Life by Six Mile Creek

No-bake hazelnut cookies

Wow, I can’t believe how long it’s been since I posted anything on this blog. I have been so pre-occupied with grad school and other life events that I mostly forgot about it.

Here is a quick recipe for cookies that I actually made back when I was participating in Vegan MOFO. They are called Nuss-Guatsla, and they are actually accidentally vegan, so I didn’t need to make any changes. According to my cookbook they are a specialty from Stuttgart. They come together very quickly! cookies

1 cup ground hazelnuts
1/2 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. cold coffee

You can make a glaze for these cookies too.

2-3 Tbsp. Lemon juice
3/4 cup

In a bowl combine the hazelnuts, powdered sugar and coffee into a smooth dough. Roll out the dough, and make round cookies with a cookie cutter. Place them on wax paper, and allow them to dry for 8 hours. I put them in my dehydrator to speed up the process. These cookies should hold together well, but they will stay soft. You could also dry them out in the oven at a low temperature.
Once they are completely dry, you can make the glaze, and add to the cookies with a pastry brush.

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krautkrapfa

Cooking, Home, VeganMOFO

Krautkrapfa is a noodle dish stuffed with sausage, bacon, and sauerkraut. I wanted to try recreating this dish the first time I saw the picture. I already had a jar of sauerkraut in the fridge too. I’m not sure if I have ever had anything like it before though.

The first step was to decide how to make the filling. I opted to include shiitake mushrooms and a Field Roast frankfurter in place of the meat. Mostly because I already had them in the fridge. I fried the mushrooms with some smoked sea salt, and then added the chopped field roast and apple kraut. Given more time I probably would have thought of something else to use instead of the Field Roast. However, it did add a nice flavor.

Next I made a pasta dough, and rolled it out into a rectangular shape as thin as possible. The filling was spread on the dough, and then the entire thing is rolled up. The same way you make apple strudel! Next, I made slices and placed them into a pan.

Finally, I poured veggie broth over the entire thing covered, and baked it. The end result was amazingly delicious. Well worth the time spent making it. Next time I may change the filling to something a little healthier.

I served my krautkrapfa with steamed kale. It was so good, Mr. EastHill Vegan gave it two thumbs up!

potato noodles

VeganMOFO

I’m halfway through veganMoFo 2014! Somehow I have managed to keep up with posting once everyday. The temperature has been cooling down, and for the past two days we have had beautiful sunny weather. I went out to a local farm stand this year to pick up some fall decorations. We also brought home our first winter squash, and a pint of potatoes. I am ready for the change in seasons, but I am not looking at all forward to what comes after autumn.

I made some delicious potato noodles with my potatoes. Another recipe from my Swabian cookbook. They tasted good, but in retrospect I should have made them a little skinner and longer.

Making them was easy to, although forming them did take some time. We had ours for breakfast with fruit, but they are great as a side with almost anything.

Recipe

1 lb potatoes
1 cup flour
mix 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed 3 tablespoons of water
salt

Directions

Cook and peel the potatoes. Mash until very smooth, or push them through a potato ricer. Mix in the flour and salt, and flax seed mixture until a soft dough forms. Form the noodles into zepplin shape. Pan fry until golden brown. Easy right?

Ithaca gets a food truck

Around Town, VeganMOFO

I have been having a very busy weekend, so this post is extra short. I have to say posting every day is a lot of work!

If you have ever visited Ithaca, NY you probably already know we don’t have many vegan food options. Many restaurants are vegan friendly, but none are 100% vegan. This weekend however a new entirely vegan food truck opened! It’s pretty exciting to be able to order food without asking a bunch of questions first.

My husband and I had a good time trying everything on their menu!

It’s called cafe Wild, named after the Where the Wild Things Are mural it sits next to.

The food was pretty good, and I look forward to visiting again.

The food had a Mexican theme, I believe this is supposed to change periodically.

rainy day lunch

Cooking, Home, VeganMOFO

Today is one of those chilly, grey and rainy autumn days here in Ithaca. It is a common theme in upstate New York as summer ends. The perfect day to laze about the house, and to catch up on reading. With the cold and damp weather outside, I found myself wanting to make something warm and comforting for lunch. I flipped through my little cookbook and came across a recipe for sour brown lentils. It looked simple enough to make, and I already had everything I needed. I used canned brown lentils instead of dried, but the original recipe describes soaking and then cooking them in a separate pot. I think using canned lentils made everything come together faster with canned, but it might taste better with dried.

The best part about today being Saturday is that Mr. EastHill Vegan is home all day. Good excuse for making lunch together, not something we do often enough. While I was making the lentils, and Field Roast frankfurters, my S.O. steamed some cauliflower, and made a delicious pesto. True to his style of cooking, he didn’t bother with chopping, but steamed the cauliflower as one piece. The pesto is made with cashews, lemon juice and of course basil. Everything went together wonderfully, and really hit the spot. The lentils had a nice creamy texture, with a slightly tart flavor.

Recipe

1 15oz can brown lentils or about 1 cup dried lentils, cooked in veggie broth.
1 onion
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp flour
1 cup red wine
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp liquid smoke
2 tsp dried thyme
freshly ground pepper

Directions

Peel and finely chop the onion. Saute the onion with a dash of salt until soft. Sprinkle with flour and continue to cook until browned. Add the wine, vinegar, liquid smoke, and lentils, simmer until most of the liquid is evaporated. Season with thyme, pepper as desired.

himmel und erde (heaven and earth)

Cooking, VeganMOFO

Last week I was happy to get pears, and potatoes among other things from my CSA. I love the changing variety of produce during late summer and early fall. All the perfect of ingredients for delicious comfort foods. As soon as I came home with my share, I knew I had to make another of my favorite fall dishes, ‘himmel und erde’ aka, heaven and earth. Traditionally, this dish is a blend of potatoes from the earth, and sweet apples from the sky. Normally it is topped with caramelized onions.There is debate as to which region of Germany this dish comes from, it may not even be from Southern Germany. Actually, the recipe is not from my Swabian cookbook at all, its something I mostly make from memory. I decided to have it for breakfast along with some of the Apple Maple Breakfast Sausage made by Field Roast, nectarines, and plums. Himmel und erde is lighter with a touch of sweetness.

himmel&erde

Recipe

1 pound yukon gold potatoes
1 pound apples (or pears)
1 cup water
1 tbsp sugar

Directions

Cut the potatoes into cubes. Slice the apples, and remove the seeds. Cook the potatoes in simmering water covered, for about 10 minutes. Add the apples and sugar, allow it to cook for another 20 minutes. In the meantime fry 2 medium onions with salt until golden brown. Once the potatoes and apples are cooked mash until relatively smooth. Place it in a serving bowl, and top with the onions.