Walnut date confections | black onion seeds

Several days ago I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Chow Vegan, and was taken with the almond-date bars described there. These confections appear with regular frequency on blogs, and it wasn't the recipe per se that sent me running to the kitchen — it was the photo. I wanted to eat it. Of course, that was impractical, so I was forced to actually make the treats. Chow Vegan's (inspired by a recipe on dreaminitvegan) alluring version was made with chopped almonds, dates, coconut and vanilla, shaped into almond-topped bars, and drizzled seductively with melted chocolate. They were quite fetching.

I often used to make stuff like this back in the olden days when I was first learning about whole foods and vegetarianism. I remember having a favorite recipe called bliss balls, which if I'm not mistaken, probably contained non-instant dry milk, the nutritional darling of the moment. I was under the impression that adding milk powder to just about anything boosted its nutritional value. My opinion about milk has changed since then, but combining ground nuts, dried fruit and coconut into chewy sweetmeats is just as delicious as ever, and I love seeing the latest versions on blogs.

I followed Chow Vegan's recipe, except I used walnuts instead of almonds because the only almonds I could find in the pantry were salted, and that was unappealing. I had some raw walnuts (1/2 cup) that I combined in the food processor with soft pitted dates (1/2 cup), unsweetened shredded coconut (1/4 cup) and vanilla (1 teaspoon). Since I wanted to offer these treats to my 2-year-old granddaughter, and her mom prefers that she not eat chocolate, I rolled my treats in coconut. They looked and tasted yummy — to me. Miss E would have none of it. She acted as if I were offering her slimy toads to eat, and refused to try even a morsel. Ah well.

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Kalonji - black onion seeds - nigella sativa

I was the lucky recipient of a bag of black onion seeds sent to me by River, The Crafty Kook, after I read her blog post about Indian food. They are tiny black seeds about the size of sesame seeds that grow on an annual flowering plant (nigella sativa) native to southwest Asia, and are used as a spice. The seeds are used as part of the spice mixture panch puran, and by themselves in many Bengali recipes, especially in Naan Bread. According to Wikipedia, "Nigella sativa has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries, both as a herb and pressed into oil, in Asia, Middle East, and Africa. It has been traditionally used for a variety of conditions and treatments related to respiratory health, stomach and intestinal health, kidney and liver function, circulatory and immune system support, as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, antioxidants, anticancer, antiviral and for general well-being."

I didn't attempt to cure anyone of anything but hunger when I took some no-knead bread dough from the refrigerator, rolled it into a flatbread, dusted it with seeds, and baked it on a cast iron griddle on the stove. Delicious and very pretty!

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I recently received the following email:

Hi Andrea,
I just published an article on my site, “100 Blogs Leading the Food Revolution.” First, I am happy to let you know that your site has been included in the article and if you have any questions about that article, how your site is described, etc. I wanted to let you know that you should feel free to email me. In addition, I thought I would bring it to your attention in case you think your readers might find it interesting and consequently would consider giving the article a mention on your site.
In any case, thanks for your time!

Best,
Jeanne Peterson

Take a look at the article — you may discover a new blog or two to follow. I'm honored to be included.

Mock chopped liver/gluten-free crackers

One (just one) of the reasons I started this blog was to have a place to share recipes with my kids. They sometimes ask me how to make a particular dish they remember from when they lived at home. This is especially true around holidays, but it can pop up anytime. My son recently sent me an e-mail asking if I had my recipe for mock chopped liver on the blog. He wanted to take it to a potluck, but no, I didn't, and I couldn't remember where it was. I was going to a potluck, too and decided to add this to the things I was already bringing, so I searched the internet for recipes. It sometimes seems that every recipe ever created already exits there. (I swear, even when I go into the kitchen and think I'm making something up, the next thing I know someone posts a similar recipe before I've even posted mine, or I google what I've just made and 10,000 similar things pop up. It's uncanny and unnerving.) I was sure the exact paté I used to make from string beans and walnuts would be there, but I couldn't find just what I was looking for. Instead, I found one that used mushrooms and celery, and decided to use that for my base. I've tweaked the recipe a bit (click here for the original) and the result was the one of the best mock chopped livers I've ever tasted. The weird thing about this recipe is that for people who have grown up vegetarian as my kids have, the original chopped liver is something they've never actually tasted. This should just be called "paté." But it does have a flavor that is so like the original, it's hard to ignore. Call it what you will, it tastes great, and serves a large crowd.

