Vegan Mofo #34 - Mark’s Greek Halvah...

Vegan Mofo #34 - Mark’s Greek Halvah

The Region - Greece
The Book - The 30 Minute Vegan’s Taste of Europe
The Author - Mark Rienfeld
The Recipe - Greek Halvah
Page #177
Difficulty - Easy
Duration - Roughly 30 minutes

I love Halvah. Back in the day I used to work in a delicatessen, and it was there that I got my first taste of the stuff. I loved the rich flavor, and crumbly texture like chocolate almost but better. To this day I love it, though I don’t often eat it. Until recently I didn’t realize that there are actually two types of Halvah, and I also didn’t realize that it’s origins span a wide range of geographical locations from the Mediterranean, through te Middle East, Asia and, North Africa, and Eastern Europe. I’ve always thought of it as being a Middle Eastern dessert, but I suppose many cultures and traditions have their own variations on it.

Mark’s Halvah recipe is the kind of halvah that uses Semolina Flour rather then tahini. I have never tried this kind of Halvah before, and so I was really curious to give it a shot. As far as I can tell both versions are found in Greece, though this version may be more popular there. Where as the tahini version is more popular in the Middle East.

As strange as it sounds a semolina based halvah is actually pretty quick and easy to make by brining water and soy creamer to a boil then pouring in the flour, sugar, oil, vegan butter, rose water, cinnamon, and sea salt. After that you basically cook until it’s thick like polenta, and keep cooking until it’s thick enough that it pulls away from the sides of the pan. Then you mix in your raisins, almonds, and mint leaves place it in a casserole and refrigerated until cool and solid.

Instead of being crumbly this halvah is more gelatinous and at fist I found the texture weird, but I really enjoyed the flavor. Mark also includes a rose water syrup to go over top of the halvah but I didn’t think I needed all that sugar and so I neglected to make it, really the halvah is sweet enough as is so I don’t think I was missing out anyway. In the end I think I like the crumbly Tahini based halvah’s better, but this was certainly a nice change of pace and I look forward to maybe making this recipe again with a few different ingredients. I’m thinking pistachio’s and cranberries!

Vegan Mofo #10 - Mark’s Chocolate Stuffed Figs...

Vegan Mofo #10 - Mark’s Chocolate Stuffed Figs 

The Region - Spain
The Book - The 30 Minute Vegan’s Taste of Europe
The Author - Mark Reinfeld
The Recipe - Chocolate Stuffed Figs
Page # 117
Difficulty - Easy
Duration - Roughly 20 minutes

Okay, I know I’ve been keeping all my posts for one day to a specific region, but I’ll be honest and say I haven’t got any of my other South American food pictures edited at the moment and I’m kind of in a time crunch what with the fact that I’ll be leaving for vacation in just a few hours. However, not wanting to stray to far from South America I decided to end the night by posting a dish from Spain. Spain - South America, correct me if I’m wrong but there is a connection there Is there not? So I’m not totally off the mark right? Well, that’s my story anyway and I’m sticking to it.

I picked the chocolate stuffed figs for two reasons, I love figs and well FIGS! Seriously! Late summer and early fall is the best time for figs, and yet so few recipes actually utilize them. Whenever I find a recipe that showcases the delicious, exquisite fig I always pounce on it, and this quick and easy - yet elegant dessert was no different. I knew from the first that I’d make this, I just didn’t know when or why. My husband you see doesn’t like almonds, and he’s not too keen on figs though he’ll tolerate them if they’re dried or in something else. So this was just a little something all for me you know?

As for what chocolate stuffed figs has to do with Spain I’m not quite sure, but they do appear in the Spain chapter of Reinfeld’s book and for the purpose of Mofo that’s good enough for me. Or maybe I’m just getting lazy because vacation is just around the corner. Figs are native to the Middle East and Western Asia, although from what I hear there is a delicious chocolate fig bonbon that’s popular in Spain and so maybe this is the connection for Reinfeld? Either way his recipe is delicious, and so easy.

All you need to do is pulse up some almonds, chocolate chips, orange zest, orange juice, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom in a food processor then stuff 12 figs. Top each fig with a raw almond and bake for about 10 minutes. My only qualm with this recipe is that the instructions are somewhat vague. They simply say ‘stuff the figs’ well, if you’ve never stuffed a fig before you might not be sure how to really go about that. I ended up scooping a bit of the fig out with a half tsp and then pulsed it into the mixture of chocolate and almonds. Waste not want not right?

