VeganMOFO

krautkrapfa

by easthillvegan

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.

krautkrapfa filling

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.krautkrapfa roll

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.

krautkrapfa panFinally, 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!

krautkrapfa plate

Spitzbuba holiday cookies

by easthillvegan

spitzbubaAccording to the cookbook Ive been using, no one really knows why these cookies are called spitzbuba. All the same I made them because I think almonds taste good in cookies. Also, its nice to have something sweet for a coffee break.  The recipe was very easy to veganize as well because the only non-vegan ingredient was butter.

Recipe

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 cup ground almonds
  • 1 cup organic sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • vegan butter
  • raspberry jam

Mix together the flour, ground almonds, vanilla, and sugar. Cut in the vegan butter with a pastry knife or fork. Form the dough into a ball and refrigerate for at 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a backing sheet with baking paper. On a well floured surface roll out the dough and with a round cookie cutter form the cookies, and place on the prepared baking sheet. If the dough becomes to soft and sticky to work with place back in the refrigerator. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes until they become firm. While they are still warm assemble the cookies by spreading 1 teaspoon of jam on a cookie and top with a second. If desired sprinkle with sugar. Allow the cookies to cool completely.

potato noodles

by easthillvegan

20140915-145024.jpgI’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.

20140915-144953.jpgI 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?

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Ithaca gets a food truck

by easthillvegan

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.

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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.

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rainy day lunch

by easthillvegan

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.

saurelinsen

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)

by easthillvegan

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.

Spaghetti Eis (ice cream)

by easthillvegan

My favorite brand of vegan ice cream is probably Temptation by Chicago Vegan Foods.  They make so many amazing flavors; there hasn’t been even one I didn’t love.  Unfortunately, for me there are really only two places around here I can get this particular brand of ice cream.  The first place that carries this brand is Strong Hearts cafe, in the form of amazingly delicious milkshakes, that even non-vegans love.  They have many fantastic milkshake choices, but I usually get something with crushed Oreo cookies. I don’t go very often though, because they are located in Syracuse which is about an hour away.  The other place with Temptation ice cream is much closer to home at Purity Ice Cream.  They aren’t entirely vegan, and they don’t have that many flavors of Temptation.  They do however pack whatever flavor you want into pints so you can bring some home.

With our ‘day we metaversary’ coming I decided to make a special ice cream sundae, Spaghetti Eis!  This is something I used to find in many ice cream shops in Southern Germany. Actually, Germany is very creative in the ice cream sundae department. Maybe, they already have but, I think they need to get on board with vegan ice cream options.

So I sent Mr. EastHillVegan to Purity to pick up some Temptation vanilla Ice cream, while I made strawberry sauce with frozen berries from early summer.  I made this with my spaetzle maker, the strawberry sauce, and chopped cashews for the “cheese”. So yummy, probably way better than the original!

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