Pic(k) of the Week: 'Old-Fashioned' tacos

Cocktails and tacos!

Pop-up kitchen Mascogo Tacos ¹ was cooking up their fare on 4 June 2021, outdoors on the 'whiskey patio,' at small Independent Distilling Company, in Decatur, Georgia, USA.

We were there; we ate; we drank. Pictured clockwise from top:

• Old Fashioned cocktail ²
  Independent Distilling Hellbender Bourbon, demerara syrup, aromatic bitters, Regan's Orange Bitters, twists of lemon and orange.


• Barbacoa taco
  Braised brisket cooked in smoked chilis, with spices, onions, cilantro.


• Pollo con Chili Verde taco
  Hatch-chili-verde-stewed chicken breast, onions, cilantro, Cotija. ³


• Los Cactus taco (partially obscured)
  marinated grilled cactus, onions, cilantro, charred tomato salsa, with/without Cotija.

"What's the cactus in the taco?" I asked Mascogo Tacos' chef, Craig L. Headspeth, "It's tasty." "There's only one edible cactus," he replied. "Prickly pear." ⁴ "Ah!"

I thanked him; the other half complimented him on the two meatier tacos. Thanks were also proffered to Independent's 'mixologist' Corey for the cocktail and to Michael Anderson, Independent's owner/distiller, for the Hellbender Bourbon, the first bourbon distilled in the Atlanta area since before Prohibition. That's one hundred-one years ago, in 1920(!), in case you're counting.

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1st Pic(k) of the Week for 2021: Spinach Soup (recipe)

Laimingų Naujųjų Metų! 

To begin 2021, here's some hot Spinach-Potato Soup. It's thirty minutes from prep to eat and no animal need be slaughtered to enjoy it.

In fact, I did enjoy the soup, preparing it on New Year's Eve, with a non-flavored saison ale on the side. You might as well, or with a white Burgundy or other unoaked chardonnay.

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Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup sweet onion, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed.
• 2 cups washed, chopped spinach
• 2 cups of veggie stock (or water)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha (or other preferred hot sauce)
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• salt, cracked black pepper to taste (or white pepper to avoid dark flecks in the soup!)
• 1 dash smoked Spanish paprika

PROCEDURE

1. Sautée onons, garlic, and celery in olive oil for 3-5 minutes. Set aside. 
2. Bring 2 cups of veggie stock (or water) to boil. Add potatoes. Reduce heat to simmer (easy boil). Cook for 15 minutes (or until potatoes are cooked through and beginning to crumble). 
3. Add spinach (submerge in liquid with wooden spoon) for the final 1-2 minutes of the simmer.  
4. Remove from heat. Add onion/garlic/celery to pot, with lemon juice, hot sauce, and curry powder. Hand blend until potatoes are completely blended and soup is 'creamy.' S/P to taste. 
5. If too thick, add in more veggie stock (or water) 1/4 cup at a time, reblending, and tasting. (It's easier to add more liquid afterward than to remove too much added beforehand.) 
6. Garnish with a dash of smoked paprika. Serve. 

— Adapted from a recipe by Jennifer Debth at Show Me the Yummy.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Radishes & rye

Moons of garden radishes.

Slices of hearty, 'buttered' rye bread. 

And, then, we feast.

Locally-grown organic radishes and locally-baked Estonian rye bread purchased at a local farmers' market, and plated (so fancy) for a backyard brunch.

28 June 2020.

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Beer-Cheese Dip

There's something to celebrate — beer isn't just "beer' anymore; it; a delightful beverage to share with family and friends who appreciate quality ingredients in cooking and a new experience in American cuisine. There is nothing "common" about beer anymore.

Written in 1989 by Jack Erickson, Great Cooking! With Beer is a snapshot of American beer 'culture' in the 1980s, when 'craft' beers were called "microbrews" and beer 'culture' was a nascent thing to be coddled. ¹ Of course, it was also a cookbook: a useful beginning point for learning about beer IN food. And it remains so today (though sadly out-of-print).²

Mr. Erickson lived in the northern Virginia area through the early 1990s, where he evangelized on the goodness of the new-fangled microbrews. I met him there on a few occasions. I never gathered up the nerve to make his recipe for "Beer Syrup" for pancakes (for which he admonished me), but I have prepared (and enjoyed) other of his recipes, including Beer-Cheese Dip.

Today, the Sunday of Super Bowl LIV, it might be a good day to post about that. So, here's the recipe, but with some personal adaptions. ³


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Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups (6-8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, at room temperature
• 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 tsp dry mustard powder
• 1 clove garlic, mashed...or 1/4 tsp garlic powder (see note below)
• 1 tsp (vegan) Worcestershire sauce ⁴
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
• 1 tsp malt vinegar
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) light lager (e.g., PBR: Pabst Blue Ribbon)
• 1 dash smoked Spanish paprika
• scant handful spring onions, chopped

PROCEDURE

1. Combine cheddar, cream cheese, mustard, pepper, turmeric, onion powder, cumin, garlic, vinegar, cayenne, and Worcestershire in a food processor or blender. (No salt needed; the cheese will be salty enough!) 
2. Process/blend 30 seconds to blend. 
3. NOTE:
   When recently re-making the dip, the taste of the single fresh garlic clove overpowered the dish. So, I would recommend first blending all else and only then adding a little at a time of the smashed garlic to the blender/processor and checking for flavor before (or not) blending more.
4. With processor/blender running, add the beer gradually, blending until the mixture is 'peanut-butter' smooth, not runny. Add more, only if necessary. 
5. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavors blend. 
6. Before serving, bring to room temperature. Garnish with chopped spring onions and a dash of paprika. Serve with raw vegetables. 

Great Cooking! With Beer

• Author: Jack Erickson
• Paperback, hardcover: 146 pages
• Publisher: Redbrick Press (February 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941397017
• ISBN-13: 978-0941397018

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• ¹ American beer writer Vince Cottone is credited with first using the term "craft brewery" in print in 1986, although it didn't enter the common usage until more than a decade later.
• ² Erickson also wrote several beer travelogues, themselves snapshots of 'microbreweries' of the 1980s and early 1990s. These are also out-of-print, but you cna find them if you search for second-hand sources.
• ³ See Erickson's original recipe: here.
• ⁴ Worcestershire sauce, although fermented from barley malt, also contains anchovies. There are non-fish, vegan/vegetarian alternatives.
• Vegan? Try this 21st-century recipe for a Beer-Cheese Dip, with no actual cheese, from blogger Rabbit and Wolves. Almond milk and nutritional yeast supply the 'cheesiness.' It's tasty.


• For more from YFGF:
  • Like on Facebook: YoursForGoodFermentables.
  • Follow on Flickr: Cizauskas.
  • Follow on Instagram: @tcizauskas.

VeggieDag Thursday: Banana Malt Bread

When life gives you brown bananas, you make Banana Malt Bread.

I adapted this recipe, almost intact, from Easy Vegan Banana Bread by Nora Cooks Vegan but with a beery twist: for the sweetness, a barley malt substitution à la beer-food writer Melissa Cole. Have your beer and eat it too.

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RECIPE

• INGREDIENTS
  • 2-3 medium overripe bananas
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup barley malt syrup
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin oil oil
  • 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
  • 5 tablespoons water
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup garbanzo flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  
  
  
  
  
• PROCEDURE
  1. 1) Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
  
  
  2. 2) Lightly oil a 9-inch loaf pan and arrange a strip of parchment paper width-wise along the center, with just a bit hanging out over each side.
  
  
  3. 3) Make two flax 'eggs.' Use a coffee grinder or mortar-and-pestle to grind the seeds. In a bowl, mix together the ground flaxseed meal with six tablespoons of water. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to set up and thicken.
  
  
  4. 4) Mash peeled bananas in bowl.
  
  
  5. 5) Add malt syrup, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla to bowl. Mix well.
  
  
  6. 6) Add the flour to the bowl. Mix well. Add baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and reserved flax 'eggs.' Mix well.
  
  
  7. 7) Fold in walnuts.
  
  
  8. 8) Spoon the batter into loaf pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
  
  
  9. 9) Bake, covered, for 30 minutes.
  
  
  10. 10) Remove aluminum foil and return loaf to oven, baking for additional ~20 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick or fork tine into the center. If it comes out easily and clean, it's done. Don't burn the top!
  
  
  11. 11) Remove from the oven and allow the loaf to cool before removing it from the pan.
  
  
  12. 12) Slice and serve.

VeggieDag Thursday is an occasional Thursday post
on an animal-free diet and on environmental and ecological issues.

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Pic(k) of the Week: (Non) Beef Soup

I'm taking rudimentary steps toward food styling, so today:
(Non) Beef Stew, adapted from a package of Hurst's Beans 'HamBeens' 15 Bean Soup package. Animal-free, of course.

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IN THE PACKAGE

• Actually 18 bean varieties:
  Great Northern beans, pinto beans, large lima beans, baby lima beans, blackeyed peas, garbanzo beans, green split peas, red kidney beans, white kidney beans, cranberry beans, Cannellini beans, Habichuela Rosadas, small red beans, yellow split peas, lentils, navy beans, black beans, and yellow-eye beans.


• And one seasoning packet:
  hydrolyzed soy protein, maltodextrin, salt, artificial flavorings (including artificial smoke flavor), silicon dioxide (added less than 2% as an anti-caking agent).

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RECIPE

I followed the recipe on the package but added in suggestions from Lord Byron's Vegetarian Beefless Stew. I spruced things up by using vegetable broth rather than water and by adding potatoes, frozen peas, fresh rosemary, and vegan Worcestershire sauce. Smoked paprika, Marmite, and the included seasoning packet add umami (less technically, a 'meaty' flavor); sautéd diced portabellos, a 'meaty' texture. Really, it's like Stone Soup: more about how you finish than how you begin. The yield is about 12 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 20 oz package Hurst Beans "HamBeens 15 Bean Soup" package
• 8 cups low-sodium (or homemade) vegetable stock (or 8 cups water)
• 1 cup sweet onion, chopped
• 2 small Yukon potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 tsp Marmite
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 TBSP fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 TBSP chili powder
• 1 TBSP dried oregano
• 1 TBSP dried basil
• 1 TBSP smoked Spanish paprika
• Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste

PROCEDURE

1. 1) Rinse the beans to remove any dirt or debris.


2. 2) Place rinsed beans in a large pot, cover with 8 cups of water, and soak beans overnight for at least 8 hours.


3. 3) After soaking, drain off the water and rinse the beans again. [This removes some of the raffinose, the carbohydrate responsible for beany, uh, flatulence.]


4. 4) Place beans in a large pot with 8 cups of vegetable stock (or water).


5. 5) Bring beans to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 2 hours. Stir occasionally.


6. 6) Add tomatoes, chili powder, Spanish paprika, Marmite, vegan Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice. Simmer, covered, for another 30 minutes.


7. 7) Five minutes before cooking is complete, add frozen peas and contents of Hurst's seasoning packet. [See above.]


8. 8) Simmer five more minutes, covered. Remove from heat.


9. 9) While the soup is simmering, boil the cubed potatoes for 15-20 minutes. Drain. [I reserve the water and refrigerate for up to a week for use as a soup base.]


10. 10) In a skillet, sauté the chopped onions for 3 minutes until soft. Add the chopped mushrooms. Continue to sauté until the mushrooms release their moisture and become brown, about 10 minutes. Add the diced garlic and continue cooking for 2 minutes.


11. 11) Add the mushroom mixture and the cooked potato to the soup. Gently stir.


12. 12) Scoop out two cups of the soup —vegetables and broth. Purée in a blender until smooth. Return the purée to the pot and stir into the soup. S/P to taste.

Enjoy with a hunk of rustic bread and an Oktoberfest lager. Whether it's a soup or a stew is up to you. Prost!

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VeggieDag Thursday: Vegan Summer Potato Salad

Here's a recipe for Vegan Summer Potato Salad. You don't have to be vegan and any season will do.

I adapted it from Julia Child and Jacques Pepin's 1999 (non-vegan) cookbook, Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home. I've added a lot of ancillary ingredients; you could easily simplify it with only the first three.

The recipe holds a special place in my heart (my gullet?). It's one I often cooked at the old family homestead. And, in August 2015, it was the last dish that I would ever photograph in the kitchen there.

Vegan Summer Potato Salad

• INGREDIENTS
  • 2 pounds large Yukon Gold potatoes
  • 2 TBSP malt vinegar
  • 1/3 cup vegetable stock or the potato-cooking liquid
  • 1 cup vegan mayonnaise (such as non-soy Just Mayo)


• EXTRAS
  • 2/3 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
  • 3 small radishes, roughly chopped
  • 3 TBSP finely chopped dill pickle
  • 3 TBSP chopped fresh scallions
  • 1 TBSP capers
  • 1 tsp ground white pepper
  • 1 tsp ground mustard
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 dash Liquid Smoke
  • 1 dash Smoked Paprika
  • Kosher salt, to taste


• GARNISH
  • Crisp whole red-leaf lettuce leaves
  • Thinly sliced radishes
  • Chopped scallion greens


• PROCEDURE

  1) Peel the potatoes and slice each one lengthwise in half, or in quarters if very large; then cut crosswise into half-round or quarter-round slices, about 1/2 inch thick.

  
  

  2) Put the slices in a saucepan with water just to cover and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt per quart of water. Bring water to a boil, and reduce to a simmer, uncovered. Cook the potatoes for 6 to 15 minutes, checking with a fork for cooked through, but still firm. Check frequently. The smaller the chunks, the shorter the time. DO NOT OVERCOOK.

  
  

  3) Immediately remove from heat and drain into a colander, but save a cup of the cooking liquid for dressing the potatoes.

  
  

  4) Add the malt vinegar to 1/3 cup of vegetable stock or the reserved potato water. Transfer the potatoes to a mixing bowl. Drizzle the vinegar/stock over the potato pieces, turning them gently to distribute evenly. Let sit 10 minutes to absorb the liquid.

  
  

  5) Add potatoes to colander. Strain any remaining liquid. Return to mixing bowl.

  
  

  6) Add the onion, celery, pickle, scallions (reserving some for the garnish), capers, Liquid Smoke, and spices (minus the paprika and salt). Toss. Top with 2/3 cup of mayonnaise and, with a large rubber spatula, gently fold everything together until well blended. Taste the salad and add more salt, pepper, mayonnaise, or vinegar/stock as needed.

  
  

  7) Cover the salad and set aside in the refrigerator for at least an hour or so before serving. If it is refrigerated longer, let it come back to room temperature before serving.

  
  

  8) To serve, line a bowl or a platter with red-leaf lettuce, and mound the salad on top. Decorate at the last moment with radish slices, chopped scallion greens, and a couple of dashes of smoked paprika.

Served with a pilsner or Vienna-style lager, it's delightful. If you have to 'settle' for a glass of wine or (gasp) only the potato salad, it's still delightful.

VeggieDag Thursday is an occasional Thursday post
on an animal-free diet and on environmental and ecological issues.

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VeggieDag Thursday: (vegan) Pazzo Pesto!

This sweet basil from my garden (minus the entomological protein) became this...

Pazzo Pesto, vegan-style.

Pazzo Pesto is my take on the recipe by the Minimalist Baker. Truth be told, it's 99.99% Dana Shultz's recipe (although I did substitute veggie broth for the water). Nutritional yeast provides the cheesiness. It's the 'beery' connection in the recipe.

So why, pazzo? I blended it all before I realized that I had forgotten the garlic. Pazzo! (Ex post facto, I rectified the omission).

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups packed, rinsed fresh basil (large stems removed)
• 3 TBSP pine nuts
• 3 large cloves garlic (peeled)
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• 3-4 TBSP nutritional yeast
• 1/4 tsp Kosher salt (or more or less to taste)
• 2-3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• 3-6 TBSP water or veggie stock (less, or more, as needed)

PREPARATION

• Add the basil, nuts, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and sea salt to a food processor (or, in my case, a small blender), and blend/mix on high until a loose paste forms.
• Add olive oil a little at a time and scrape down sides as needed. Then add water one tablespoon at a time until you get a thick but pourable sauce.
• Refrigerate, but...
• Even refrigerated, the pesto will quickly brown, losing its bright green luster. As Ms. Schultz suggests, freeze it an ice cube tray and then bag the frozen cubes for future use.

Start to finish, Pazzo Pesto will take you two months to prepare. Of course, once the basil has grown, only minutes. Resist the temptation to eat it with a spoon. Spoon it on pasta.

VeggieDag Thursday is an occasional Thursday post
on an animal-free diet and on environmental and ecological issues.

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#VeggieDag Thursday: Food & drink (and more) on Independence Day, by the numbers

• $6.8 Billion: Amount Americans plan to spend on food for the 4th of July.
• 150 Million: Hot dogs will be consumed on the 4th of July.
• $1+ Billion: Amount Americans will spend on beer for the 4th of July, making the day the nation's top beer-drinking holiday.
• $568 Million: Amount Americans will spend on 4th of July for wine.
• $1+ Billion: Amount Americans will spend on fireworks in 2019.
• $5.4 Million: Value of American flags imported annually (mostly from China).
• 47+ Million: People traveling 50+ miles from home for the 4th of July.
  — Via WalletHub.
  4 July 2019.

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For Independence Day, three out of four Americans choose beer...

...that is, for those Americans who drink or serve alcoholic beverages.

Here are more beer-on-Independence-Day statistics, from studies commissioned by folk who sell beer.

The Beer Institute asked legal-drinking-age adults what alcohol beverage they’d be celebrating with during the Fourth of July holiday. Seventy-five percent of people planning to host or attend a Fourth of July celebration will serve or drink beer. Beer is nearly twice as popular as any other alcohol beverage, with 64 percent of people saying they plan to drink beer compared to 37 percent for wine and 32 percent for hard liquor.

— Beer Institute

For brewers, distributors and retailers, Independence Day marks the height of the summer beer selling season. Much like Black Friday is a milestone for traditional retailers, the Fourth of July is a milestone for beer sales. In some states, beer distributors will be delivering double the beer of a typical week. NBWA and Fintech® got together and worked through on- and off-premise volumes for beer distributor sales to retailers across the country in 2016. The data revealed that the Fourth of July ranked #1. [...] While July Fourth takes the number one spot for off-premise sales, the rankings look radically different when just the on-premise (away from home) sales are ranked. In these channels of retail sales, St. Patrick’s Day, the Super Bowl and Cinco De Mayo take top spots.

— National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA)

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Recipes

Wait! Whaaat? No watermelon on that list of foods for 4th of July? Come on, now!

Other than simply enjoying a delicious slice of watermelon, here are some other plant-based recipe suggestions for today:

• Butternut Squash & Beets Salad
  — Via Lucy Saunders from her cookbook, Dinner in the Beer Garden (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal).
• Watermelon Tofu Salad
  — Via YFGF.
• The quintessential Spanish summertime chilled soup: gazpacho, 5 ways.
  — Via Voraciously (Washington Post).
• Grilled Tofu Barbecue
  — Via Vegan Dad.



• Carrot Hot Dogs
  — Via Kristen Pound.
• Beer is a vegan food stuff. Grill your vegetables with it.
  — Via YFGF.
• Twenty-seven '4th of July' vegan recipes.
  — Via Post Punk Kitchen (Isa Chandra Moskowitz).
• Twenty-four '4th of July' plant-based recipes.
  — Via Minimalist Baker.
• One-Bowl Vegan American Flag Cake.
  — Via Nora Cooks.

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In conclusion

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#VeggieDag Thursday: Memorial Day Friday edition.

It's Memorial Day weekend...

Not the start of astronomical summer, but indeed its calendrical onset. And refreshment. Five percent of all the beer sold during the year is sold during the two weeks surrounding Memorial Day.

To accompany that beer, sixty percent of Americans are expected to barbecue this weekend. According to WalletHub:

And many will infuse beer into their bastes, sauces, mops, and marinades: tasty and healthy. Read on.

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Grilling

The Washington Post's Voraciously offered some tips for grilling:

Extra-virgin olive oil prevents sticking, keeps foods juicy and promotes caramelization/grill marks. But note: Oil the food, not the grill grate. Why? Because the oil on a preheating grate will start to burn and become tacky. Your food won’t stick when it is brushed all over with a thin coat of olive oil and placed on a clean cooking grate. Also, the coating will act as a barrier, preventing natural juices/water in the food from turning into steam and evaporating. That means your food won’t dry out before it’s done.

My bag trick will save time, coat your food sparingly and evenly, and keep your hands grease-free. It is also a handy and sanitary way to carry food to the grill. Here’s what to do: Place your prepped food in a resealable zip-top bag and pour in a little olive oil. Seal and massage the food through the bag to give it a thin, all-over coating. Keep the bag refrigerated until you’re ready to cook.

Salt brings out the flavor in just about anything. Season your food with salt after you have coated it with the oil and just before it goes on the grill, otherwise the salt will draw the juices to the surface. Start with a pinch; there is a fine line between just right and too much. It’s easy to add but almost impossible to subtract.

Pepper is not quite as essential as the first two items in this trilogy, but I am a fan of black pepper for grilling. A coarse or flaky “butcher grind” is preferable, because it will not bring as much heat to your food as a finely ground pepper (dust).

And as to vegetables, Voraciously says this:

Vegetables headed for the grill should be cleaned and cut in slices that won’t fall through the grates, about ½-inch thick. Recommended for direct-heat grilling: asparagus, bell peppers, squash, zucchini, eggplant, corn in the husk, scallions and onions; also large strawberries, melon and bananas (in their peels).

To be grilled over indirect heat: firm, whole vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, heads of garlic, artichokes, large mushrooms such as portobellos. Prep them with the grilling trilogy [olive oil, salt, pepper]; also, whole fruit including apples, pears, peaches, apricots, etc. Many of these will benefit by a short amount of time directly over the heat to get grill marks but will be primarily cooked with indirect heat. (Technically, that would be a next-level, combination method.) For great grill marks, place your (direct-heat) food across the grates from left to right. I cut squash and zucchini lengthwise and place them across the grates.

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Beer AS marinade

Why use beer in a BBQ sauce? First and foremost, flavor. Beer is much less acidic than wine, vinegar or citrus juices commonly used in BBQ sauces and marinades. It will tenderize meats without breaking down texture as rapidly as more powerful acids. Also, the balanced flavor in beer means that the other herbs and spices will not be overwhelmed by acetic notes.

Second, beer is less expensive than wine. It's possible to use a very fine quality ale to make more than a quart of marinade, and still spend less than $5.

Third, the variety in North American beer styles encourages experimenting in the kitchen. From apricot ale to witbier, there's a flavor that matches a meat, chicken or seafood sauce destined for the grill.

Fourth, drinking beer with BBQ —especially dark beer such as porters and stouts— defuses potentially dangerous [carconogenic] compounds.

— Lucy Saunders
Grilling with Beer (2006).

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Vegetarian Recipes

And some VeggieDag recipes:

• Stout-marinated grilled vegetables.
• Grilled ratatouille stack.
• Grilled BBQ Tofu.
• Grilling corn on the cob.
• Off-the-grill corn with George Forman.
• Mayo-free Potato Salad (not grilled!).
• Grilled Pototo Salad.
• Grilled peaches.

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Beer

The first time I spotted an ad for a fancy 6-burner grill with a bottle of wine and two stemmed goblets perched on its shiny stainless steel hood, something clicked inside me like an electronic ignition. "Why wine?" I fumed. Craft beer delivers the best flavors to go with barbecue and grilled foods.

What makes craft beer so tasty with grilled far? Specialty roasted barley malts in a cascade of caramel colors enhance the flavors of barbecued food. Hops that range from floral to citrusy to deeply astringent help cut through the fat of ribs and burgers. And carbonation completes the sensation of refreshment, readying you for yet another bite.

— Lucy Saunders

Beers? You pick 'em.

But my suggestions are dark for the marinade and this 'craft' lager for chilling: United Craft Lager, from Georgia/Virginia's New Realm Brewing. New this year, it gives Sierra Nevada's Summerfest a run for its B, double E, double R, U, N money!

American lager made with a blend of pale and pilsner malts, flaked corn, and a cool combo of Hallertau, Hersbrucker and Lemondrop hops. At 4.5-percent alcohol.

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Memorial Day

Oh, and, by the way. It is Memorial Day weekend this weekend, which is, above all, a weekend for remembering America's war dead.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

— Abraham Lincoln
19 November 1863.

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VeggieDag Thursday: Lynda's Mock 'Tuna' Salad Sandwich

In communion with the fine people of Ghent, Belgium, VeggieDag Thursday (DonderDag) is a series of occasional Thursday posts on an animal-free diet and the ecology. Today, the former.

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Lynda's Mock 'Tuna' Salad Sandwich

• 15 ounces canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed, fork-smashed. (Save that aquafaba!)
• 1 celery stalk, diced or grated
• 2 tbsp dill pickle, diced
• 1 spring onion (or ramp), diced
• 2 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp vegan 'mayonnaise'
• 1 tsp kelp powder (optional)
• ½ tsp dry mustard powder
• ½ tsp onion flakes
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice, or more to taste.
• S&P, to taste

Assemble. Eat. Enjoy.

— Recipe via Lynda Howard
(with adaptations from Happy Herbivore).

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VeggieDag Thursday: The Magnificent Malt Loaf

VeggieDag Thursday is an occasional Thursday post
on an animal-free diet and on environmental and ecological issues.

Christmas dinner here is a meatful occasion. If I want a meatless plate, I bring it. But, to be fair and thankful, folk do graciously prepare some side vegetables minus the animal fat.

This year (now, last year), for inspiration, I turned to The Beer Kitchen, a new cookbook by U.K.-based beer writer Melissa Cole, which, in December, I picked it as "the best cookbook of 2018, with beer."

To be clear, The Beer Kitchen is not a vegetarian cookbook. To be fair, Ms. Cole did not write it as one. But several of her recipes are —or can be modified to be— animal-free. I mentioned one in particular —Malt Loaf— of which Ms. Cole wrote:

I love malt loaf [made with dried fruits, wholemeal flour, mild ale, and malt extract, among other ingredients]. It's something that was a feature of my childhood because either my Mum had made it or because my friends' Mums had or it was from a yellow packet — whichever way it came, it was always handed to me toasted and with lashings of salted butter on it.

And, so, for Christmas Dinner 2018, I baked the Malt Loaf (not meatloaf!), a bit savory, a bit sweet ... and with a few changes here and there.

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RECIPE

• INGREDIENTS
  • 2½ fluid ounces strong, black tea, plus 1 fluid ounce (reserved)
  • 2½ fluid ounces Yuengling Black and Tan, plus 1 fluid ounce (reserved)
  • 4 fluid oz malt extract syrup (9 TBSP), plus 2 TBSP (reserved)
  • 3 dry ounces (~½ cup) soft brown sugar
  • 7 dry ounces (~1⅓ cups) dried cranberries
  • 1 cup plain white flour
  • ⅔ cup garbanzo (chick pea) flour
  • 2 TBSP ground flax seeds + 6 TBSP water
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp Kosher salt
  
  
• PROCEDURE
  • Make two flax 'eggs.' In a small bowl, mix together two tablespoons ground flaxseed meal with six tablespoons of water. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes to set up and thicken.
  • In a saucepan, warm the tea and beer over low heat. Add the cranberries. Remove from the stove and allow to sit for 15 minutes.
  • Set oven to 350 °F.
  • Lightly oil a loaf pan (5-inch wide x 9-inch long x 2½-inch deep). Line the loaf pan with lightly dampened and crinkled cooking parchment paper.
  • Stir the malt extract and brown sugar into the fruit/tea/beer mixture, well enough to dissolve the sugar. Add the flax 'eggs.' Stir to mix.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Add the malt extract mixture. Mix well to make a soft batter. Let stand for 15 minutes.
  • Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes. It's done when a skewer, poked in the loaf, comes out clean.
  • Poke a few holes in the loaf with the skewer and baste the loaf with the reserved tea/beer/malt extract. Allow to cool
  • Remove the loaf from the pan. Wrap and cover with more parchment paper. (It will be messy!) Put in an airtight container and keep cool for at least 3 days before eating. Or, as I did, until the next day.
  
  
• NOTES
  • Malt extract syrup is unhopped wort —mashed malted barley and water— derived from the brewing process, that's been dried slightly into a sweet, gooey, dark brown paste. It's like using a concentrated dark beer, but with few bitter compounds. Available through the Jeff Bezos outlets and from better supermarkets.
  • Rather than going all vegan, two eggs, well-beaten, can be used in place of the flaxseed —and, in fact, are used in the original recipe.
  • Ms. Cole, from Britain, did NOT suggest Yuengling Black and Tan as the beer ingredient. Mild Ale, which she did suggest, is hard to find in the U.S., especially in can or bottle. The key is to use a dark beer, but one low on bittering hops. Absent a dark beer, in a pinch: a mainstream lager.
  • Her recipe calls for white flour and whole wheat ("wholemeal") flour. I had garbanzo flour in the pantry, so, voila.
  • The recipe also calls for raisins and diced dried prunes. But, as dried cranberries were the first thing I spied in the supermarket aisle, again, voila.

I once worked with a brewer who said he hated the taste of wort. What? I couldn't understand that. But maybe he would like this loaf. It's only slightly sweet, like a fresh, much less dense, beery fruitcake. Ms. Cole calls it the Magnificent Malt Loaf. I concur.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Summer vegetable grilling.

Vegan grilling ... that is, grilling FOR (not OF) vegans. And some beer cookery.

• Foreground:
  Guinness-marinated vegetables, ready for the grill.
  
  
• 'Midground':
  Corn, ready to be grilled in-husk.
  
  
• Background:
  Mayo-free potato salad (not for the grill!).

For this Labor Day 2018 grill, there were also veggie frankfurters (Field Roast) and veggie burgers (Beyond Meat), both soy-free. Other folk brought fried chicken. Can't win 'em all.

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Hurricane Florence

Wishing good fortune to all in Hurricane Florence's path. For the rest of us, here are some ways in which we can help.

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#VeggieDag Thursday: To cook and eat an artichoke.

To cook and eat an artichoke...

1) Select a fresh artichoke. Select a fresh artichoke. (The top leaves of a fresh artichoke will squeak a bit when pinched.) Use a large, sharp knife and cut off the top third of the artichoke. Peel off the smallest bottom leaves, and use scissors to trim the sharp thorn tips off each of the remaining leaves. Use the knife to cut the stem off close to the bulb, making the cut as straight as possible so the artichoke can easily sit upright without tipping over.

2. Fill a large pot with 1/2 inch of water and bring to boil. Reduce to a strong simmer. Place cleaned, prepared artichoke face down in the water. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer the artichoke for 20 minutes.

3. Grab the artichoke with tongs and turn it right-side-up in pot. Re-fill stock pot to 1/2 inch of water and bring to boil. Reduce to a strong simmer, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Remove the artichoke from the pot with tongs and drain off the cooking water. Allow the artichoke to cool a bit. Squeeze the juice of a lemon between the leaves. Sprinkle with Kosher salt.

5. To eat, remove a leaf from the artichoke bulb, dip in olive oil (or not) and scrape the meaty part of the leaf off with your teeth. Discard the rest of the leaf. (Once down to the inner part of the artichoke, the small, inner leaves should be tender enough to be eaten whole.)

6. At the center of the artichoke, remove the remaining tiny, spiky leaves. Use a spoon to scoop out the fuzzy hairs in the center of the heart (the "choke").

7. Cut the choke into pieces. (Careful. It will be hot.) Sprinkle with a bit of lemon juice and olive oil (or not), and eat and enjoy.

How to 'pair' with a beer, and which? That choice is, bien sûr, up to you (although I might —gasp— grab a Chablis or unoaked Chardonnay).

In communion with the fine people of Ghent, Belgium, #VeggieDag Thursday (DonderDag) is a series of occasional Thursday posts on an animal-free diet and the ecology.

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#VeggieDag Thursday: Pan-Fried Tofu Strips

VeggieDag Thursday is an occasional Thursday post
on an animal-free diet and on environmental and ecological issues.

Because there hasn't been a recipe posted here for a while ...

... here, from the entertaining Chris Cooney of Cooking with the Vegan Zombie (with a few minor adaptations from YFGF), it's ...

Pan-Fried Tofu Strips

Yield: 12-16 strips
Time: 20 minutes (or overnight)

1) Slice a 14 ounce slab of extra-firm tofu horizontally into four thinner cutlets. (No need to press the tofu first.)

2) Grease a skillet with refined coconut oil (not unrefined: the smoking point is too low and the taste is, well, coconuty).

3) Turn stove to medium heat.

4) Place tofu cutlets on the skillet (one at a time, if small pan). Top with a pinch each of Kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and smoked paprika.

5) Fry for 8-10 minutes. Don't burn!

6) Gently flip the tofu. Now, gently press down on the cutlets several times with a metal spatula to squeeze out excess water.

7) Top with a pinch each of cumin, chili powder, and dried basil. Optional: Add a doodle of red chile sauce, (e.g. Sriracha).

8) Reduce heat to just below medium heat. Fry for an additional 3-5 minutes. Don't burn!

9) Gently flip the cutlets over again and turn off the skillet. Allow the cutlets to sit several minutes until cool to the touch.

10) To firm the texture, cover and refrigerate the tofu cutets for several hours or overnight. Slice into into 4-5 strips per cutlet. Tasty as is, for snacking. Tasty as the 'meat' filling for a vegetarian Bánh mì.

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Quick links

• 14 March 2018:
  Scientists studying a remote and icy stretch of the North Atlantic have found new evidence that fresh water, likely melted from Greenland or Arctic sea ice, has weakened the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation —a key process that helps drives the global circulation of the oceans— by 15% since 2008.
  —Via Washington Post.


• 13 March 2018:
  The State Department represents the United States at international climate talks. Mike Pompeo, nominated by Trump to head the State Department, is a skeptic of data showing human-caused climate change.
  —Via Washington Post.


• 26 February 2018:
  Researchers at the University of California at Irvine reported that during February, the average temperature in the Arctic was greater than 36 °F above normal, the highest level ever recorded during the month of February. At the North Pole itself, the temperature reached 35 °F, more than 50 °F above normal.
  —Via Capital Weather Gang.


• 16 February 2018:
  Trump signed legislation that repealed an Obama-era rule that had blocked coal operations from dumping mining waste into nearby waterways.
  —Via Snopes.


• 12 February 2018:
  The Trump budget slashes funding for the bipartisan cleanup program of the Great Lakes region —source of 84% of North America's surface fresh water— by 90% from $300 million to $30 million.
  —Via Detroit News.


• 15 June 2017:
  In 2015, when the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) —a division of the UN’s World Health Organization— declared glyphosate —the active ingredient in Monsanto's popular herbicide RoundUp— a probable carcinogen, Aaron Blair —the scientist who led the IARC’s review panel on glyphosate— had access to data from a large study in which he had participated that strongly suggested that Roundup did not, in fact, cause cancer. Yet, Blair withheld that data from the RoundUp review panel.
  —Via Mother Jones.

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#VeggieDag Thursday: Beer! It's what's for vegan dinner!

October 2017 is Vegan MoFo, the Vegan Month of Food. Throughout the month, bloggers, Tweeters, and Instagrammers write on vegan food and lifestyle.

On 17 October, the topic was:

Time to get boozy! What do you do with hooch? Beer batter? Red wine braise? Vodka sauce? Tell us about it!

To which, I answered:

Barley (grain) + hops (flowers of a plant) + yeast (fungus) + water. Together, it's beer! It's what's for vegan dinner!

P.S. Saying beer isn't vegan because some brewers (such as Guinness) have used animal products is like saying food isn't vegan because some people eat animal flesh.

#veganmofo17 #veganmofo #vgnmf17 #vegancommunity #veganchallenge #whatveganseat #vegetarian #veganfood #BeerIsVegan

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SAVOR-ing RE-tox

Since I didn't attend SAVOR earlier in June, I assuaged my sorrow last Friday evening by personally curating my own beer-with-food pairing.

Here: a murky tropical-fruit-punch West-Coast (although it might have been Virginia-coast) New-England-style India Pale Ale paired with meatless nachos (let the cows run free).

Because, all things considered, sometimes you just have to RE-tox.

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Super Bowl edition of #VeggieDag Thursday: Stout Chili, and it's vegetarian.

Considering the big game on Sunday, here's a recipe for vegetarian chili easy and basic— but with a few twists, like a strong, big, 'craft' stout ale in the ingredient mix.

On the odd possibility that you are unfamiliar with stout as a beverage, here's what the The Oxford Companion to Beer (2012) has to say about it:

Stouts are a category of warm-fermented ale styles that are distinguished by their dark color, generally an opaque deep brown or black, as well as a distinct roasted character that is often perceived as dark chocolate or coffee. Both of these qualities derive from the use of roasted grains used to brew these beers.

Most beers, even hoppy beers, can be used in chili, to different effect. But a full-flavored stout —as many 'craft' beer stouts* are— contributes a unique layer of complexity to this flavorful vegetarian chili - akin to the chocolate-roastiness of a mole poblano.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 block extra-firm tofu (not silken)
• 6-8 oz strongly-flavored stout*
• 15.5 oz can 'Italian'-style tomatoes
• 15.5 oz can cooked black beans
• 15.5 oz can cooked corn
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chili powder*
• 1 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoons coriander
• 1 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon fresh black pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (optional: if you want more 'heat')
• 1/8 cup TVP*
• ½ teaspoon Marmite*

PROCEDURE

• 1. Beforehand, prepare the tofu for a more 'meat-like' texture.
  • Press the block repeatedly until all water is expelled.
  • Freeze overnight, or until completely frozen.
  • Thaw. Crumble into small, 'ground-beef' sized pieces and toss with the soy sauce until thoroughly coated. Set aside.
• 2. In a large pan, sauté the onions in the olive oil over medium heat until slightly browned. Reduce heat, and sauté the garlic until fragrant. Add green pepper, and sauté for 1 minute.
• 3. Add tomatoes and all spices. