Snick's Thoughtful Spot: 2014/07

20 July 2014

More African Vegan Food (stop rolling your eyes!)

"Hello, my name is Snicks, and I have a problem."

A problem indeed. Who knew that I could enjoy vegan food this much? This particular Sunday had plenty of work I had to do, but it was nicely sprinkled with preparing this meal and indulging in understanding the history of fashion, possibly sparking a whole new wardrobe make-over. Because, well, why not. One would think I don't have time to deal with this, and I don't. That is the beauty of taking the time to do it. More on wardrobe and fashion later, specifically when I'm in New York City next month :)

Next week is a work travel week, and while I know there will be plenty of enjoyable food that I'm looking forward to, my cooking days are over until at least a week from today; so I wanted to spend some time again with it today.

First off, the drinks in Bryan Terry's book Afro-Vegan are simply insane. They are so delicious. Two posts ago you can read about the Gunpowder Lemonade, which I made again this morning for extra wonderful drinking options. Tonight's drink is the Roselle Rooibus, which is essentially rooibus with a crap tonne of dried hibiscus flowers and pineapple. Smooth with the joy of complexity without sweetness, it's easy to accidentally chug way too much.

The salad, well, a tad bit disappointing. It was delicious, but not something I'll likely repeat. Not a citrus salad freak anyway, the sugared pecans (that I made) just sent it right over the edge on sweetness. The salad dressing (also homemade) was delicious with cilantro, orange juice, pecans, and spices, but combining the citrus and sweetness simply didn't match my palate.

This certainly did hit my palate in a very positive way though! Tagines are a North African dish well known for it's earthenware pots for stews, so I'm not sure you could technically call it a tagine since my was made in a copper pot. All the same, it was delicious with saffron, ginger, cinnamon, and cilantro being the front running spices with these slow cooked sweet potatoes. The shortbread was really driven by cornmeal, pecans, sesame seeds, coriander, and cumin, which all of of those spices were toasted and made into a "Dukkah" combination for future use as well. Homemade creamed cashews and my own almond milk certainly made this particular recipe more complex, but quite delicious and extremely unique.

The only real hit to the pocketbook when cooking African food is their obsession for saffron; otherwise, shockingly reasonable. The only real difference is that you're simply shopping for slightly different things than what I perceive an American purchasing. For example, dairy is fast disappearing in the house, being replaced with the variety of milks and teas with a complete absence of butter. Coconut oil is used as commonly as olive oil, and my spices have nearly doubled (space expansion underway).

Don't worry, this won't turn into a food blog. Just a "what am I getting distracted with now" blog ... as usual :)

Spots of the Old World

Right now I'm in an absurdly "missing" mode for Malta. We limit our visits to every five years since our honeymoon because we love it SO much. There's a couple weird things about this. Firstly, there's only a huge amount of other Old World cities we can indulge in to our heart's content. Secondly, well, that's the whole point. It's special, and this keeps it special. There are trips that one looks forward to more than others, but as our worldview sometimes slips into more jaded perspectives with the increasing travel we are fortunate to have, Malta will never fall prey to that.

Why this soppy nostalgia? Because I've found that no matter where I'm at, there are those quick glimpses into the views that we so dearly love in architecture or that represent a culture that we enjoy. For example, where is this photo?

The architecture can certainly be built anywhere, but it really reminds me of the alleys all through Paris full of little bistros. Barely able to fit through some of these "streets" myself, I'm always astonished to see the occasional vehicle make the attempt. This such alleyway, found in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, is set up similarly where the presence of tables are the only clue that it's not meant for very small cars to slip in off the street and into the courtyard attached.

This quick leap into a different world surprised me as I was walking through downtown Mansfield, Ohio. In reality, I supposed it does represent exactly what it is, a very early nineteenth century town that became a major manufacturing feeder for the many railroad lines. However, it's easy to forget that unless you in the bubble of old town centre, and this particular street threw me back to some memories of very old Boston especially. While Boston is technically New World, it certainly hummed simultaneously along with the Old World, and I will always love rambling along it's old streets that stem from the mid-1600s.