After you bake the figs you can make a tasty sauce to drizzle over them using orange juice, date syrup and cinnamon. Then garnish with mint leaves. I didn’t have any mint leaves and since I was eating the figs all by myself I decided to forgo the sauce. Really it wasn’t needed because these figs were so good all on their own. I loved the melted chocolate, the hint of orange and the crunch of almond. A perfect and light dessert or afternoon snack with tea.

Creamy Carrot Top Pesto...

So, you go to the farmer’s market, and you see bunches upon bunches of beautiful long, thin, baby carrots. They’re bright orange, and luscious looking, with beautiful bushy tops that scream a bright vibrant green. You can’t help yourself from buying them because they’re everything that summer seems to represent. You take them home, and you use the carrots in whatever way most appeals to you, but then you’re left with a massive pile of carrot tops. Now the dilemma begins, because what is one suppose to do with a bunch of carrot tops anyway?

Carrot Top Pesto on some Thin Vegetable Ribbons

Carrot tops are not an item found on many restaurant menus. They’re not an item commonly features in cook books or on the food network. We don’t really live in a world where carrot tops are considered food, they are - more often then not - discarded, which to me seems like a terrible waste. Carrot tops are viable food, they’re full of nutrients just like any other green, and are probably better for you then the actually carrot itself. Still everyday they get thrown away as garbage, so if you’re like me and you hate to see waste, next time you buy some carrots at the Farmer’s Market put those tops to use in this delicious and creamy pesto!  It’s time for us to take carrot tops back and make them a feature on our plates rather then just another item in our compost or rubbish bins. Hopefully over the course of the summer I’ll come up with a few more creative uses for these delicate greens to share with you all, but this pesto is so good I might get side tracked and just make this all summer long instead! Oh, and did I mention what the bonus of making a pesto with carrot tops instead of basil is? You can get 4 Cups of carrot tops - plus the carrots they’re attached to - for half the coast of 2 oz of Basil. Maybe this depends on where you live, but in IL basil is expensive, at roughly $5 for 2oz organic basil, when I can get 2 bunches of carrots with 4 Cups of tops for $4.

My vegetable pasta contained Carrot and Zucchini Ribbon Noodles
Chopped Roma Tomatoes, and some Diced Green Onion
A Delicious combination with the Carrot Top Pesto 

Anyway, enjoy this pesto like you would any other, in a wrap or on a sandwich, in a warm or chilled soup, as a dip, as a sauce, as a dressing, on a pizza. I ended up enjoying it on raw noodles, you could do that too or use it on fresh cooked pasta. It’s up to you, it’s so versatile that the options are endless. As always enjoy!

Creamy Carrot Top Pesto 

Carrot Tops from 2 Bunches Carrots - Roughly 4 C
½ C Slivered Almonds
3 Green Onions
1 ½ tsp Garlic Powder - or 2 Cloves fresh Garlic
½ tsp Sea Salt
½ tsp Smoked Paprika
2-3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
½ C Flaxseed Oil
2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 Tbsp Mellow White Miso
1/4 tsp White Pepper
Slightly less then 1/4 C Water (Optional depending on how thin or thick you want your pesto)
Fresh Black Pepper to taste

- Add the almonds to a food processor and pulse until finely ground.

- Add the carrot tops and garlic and pulse until fine.

- Add in all the other ingredients - except water -  and pulse until you have a smooth paste. At this point check for consistency, if it’s too thick for your liking add in some water to thin. I used less then 1/4 cup but you can add as much as you need to, to get the pesto to your preferred consistency.

- Serve however you see fit and enjoy!

*** Note: I highly recommend using the miso as it adds a depth of flavor. However if you're following a soy-free diet you can leave it out, or you can replace the soy-based miso with an alternative miso like Chickpea Miso which is soy-free.***

Vegan Mofo #10 Celine and Joni’s Tempeh, Pepper and Spinach Pesto Sandwich...

Vegan Mofo #10 Celine and Joni’s Tempeh, Pepper and Spinach Pesto Sandwich 

The Book - Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites
The Author - Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman
The Recipe - Tempeh, Pepper and Spinach Pesto Sandwich
Page #84 Pesto on Page #210
Difficulty - Easy
Duration - Roughly 30 minutes.

This is a super simple and delicious sandwich that you can throw together in no time for a quick lunch or light dinner. The whole reason I chose to make it was for it’s simplicity and for it’s emphasis on whole ingredients. Besides how can anyone pass up a combination like bacon flavored tempeh, roasted red peppers and pesto? Yum!