Mock chopped liver (Real mushroom pate)

• 3 large onions, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup walnuts
• oil or oil spray for cooking
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 scant teaspoon salt
• fresh ground pepper (lots)

1. Sauté the onions in a large wok until they start to brown. Either add a little oil to the wok or spray it with oil, and spray occasionally to keep the veggies from burning.
2. Add the celery and cook until soft.
3. Add the mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes. The onions will be very brown, but not burned.
4. Add the cashews and walnuts and cook 3-4 minutes.
5. Put everything in a food processor. Add the salt and pepper. Process several minutes until the mixture is very creamy.
6. Add the olive oil and lemon juice and process just until mixed.
7. Place in a bowl and refrigerate for several hours. Check the seasonings.
8. Serve with crackers or as a dip.

FYI: The crackers in the photo are Mary's Gone Crackers which are a staple at our house. This line of crackers is gluten free, and although I don't avoid gluten, I'm addicted to all varieties of Mary's Gone Crackers.

p.s. Uh oh. I just discovered I have another version of this recipe on the blog already, but this newer one is better and more like its namesake. (In a good way, of course!)

Quick post on my continuing affair with granola

Affair? Yes. I've fallen in love with granola. I've been making granola pretty regularly - I'm obsessed, actually - ever since I posted a recipe. I've revised the recipe slightly by adding a cup of raw walnuts, which toast up to crunchy perfection. I also mostly use regular rolled oats instead of instant (or a mix of both) and I've changed my mind about the chocolate chips. The first time I added them I thought it was daring — now I think it's necessary! Sometimes I add an extra cup of oats (7 instead of 6) so it will last a little longer, and I tried using dried apples instead of dates. Dates are better. I've gotten lazy about the stirring, too. I recommend stirring in from the edges every 10 minutes, but I only did it every 20 last time. I actually look forward to getting up and eating breakfast when the granola is in the cupboard. Who knew that was all it would take...



Buffy says hi

Mushroom and walnut paté

My husband and I attended a "vegetarian side dish" cooking class recently. The food was vegan and very tasty but had too much salt and oil for me. After years of eating healthy and delicious vegan cooking, my taste buds have become more sensitive, and when I sampled these foods all I could taste on the first bite was salt and oil. I think that most people would have found them delicious, but for me they were much too intense. I may season foods more heavily when cooking for company, but personally, I prefer to taste the foods themselves rather than the seasonings. One of the things we made in class was a walnut paté. The recipe only had 1 teaspoon of salt, which doesn't seem excessive, but it also had 3/4 cup of vegetable broth from a box. That stuff tends to be really salty unless you get the salt-free kind or make your own. And the recipe had 1/2 cup of oil in addition to the walnuts. So, using the teacher's recipe for inspiration, I've revised it to suit my taste, and if you make it, I hope you'll do the same and suit your own preferences.

I started by substituting mushrooms for half of the walnuts, and altering seasonings as well as ingredient proportions.

Walnut and mushroom paté
1 cup walnuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1 large onion, chopped
2–3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 slices whole grain bread, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1 to 2 level teaspoons white miso
1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
1 teaspoon natural sugar (sucanot, rapidura)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (more if you want it hotter)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (rubbed between hands to release oils)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions (optional)
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

-Toast the walnuts in a 325˚ oven for 10 minutes or until starting to brown.
-Grind walnuts in a food processor.
-In a wok or large skillet, sauté onions and mushrooms in the olive oil until onions are translucent. Add garlic and sauté another minute. Add bread cubes and rosemary and mix together. Turn off heat.
-Place the miso in a glass measuring cup. Add the sugar, cayenne and vinegar. Stir until the miso is dissolved.
-Add sautéed veggies and miso mixture to food processor and purée until smooth.
-Taste for additional salt and pepper. When all seasonings are whizzed in, add the parsley and pulse a few times to distribute evenly. If you are using green onion, add with the parsley.

Place in a bowl and sprinkle generously with paprika and minced parsley or green onions. (These patés always look too beige or grey and need a little help to look as good as they taste.) Serve as a dip with veggies or chips, or a spread with crackers or bread.

note: I just had a sandwich of paté piled with salad greens and a spritz of lime on whole wheat toast and it was delicious.