Whenever I see Maud's miso soup I want some

The title says it all. Every time I see miso soup over at Food Feud, I want some. I finally acted on my cravings and I realized if I'm not trying to be fancy, I can go from wanting soup to having it in about 10 minutes. I just stir-fry some fast-cooking greens like bok choy, a few mushrooms, some thinly sliced carrots, tofu and maybe green onions added at the end. Add water to the wok and heat to a simmer. Purée miso with a little of the warm water from the wok (I usually use a glass measuring cup), continuing to add water a little at a time until the miso is completely dissolved, then add it back into the pot and simmer for a minute or two. A tiny splash of rice vinegar or mirin, any additional seasonings you may want, and you're done.
I also added some leftover rice noodles. The amount of miso you add is dictated by personal taste but one teaspoon per cup of liquid is a good starting point. The type of miso will make a difference, with the darker ones being more intense and salty, and the lighter, mellow misos being less so.

The best miso soup may involve making a traditional dried shiitake and/or kombu stock, but here's a little secret I use to add umami — satisfying flavor and depth — to a simple, quick soup. I have a jar of dried porcini mushroom powder, and it only takes a very small amount to make a huge difference. What was I thinking? In fact, if you add too much it has the opposite effect I think. To a two-cup pot of soup I may add 1/4 teaspoon or less, but I never add much more than 1/2 teaspoon to any size pot. I bought a one-pound jar but I can see it's way more than I need. It's very pricey, but I shopped around for the best deal, and it goes so far that it may turn out to be one of my cheaper exotic condiments. I don't just add it to soup, but to anything that could benefit from a flavor boost, but it really works great with soup stock. There are many culinary uses for dried mushroom powder — explore! Do be smarter than I, and buy a small quantity.

I don't know from buffalo ...

Tossing the curls with spicy barbecue sauce.

I saw a blog post about Buffalo soy curls and was very interested in the crispy-barbecued aspect of the curls. Could this recipe be the key to recreating crispy Thai BBQ salad from Blossoming Lotus in Portland? Could I really get crispy curls without deep frying them? Could it be this easy?

These were the thoughts in my head when it dawned on me that I didn't really know what it meant to "buffalo" a food. Sure, I knew the term "buffalo wings" which I associated with bars and football, but I couldn't tell you what they were. How embarrassing. I turned to my friend Google for help, and learned they are chicken wings, disjointed and the tips discarded, deep fried and coated in spicy barbecue sauce. Now how did I miss knowing that? There are many stories of their origin but the one that seems most likely to me involves a bar in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1964. An incorrect delivery of chicken wings instead of backs, and a hungry group of late-night drinkers, inspired the bar owner's wife to fry the wings for the crowd, and they became an institution.

For some, buffalo wings may conjure up a good time, but for me it represents the sad state of commercial chickens who have miserable lives, horrible deaths, and suffer their fate so people can gnaw on their bones. Not a pleasant thought. Barbecued soy curls, on the other hand, sounds like a great idea!

I must be out of practice rolling these things. Or maybe it was the square shape that threw me.

I followed the recipe and baked the curls nice and crispy. Then I made a similar barbecue sauce minus most of the oil. The spicy sauce used for Buffalo chicken parts contains a lot of melted butter, but since I've never tasted the source recipe, and wasn't trying to reproduce it, I went for a lighter version. Still spicy, though.

I thought the curls were pretty darn good - nice and crispy-chewy. They would work perfectly in the salad recipe but that's not what I did. I copied Kittee and made fresh spring rolls, which were great.

The next day I used the leftover curls in a stir-fry, but now that I know how to make barbecued soy curls, the crispy Thai BBQ salad is just a matter of time.

Gone Pie / Vegan Cuts / gluten-free

I've seen countless reviews of Gone Pie's fabulous treats here, here, and lots of other places, too, on the blog, A Soy Bean. You might say that Ms. Bean is obsessed with Gone Pie — and now I know why.  Seriously, reading Abby's Gone Pie reviews is almost (almost) enough to make me want to move to New York City. When Melisser from Vegan Cuts offered to send me some Gone Pie samples to review, I was more than delighted. Ha, Abby, I can have Gone Pie treats, too!

When the box arrived a couple of days ago (with a personal note from Barbara at Gone Pie, noting our mutual association with Abby) it was all I could do not to unwrap everything and start tasting immediately, but I was mostly restrained so as to take a few photos before devouring the lot. And I managed to share with others as well — though not as generously as I would have hoped. One taste of my bounty, and I became distressingly selfish. I wanted it all. Sorry, friends and family. As you can see in the photo, I received several varieties of brownies, cookies, and something that at first looked like a cupcake but turned out to be a chocolate-covered peanut butter caramel cup.

What you see here is a chai nut brownie, which I generously shared with my husband. (What you don't see is the oh-so-delicious-I-ate-the-whole-thing simply fudge brownie that I ate by myself.) These are fudge-y, not cake-y brownies, and though I don't think anyone would suspect, they are also gluten-free, as was everything else I received. Deep, rich, delicious, chocolate-y, satisfying  brownies with a chai spice flavor. Get some. Might as well get the simply fudge and coconut brownies, too. It would be silly to choose just one kind!

This is a sesame peanut butter cookie — large, soft, chew-y, yummy, with a hint of coconut. All three tasters, including a four-year-old who snatched the remaining piece after eating her own, approved. Get some.

This is the peanut butter caramel cup. It's the size of a small cupcake, with a thick rim of chocolate and a smooth, creamy peanut butter caramel filling. I probably wouldn't have chosen one if I were selecting my own Gone Pie treats, and in fact, it was the last thing I tried, probably because I'm not the biggest peanut butter fan in the world. I like peanut butter but it's not my favorite food.

But, talk about saving the best for last. Who knew? If this were the only peanut butter cup I tried, I'd be a p-b cup fanatic. First of all, the chocolate outside was quite possibly the best chocolate I've tasted, and the mellow peanut-butter caramel center was wonderful. Get some.

Gone pie uses the highest quality, fair-trade, vegan ingredients available. And they specialize in gluten-free treats. Abby was right!


Are you familiar with Vegan Cuts? It's the vegan version of the daily-deal. From their Web site:

At Vegan Cuts, our goal is to make it fun and easy for our members to discover new vegan products and shop vegan.

Vegan Cuts is run by a vegan couple, John and Jill, who really want to see more people shopping with vegan ethics. A commitment to buying vegan food is a great start, but you can also make a positive difference by choosing vegan options when purchasing clothing, shoes, accessories, body care products and everyday household items. This is why Vegan Cuts features a range of vegan products and encourages members to shop vegan by promoting opportunities to save money while eschewing animal cruelty.

You can join their Web site to receive email notices of special offers, and you can follow them on facebook to keep up with news and deals. They also have a blog.

Gone Pie Vegan Bakery has been serving the NYC area for more than 25 years. Its fabulous products are available in local natural foods stores and by mail.

Full disclosure: I was sent a sample pack of Gone Pie products by Vegan Cuts for the purposes of a review. All enthusiastic opinions are my own.