My lesson, to myself at least, is that it's foolish to think there's only one location that can hold special memories. They are everywhere around us. We just have to notice them.

16 July 2014

My African Vegan Discoveries

Before Sunday, I had not really contemplated the idea of African food as cooking approach, let alone African vegan food. Actually, it's "farm-fresh African, Caribbean, and southern flavors remixed" according to Bryant Terry, the author of Afro-Vegan. So we're moving from the realm of complex to the edge of chaotic in my mind! However, it's an incredibly empowering book for those who are lactose sensitive (as Bryant noted that most African-Americans are as well) and vegetarian, or in this particular world, vegan.

Personally, I don't think vegan is ever a level of eating needed, at least for me. Vegetarian is a habit I started forming in January this year, but that doesn't block the occasional meat indulgence. It just have to be something special and extra enjoyable. I've noticed that my own tolerance for meat has declined in general as even a 6oz filet mignon at a famous steakhouse in New York City left me feeling pretty ... blumpy. It's not an intolerance, or even illness though. Just a preference to feel how I feel when not eating meat.

So, what's so empowering about this book? It has the recipes for spices and sauces that you can make in advance. You can make a lot of different vegan milks that are, by the way, absurdly delicious. Snacks that are both delicious and good for you? Yes, they are in this book! And finally, any book that gives me an easy process for making vegan ice cream is a completely winner :)

This wonderful iced tea is technically a lemonade, but not like any American lemonade with sugar added. Starting off with gunpowder green tea, you steep in a somewhat complicated way, add a bunch of freshly squeezed lemon juice, and then add peppermint syrup (that I also made). Absurd. Ridiculous. A daily ritual now, with the perfect serving bottle.

Teff biscuits, my friends, are certainly different. Obviously with no yeast, butter, milk, etc., the texture is quite different than ones I grew up eating. Much flatter and very soft, it has it's appeal, although there were some unrepeatable words screamed during the kneading. That, possibly, is more related to my fury that dough got on my nails though. Coconut oil in place of butter and sweetened almond milk that I made in place of dairy milk really tasted quite delicious. Add the fig preserve that I also made, and it was divine. I just need to figure out how to not get my fingers messed up. I am NOT a baker.

This, THIS, is seriously awesome. Despite not being exactly a fan of meat, tofu is certainly not on my priority list either. The term "mustard greens" was pretty suspicious to me as well. Being from the north, Okra, Kale, Mustard Greens, and Swiss Chard are those "weird things that southerners eat for breakfast or something" (and they are welcome to them!). However, I was open minded for at least this day. Just imagine these spices put together to make a curry: mustard seeds, turmeric, cumin, cardamom, chili powder, and ginger. And yes, I toasted the cumin seeds and cardamom pods myself, delegating the crushing process to the nearest victim in the kitchen.

Next time....a double batch.

One of the things that made the curry even better was the green harissa that I made, also sourced from mustard greens. The spices of coriander, cumin, lots of jalapeno, smoked paprika, cayenne, red pepper flakes, and certain green herbs made this almost an universally usable relish. Put it with your scrambled eggs, fresh trout, or poppadoms, it's awesome. The walnuts, you ask? Just a little addictive snack that is glazed with molasses.

Ladies and gentlemen, this deserves some careful breathing. You may want to take a break from the ambrosia you've been reading in order to re-charge for the finale. Nutmeg, vanilla bean, raw cane sugar, coconut milk and cashews make a delightful vanilla spice vegan ice cream, so when you add your own date-sweetened almond milk with a touch of Nassau distilled rum that doesn't export out of the Bahamas, and well, you have a sincerely fabulous shake that can only be justified through taste.

Keep tuned for more African vegan discovery meals!