Food and Wine Weekend Review 18 January 2009

Spice, nice!

The only thing sexier than a man in the kitchen is a man who grinds his own spices with a mortar and pestle.

When I decided to make Cafe Flora’s Wild Mushroom Curry this week, I planned to use store-bought curry paste.  In fact, I even bought the paste, but realized after I looked more closely at the recipe that this was a Thai-style curry, not Indian (which is what I bought, and why we won’t be having a side of Naan or the Chickpea muffins as per Vegan Meal Plan Monday).  I had a bit of left-over Thai Kitchen curry paste in the frig, so figured I’d just stretch it.

JumbleSpouse overheard me muttering about my mistake, and said with genuine enthusiasm, “I’ll make red curry paste.”  Are you kidding?  I tried to talk him out if it.  It’s 12 ingredients.  We don’t have a spice grinder.  How will you grind the spices?

He mimes using our mortar and pestle.  Really??  Ok, if you want to take the time.  It will take forever.  But, ever the purest when it comes to food, he wouldn’t have it any other way.  I love this man!

Once the paste was made (and yes, it did take forever), the curry took no time at all.  And

Glorious curry paste (future)

hallelujah! The curry paste recipe makes about 2 cups of paste, so we’ll freeze the extra 8 Tablespoons we didn’t use today in ice cube trays, and have awesome paste on the ready for many future meals.  Did I mention, I love Mr. Jumble?

And wow!  Oh, wow!  I think this could be the best thing we’ve made since Christmas (and the Portobello Wellington, which also came from this cookbook). It’s almost certainly the best Thai dish we’ve

Thai Curry Night

ever made.  We’re happy, happy munchers tonight.  Why? Oh, why? Has it taken me so long to start cooking from this treasury of veg*n happiness??

Oh, yes!  And the wine…well, Estancia Chardonnay is my go-to white (even though it’s a California . I have to admit, though, that I haven’t done the vegan research on this one, so can’t say if it’s completely animal-free .  If anyone has any knowledge on this matter, I’d love to be enlightened.

Also, I can’t offer you my usual 4 star rating, as whites just don’t go well with chocolate and I’ve never met one I’d drink for dinner.  So, perhaps I’ll come up with a different rating system for whites in the future.

Anyway, if you’d like to see some more foodie/winey vegan goodness, go see what Shelleyfish cooked up today at Musings from the Fish Bowl.

Food and Wine Weekend Review 11 January 2009

Food and Wine Weekend

I’m a sucker for a pretty bottle of wine.  Even if it comes from California.  So, when I saw the sunflower and bee-adorned bottle of Girasole, I was smitten.   And once I read the review,  I had to try it.

Tempeh has a lovely nutty flavor, so I thought this Cabernet would be a perfect match for our Tempeh Scallopini with Garlic and Mushrooms.

So, let’s get down to business… the JumbleBerry Wine Four-Part Taste Test

Does it taste like Passover wine (aka, grape juice)? Hmmm…not quite Manischewitz, but pretty close

Is it dry? I suppose you could call it that.

Tempeh Scallopini with Mushrooms

Could I drink it instead of dinner? Not a chance!

Does it pass the dark chocolate test? I’m beginning to think that if you have excellent chocolate, it can salvage any wine.  All hail!  Chocolove 70%

1 out of 4 stars for this little cutie (and I think I’m being a bit generous here).  Lesson learned – attractive packaging does not equal quality drinking (in fact, I suspect it’s a marketing ploy to get people to buy the stuff).

I pretty much ignored it during dinner.  I did have sips, but focused on the yummy meal instead.

Candle Cafe Tempeh Scallopini with Mushroom is not a new dish for us.   In fact, we make it more than anything else in that cookbook.  I make the marinade just about every time I cook with tempeh (it’s just tamari, water, garlic, and bay leaves).   The sauce is a nice red wine and lemon reduction.  Simple, but tastes complex.

Add a side of baked potato topped with Earth Balance and a sprinkle of dill, and balsamic-roasted broccoli and you’re good to go (if you can find a decent under $15 bottle of wine to pair with it ).

Yule Food and Wine Weekend Preview 19 December 2008

Things are moving along in our Yule preparations, but they are about to get really busy.

