told you so...)
salt and pepper to taste

Get a big pot. Put it over medium heat. Add Earth Balance and onions and saute' until translucent, about 7-8 minutes. Toss in the 2X tomato paste and let it toast for 2 minutes. DO NOT PUT THE GINGER IN NOW. I don't mean to yell, but most soups would call for the ginger to come in at the beginning of the soup, and well, that just really mutes its flavor, not to mention cooking away some of its awesome benefits. Just put the ginger down. Do it slowly. OK. Deep breath. Now back to cooking.

Sprinkle the pot with a lil pepper (cayenne if you wanna be dangerous), and then throw in the carrots, potatoes, and veggie broth. Put a lid on the pot and get a drink. These veggies will cook through in about 20-26 minutes, so we should probably make the pesto.

Get out your food processor (or chop-chop-grindy-shreddy mah-cheen as I like to call it) and put all the ingredients inside. Puree' them. After that difficult task you deserve another drink. G'head and grab one. I can wait.

* - Side note! This makes an awful lot of pesto. It isn't a bad thing. It has served us well, let me recount the ways so far...
1. Added to mashed avocado it is instant guacamole
2. It is a great topping for burritos and tacos
3. It was a pivotal ingredient in the dip for the recipe below
4. Chips and... Pesto? Hell yes!
5. We still have about 1.25 cups in the freezer to play with. OH YEAH! I forgot to mention that it freezes really well and can be frozen without losing flavor for a really long time.

Back to the soup. By now your veggies should be fork tender and ready to rock n' roll. So grab your immersion blender and let's get down to business. Don't turn off the heat the whole way just yet. Add in the nutritional yeast and 1 cup of the soy milk (or almond, rice, cow, goat, pterodactyl, whatever) and start to blend. If you need or want a looser consistency then just keep added more liquid. Is it totally blended and smooth? Now, add the ginger and blend for another minute. Aiiiight. You are ready to season and get down to some serious grub.

Add some of the pesto to the soup and chow down! BTW, you don't have to make dots. You can do zig-zags, tie dye prints, write names in the soup, it's all good.

zucchini pancakes

Hash browns, pancakes, latkes, tempura, fry cakes, whatever the hell you call them; we love them passionately. Especially when you can dip them in something awesome and shove them in your face without spending a lot of money or effort. Oh, and while drinking beer.

We got the idea for this dish a few nights before at a pub when Katie ordered zucchini pancakes and actually got pancakes, only with some chunked zucchini and onion in them. They were served with plain sour cream and a boring salsa. After a few bites we realized that we could do this better, and way less than $7 for 4 pancakes. So we started drinking some beers another night and this is what happened.

Zucchini Pancakes: (makes 20 3" pancakes)

2 zucchini
3 potatoes, russet preferably. About 1.5 pounds total.
1 onion, peeled. Please don't shred an unpeeled onion.
1/2 jalapeno, seeded if you please. (odds are this is a good idea).

You got a food processor? OK. Then shred this stuff above and mix it in a bowl. No processor? I hope you have very strong arms and a lot of will power. Rest assured that the end product will be worth the work. Meanwhile mix everything below in another bowl.

2 cups rice flour
3 tablespoons corn starch
3 teaspoons baking powder
salt to taste
2 cups H20, or club soda if you're nasty

Heat some (ahem, about 1 inch of) oil in a deep pan over medium high heat, we used safflower because of its high smoke point and neutral flavor. (Plus its REALLY cheap, its basically the new canola oil. Don't say I didn't let you in on the scoop.) Mix the slurry into the shredded veggie mixture and adjust for any overage or underage of moisture. What you should have should feel like a really grainy, thick and chunky paste. It should feel like something you would never want to eat. But we are about to deep fry it, so just be patient.

OK. First you have to do the unthinkable. You have to make a tester. Then you have to eat it. I HATE this step, but if I MUST make the food right its too crucial to skip. Use a 4 oz. ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup to make 1 pancake in the oil. Please be careful, its real hot. Flip it after about 2 minutes (when its golden brown and delicious on the down side) and cook for an additional 2 minutes on the other side. Check for doneness with the no fail-taste test and adjust your cooking time accordingly. When done, set to drain on paper towels or some fancy rack you have that we don't.

Need more or less cooking time? Then adjust. Keep tasting, this recipe makes enough for everyone and plenty for you to snack on as well.

If you are going to eat them now, keep them in an oven set to 250. If you are just torturing yourself, put them in the fridge. These also freeze remarkably well, just make sure to refrigerate them first so that the temperature change is gradual and you don't pull too much moisture from the veggies. Serve with the dipping sauce below, any salsa that doesn't come from a jar, and some nicely stewed black beans. Oh yeah, and a really fresh IPA.



Chipotle Sour Cream Sauce:

1 container tofutti sour cream
2 tablespoons chipotle sauce in adobo
4 tablespoons cilantro/scallion pesto (it's a basic pesto, recipe will be in one of the next entries)
lime juice and garlic to taste

spaghetti squash

Spaghetti Squash with peas, walnuts, basil, and Pecorino Romano cheese.