I think one of my favorite things about this recipe is the method of how the tempeh is made. The tempeh is sliced thin, slathered in a mixture of soy sauce, liquid smoke, Dijon mustard, sesame oil, granulated onion, paprika, chipotle chile powder, garlic and brown sugar. Then it’s baked for 20 minutes until brown and crispy. The only alteration I made to this method was that I steamed my tempeh first, and then let it marinate for an hour as opposed to just baking it right away. I think this worked out really well and gave it a nice full bodied flavor.

Second I love the pesto in this recipe. I’ve made a lot of pesto’s in my time, vegan and non-vegan and this is one of the best. I love my walnut based pesto but using almonds as this recipe does gives the pesto a really unique flavor and a creaminess that you don’t quite get with a walnut pesto. I also love the addition of spinach because it boosts the pesto’s nutrition, adds to the creaminess and lends a subtle and delicate flavor to the final product. Absolutely perfect paired with the smoky tempeh, and amazing with those roasted red peppers. Which by the way I roasted myself but you could easily buy jarred roasted peppers to save yourself some time. In the recipe it’s suggested to add spinach or arugula to the sandwich - I chose to add arugula - and to serve it on a toasted bun. I didn’t toast the buns because I’m not a huge fan of toasted bread but I’m sure that would have brought this sandwich even further into the realm of awesome flavor. I did however add some sliced avocado, because I had some that needed using, and I love avocado on practically anything! This actually worked really well with the tempeh, pesto and peppers and I highly recommend it!

Blueberry Almond Bliss With A Banana Twist Smoothie...

There are few things better then a delicious, nutrient dense smoothie to kick-start your day; but they’re also a great way to give you a little extra push in the mid to late afternoon when you’re starting to feel that drag. The following recipe is a variation on a smoothie I generally like to make after a sweaty mid-afternoon workout. I get that sweet taste that I crave along with a good pump of protein, fiber, enough carbohydrates to re-energize me, and enough potassium to replenish me. You can drink this for breakfast if you like to give your morning an added boost, but I really recommend trying it after a workout.

It is a truly good source of a whole slew of nutrients. The blueberries and almonds alone provide you a whopping 39% of your daily fiber, 12% Iron, 10% Calcium, 9% Potassium, 8% Carbohydrates, 2% Vitamin A, 4% Vitamin C and 6g of protein. Adding in one medium to large sized Banana adds an additional 10-15% fiber, 15-20% Potassium, 20% vitamin C, and 35% vitamin B6. Not to mention Potassium is one of your bodies most important electrolytes helping to aid in the normalization of blood pressure, heart function, and fluid balance. It’s for this last reason that I strongly believe this to be a particularly excellent smoothie to sling back after a workout. It’ll go a long way in helping you to replenish all that fluid you lost though your sweaty exercise regime.

Another added bonus of drinking this in the afternoon is you’ll be able to healthfully stave off those pre-dinner hunger pains. With your belly full and your nutritional needs met you won’t be running to the pantry for that bag of chips and a "diet" coke, that’ll only make you more hungry, bloated, and lethargic all while contributing to the excess bunching around your mid-section.

Blueberry Almond Bliss With A Banana Twist Smoothie

2/3 C unsweetened Almond Milk
½ C water (or as needed to thin)
3/4 C Frozen Blueberries
1/3 C Raw Almonds **
1 Medium Sized Banana
1-2 Packets Stevia (optional)
Generous dash of cinnamon

- Place Almonds and Almond milk in high-speed blender and let soak for a few minutes while you get together your other ingredients or tidy up a bit.

- After about five minutes or so add in blueberries, banana, cinnamon and quarter cup of water. Blend on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until everything is smooth.

- Check for consistency and sweetness. If too thick add another quarter cup of water. If not sweet enough add stevia to taste.

Enjoy in peace and quite, while reading a good book, or catching up on the weeks e-mail. You could also enjoy garnished with a handful of fresh blueberries.

*** Note - If you want to lower the calorie content of this smoothie or you simply don’t want to be overwhelmed by almond goodness, you can opt out of using the almond milk and use water instead. The smoothie won’t be quite as creamy but it’ll be just as tasty. Keep in mind though that if you do use the Almond milk, there is added nutritional benefit to it as well. Of course nutrient content will vary from brand to brand depending on what and how much it’s been fortified. The brand of unsweetened Almond milk that I use however had 25% Vitamin D, 50% Vitamin E, 20% Calcium, 2% Iron, 10% Vitamin A, 4% fiber, 5% Potassium, and 1g of protein for every 1 Cup serving!! ***

*** Raw nuts will yield a smoother result that’s milder in flavor, however if you prefer you can use roasted almonds as long as they are unsalted***