Still on the “to do” list are:

• quick grocery run for more chocolate
• finish JumbleSpouse’s Yule gift (Wife-made knit scarf)
• finish JumbleSon’s Yule gift (Mama-made King Winter)
• make luminaries to line our walk
• strategically place candles around the house for our 24 hrs of honoring Winter (no electric lights allowed)
• make Rustic White Beans and Mushrooms to accompany JumbleSweetie’s festive red and green tomato, caper couscous (Yes, sir! DH is back in the kitchen!)
• finish Dragon’s Layer Trifle (due to some technical difficulties this “cake” has been relegated to “trifle” status)
• make foodie treats for the prairie critters
• relax by the fire with another glass of wine

Last night JumbleSpouse wrapped up his finals.  He’s home for four weeks.  To celebrate we did something really crazy.  We opened our 1994 Penfolds Grange.

We received this amazing bottle of wine as a wedding gift and had been letting it age since.  We knew we wanted to wait and drink it to celebrate something really special.

JumbleSon’s birth was our original plan for this lovely.  Alas!  We were in such a tailspin from the time he arrived until, oh, last week, that we couldn’t fully appreciate such a fine specimen.

A few days ago I opened the cabinet in which it was “cellaring” only to find – to my horror – that there was a molasses-like ring and long drip snaking down the inside of the cabinet door.  Corked!  What if it’s corked???  Vinegar after all this time.  Major tragedy.

But, there’s only one way to find out for sure, right?!?  So, when JumbleStudent arrived home all fresh and rosy-fingered (oops, sorry…momentarily lapse into Illiad-speak), finals complete, he asked if I was up for it.  He feared if it wasn’t actually corked, and we didn’t give it some attention right away, that it would be soon (ssssurrre, nice rationalizing).

Why not??

So we did it!  I felt like such a rebel.  Like I was agreeing to take the proverbial “forbidden fruit”.  Naughty accomplice.

Decanting required

And what to our wondering taste buds did appear?!?  But, a gorgeous red wine, so rich and dear!   I’m not sure I am worthy of giving a wine of this class one of my reviews.  But, I can’t resist…it must be shared!

Does it taste like communion wine (aka, grape juice)? Are you kidding?!? It was so rich, I wasn’t even sure it was made from grapes.  In fact, I’m certain it was 100% currants.

Is it dry? Too old and wise to get me tannen-whipped, but sexy all the same.

Could I drink it instead of dinner?   We did!

Does it pass the dark chocolate test? Didn’t even break out the chocolate.  No need, it was that good.

Four stars!

Still, I wonder what it would have tasted like if the cork hadn’t looked like this…

Cork damage

We’ll be finishing the rest tonight.  Sadly, I have no meal planned that can do it justice.  Perhaps we’ll just have it with trifle for dinner?  I bet it’s amazing with chocolate and orange.

That’s the way to kick off a weekend of celebrating the Dark Heart of Winter!

Bright blessings to you this Yule.

Orange-Clove Solstice Votives

Food and Wine Weekend Review 13 December 2008

Without a doubt, the meal I hated the most growing up was beef stew.  I’d be the last one sitting at our dining room table as my Mother cleared the plates, napkin ready.  The moment she turned her back…well, you know.  Food in napkin.  Maybe it was the lima beans.  Or, maybe it was a precursor to my vegan days.  Either way, it was “gross” and “can’t we just have pizza?”

So, imagine my surprise when I planned to make cholent this weekend – of my own free will!  Of course, the fact that this version required red wine, caraway seeds and tarragon, probably influenced my decision.  And, since we are facing high temperatures of 18F/-8C this weekend, I’m so glad it did.

While sage is my favorite all-around herb, tarragon is my “secret weapon” in the kitchen.  Since I did The Herb Farm dried vs. fresh tarragon challenge, I’ve never attempted cooking with dried tarragon (so, perhaps I wouldn’t rave about it so much if I did).

I wish I could remember the first time I tried caraway-laced Irish soda bread scones.  I haven’t loved a seed in that way since.  Not that I could find a single jar in any of the 3 markets I recently visited.  [grumble, grumble]  So, today  I used anise seed instead.

The recipe also called for TVP, which I consider to be 2nd in vegan diet weirdness to Nutritional Yeast.  While I will use nutritional yeast on occasion, I draw the line at TVP.  I would rather have processed meat-x, thank you very much.  Today I used Lightlife steak style strips.

cholent in process

My final, triumphant substitution is peas for lima beans (what is it with stews and lima beans?!?).  To quote Vegonomicon authors (Moskowitz and Romero), “green peas are fine [in this recipe] of you hate lima beans, hater”.

Alrighty,then.  As it simmers away, I’m sipping the Wine of the Weekend (WOW) that was used to de-glaze the pot.  Today’s under $15 red was yet another random liquor store pick…Biurko Gorri Arbanta Rioja.

Arbanta Rioja

This one is all about The Memories.  Long before I was little more than a closet vegetarian.  Back in the days before there was a limit to the cost of a meal or bottle of wine.  There was The Harvest Vine.  When we first started standing in line with our glasses of Rioja for up to an hour to get a seat at the bar where we could watch the chefs in action, there were only four tables plus 8 bar seats in this tiny garage.  Now they have a “cellar” and a second restaurant!  Next to the trip to Charlie Trotter’s, our regular meals at The Harvest Vine are  some of my most cherished food memories.

Ok, I’m really digressing here.  Anyway, to the wine and my four-part taste test (which, admit it, is really what you’re here for)…

Does it taste like communion wine (aka, grape juice)? We’re several steps from the pulpit today, but I’m looking for a “stuck in the choir loft” sort of wine.

Is it dry? Nice.  Not tongue smacking dry, but good.

Could I drink it instead of dinner? I might after a rough day, but don’t really feel compelled to do so today.

Does it pass the dark chocolate test? Oh, yes!  Nummy, num, num!

All-in-all, I’d give this a 2.5 rating without all the lovely memories it conjured up.  Include those, and this WOW is easily bumped to 3 stars.

Now the cooking is almost done and, while it smells nothing like the bad stew memories of old, I’m having second thoughts.  I don’t feel very excited about eating it.  Just to be safe, I think I’ll share some with my neighbors.  This isn’t a dish I want lingering for multiple leftover meals.

****

So laziness prevented me from getting some of the stew to my guinea pigs neighbors.  And, it’s a good thing, too!  The stew was delish!  Like a rich chili, only more nutrient packed.

Another successful Veganomicon night.

Food and Wine Weekend Review 6 December 2008

The fine art of cooking

“Never cook with wine that you won’t drink (while cooking).”  Just one of many sage rules from JumbleSpouse’s kitchen.  I have happily adopted this philosophy, and feel better for it.

Today’s new cooking/drinking wine was a 2006 Nuevomundo – a vegan, organic cabernet/malbec blend.  The liquor store (conveniently located behind my condo) has a limited selection of choice wines.   However, I have been impressed with the number of vegan, organic options available.

You can click on the link above for a flowery explanation of what this wine is supposed to taste like.  However, I  rarely share the Reviewer’s tastebuds, nor do I really care what theirs have to say anyway.  Here’s my simple criteria for what I consider to be “good red wine”*:

Does it taste like communion wine (aka, grape juice)?  If yes, then we will not be cooking with it, let along drinking it.

Is it dry?  If tumbleweeds don’t start rolling out of my mouth on impact, it’s too sweet.

Could I drink it for dinner?  That’s right, for dinner, as in – instead of – dinner, it’s that rich and “meaty” (for lack of a better word .

Does it pass the dark chocolate test?  If it tastes good with a mouth full of plain dark chocolate, we’re in business.

So, how did the the Nuevomundo fare in the test?

1. Initial taste – dangerously close to grape juice. I really want to like Malbec.  Really I do.  Chile and Argentina are underdog wine producers.  I always go for the underdogs (you heard me, California).  The longer it luxuriated in my glass, the rounder it got.  Moved from grape juice to something like a Chianti.  Much better.
2. No tumbleweeds, but really…nothing does that for me like a Washington Merlot or Australian Shiraz (tannens anyone?).  Still, drier than, say, a wine cooler.
3. Thankfully, I will have a rich Chestnut Bourguignon Pie for dinner tonight, so no loss there.
4. When all else fails, drink with chocolate.  Nuevomundo passed this test with flying colors.

Overall ranking – 1 1/2 out of 4 stars

Now, on to the pie!

The smells coming out of my kitchen as the wine, veggie broth, chestnuts and fresh rosemary and thyme simmered nearly knocked me over.   The Chestnut Bourguignon Pie was off to a good start.

When I poured the finished product in to the pie pan, I saw that I didn’t really have enough chestnuts to bulk it up properly.  I imagined putting a double layer of puff pastry (oh Pepperidge Farm, how I love thee) to make up for it.  However, I had only thawed one sheet and nap time was coming to a chose.  So, I threw the one on and baked it up.   It looks like a chocolate croissant pie and smells wicked good!  Let’s eat!!

Chestnut Bourguignon Pie

* We”ll talk about white wine another time – like maybe next summer or something – winter is for deep, rich reds.