This Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler is kind of accidentally raw and gluten free.

I got some lovely strawberries and rhubarb from the farmers marker.  I had planned to bake it, but it just happened that the other ingredients I had on hand were also raw.  So voila, super healthy dessert (or breakfast.)  The soy whipped cream isn’t raw, but is obviously optional and I was trying to use that up, too.    

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
4 stalks rhubarb
1 Qt. fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar in the raw
2 cups raw granola (or raw oats with raisins & nuts)

Slice the rhubarb into small pieces.  I slice the stalk in half, then cut about 1/4 inch slices.  Stem & quarter the strawberries.  Macerate the rhubarb & berries in 1/2 cup sugar for a few hours – I left mine overnight and it was fine.  Top with granola and serve.  You can also bake for about 20 minutes at about 375 degrees for a warm dessert.

Yup.  More avocado and sprouts…

Kaiware are daikon radish sprouts.  They’re pretty potently spicy all alone, but really perk up the same old avocado rolls.  I’m no expert sushi roller, and you don’t even need to spring $3 for the rolling mat.  A piece of wax paper or a dish towel works just fine, too.  Sharp knife helps.

ダイコンもやしをアボカドすし

Here’s the daikon sprouts rinsed and in a bowl.

Daikon Radish Sprouts (Kaiware)

My sprout set-up.  Wide mouth quart mason jars.  Ventilated lids.  A plastic shoebox.  Sprouting seeds/beans/grains.

From left to right:  Alfalfa, fennel, garbanzo beans

Soak seeds, drain, tip downwards.  Rinse & drain twice a day.  I thought I would forget or it would be annoying, but I rinse them in the morning and before I go to bed.  It only takes a few minutes.    

I was missing the California Burrito Grande from Boca Grande in Cambridge, MA.

I’ve been sprouting alfalfa (and adzuki beans, fennel, and daikon radish, but more on those later,) and the California Burrito Grande seemed like the perfect showcase for alfalfa sprouts.  I made this for my mom last weekend and she enjoyed it too.  The avocados* came from SoCal Avocados.  I saw an ad on facebook a few months ago and now I get 20 perfect avocados delivered every month.

California Burrito Grande
1 tortilla (officially flour, but corn works, too)
1/4 to 1/2 avocado cut into chunks (or guacamole)
2-4 TBS Salsa or tomatoes
Handfull of Sprouts

Warm the tortilla**, top with avocado, salsa, and sprouts, then wrap up and enjoy.  I like to add jalapeno hot sauce and a little lime juice, too.  You can also add some chipotle or ancho chili powder on the avocado for an extra kick.

Don’t add warm beans and rice, though.  Have them on the side if you want them.  At Boca Grande they normally come on a burrito so they would always ask and one time I mistakenly said yes.  It’s a totally different burrito and you loose the freshness of the sprouts.  I’m not knocking a good rice & bean burrito, it’s just not the same thing.

*Did you know you can freeze avocados?  Just ripen, then split and take out the pit.  Scoop out the entire half and place it in a freezer bag.  Just thaw and mash into guacamole or don’t even bother thawing them and add half to a smoothie. Yum.

**Here’s how I normally warm a tortilla:  Wet the tortilla under running water and shake off the excess.  It shouldn’t be drowning, just dampened.  The idea is to quickly steam it.  Put it in a toaster oven on high heat for about 2 minutes.  Check it and it should be warm and still pliable.  Adjust time or heat to your liking.
Leaving it for too long on too high heat is a definite fire hazard because it will likely puff up and hit the heating elements.  If you’re making a whole bunch, you can wrap them in foil and stick in the oven.  Most packages have instructions for warming.  I don’t recommend a microwave unless that’s all you got, but wet 2 paper towels and put the tortilla between them and nuke for 30-45 seconds.

Yeah I’ve made bean cutlets before, but I’ve cooked so little blog worthy stuff lately, I had to throw them in again.  So much easier than going the whole boil-or-bake seitan from scratch route.  I use the v-con chickpea cutlets as inspiration, but they’re never exactly the same twice.  Key ingredients are beans, wheat gluten, and salt.  Otherwise it’s fair game for flavors.  I like black eyed peas because the bean is pretty flavorful on it’s own.  I cooked some from dried awhile ago and froze them in 1 1/2 cup portions expressly for this purpose.

Black eyed pea cutlets

1 1/2 cups cooked black eyed peas
3 TBS soy sauce
3 TBS olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 TBS poultry seasoning
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sage
1 tsp savory
1 tsp paprika
1/3 cup broth
3/4 cup panko (bread crumbs/matzoh)
3/4 cup vital wheat gluten

Blend the beans with the soy sauce, olive oil, chopped garlic, seasoning, and broth.  Pour into a medium bowl and add bread crumbs and wheat gluten.  Mix with your hands and knead for a minute or so until it forms a large stringy dough ball.  Break off into pieces slightly larger than a ping-pong ball and flatten with a rolling pin (or wine bottle.)  Heat skillet (cast iron) with 1/4 inch oil.  Fry until golden brown.

Now the possibilities are endless.  Sure you can season these to what you’re making, but I’ve used similar seasoned cutlets in everything from cutlet parmigiana and burritos to sandwiches and sushi rolls.

Right now, I’m just eating them off the cooling rack…yum.    

Updated with cutlet and avocado maki.  I couldn’t find the bamboo roller, so here’s proof that you can use parchment paper in a pinch.  A clean dishtowel works, too.

I don’t even know what to call this…avocado rancheros, avocado salsa in a tortilla bowl, experimental avocado breakfast gone right?  Whatever.  It was super delicious.

Sandwiches!

Everything tastes better toasted.

Pepperoni Pizza Toasty

2 slices of bread
3-4 slices of Vegan cheese
2 slices Vegan turkey
8 slices Vegan pepperoni 
Vegenaise
Tomato sauce

I know you don’t really need a recipe for a sandwich, right?  I used the Cuisinart Griddler panini press to make it toasty.  I have the original version of this gadget, and it’s quite multi functional for a small apartment.  

Spread the vegenaise on the bread, spread tomato sauce over that.  Add a layer of cheese, turkey, pepperoni and cheese (so you have cheese net to the bread on both pieces.)  Then place on preheated griddle and toast to toasty perfection.  Put at an angle, then shift 90 degrees to get cool hash marks. Sometimes I spray with non-stick canola spray and sometimes I don’t, it really comes out the same.

Yum…

Doomsday Prepper Minimalist food supply:  Dried beans; check.  Rice; check.  Water; enough for a few days and stuff that will hopefully purify the Hudson River; check.  Lots of things to flavor the beans & rice; check.  Yeah, I guess I can live off that for awhile if the *bleep* hits the fan.  The ninja wants weapons.  I’ll take care of the food.  I don’t plan on eating squirrel.

Now onto the rye bread.  A bread machine embodies the opposite of a both a doomsday prepper and minimalist, but I do love this darn thing.  I’ve had it for at least 12 years, and lost the manual ages ago, but I just found it online (yay!) and was inspired to make the rye bread with rye flour from King Arthur Flour that has been languishing in the pantry.      

Nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread in the morning…toasts nicely.   

My cousin sent me some ghost peppers fresh from his plants in LA.  This fiery monster’s official name is Bhut Jolokia and it is touted to be the world’s hottest pepper.

I sauteed up a small one with the Gardein, and although it has a nice smooth pungent spicy smoky flavor, I ate a whole one in the burrito without even breaking a sweat.  Good blend of heat with flavor, but I don’t think it’s the hottest pepper I’ve had.  I did take out the seeds and spines, which probably helped.

Gardein cutlets, avocado, tomato, ghost pepper, Daiya cheddar and, Vegan Gourmet sour cream.

Think it’s a Superbowl snack?  Heck no.  I’m watching Gosford Park, then Downton Abbey on PBS.

Crispy chickpea fries with a spiced black cherry cream.  This sauce was delicious.

Chef made cauliflower broccoli squash ravioli just for our vegan group.  The Ninja really enjoyed this and didn’t really miss the non-vegan item he wanted to order…

 I had the soba noodles with white bean meatballs.

Dessert was a super delish dairy free chocolate cake with raspberry sauce.  Yum!

JL got a pic of the whole group.

Totally fun night meeting new people and eating awesome vegan food.

Cheers!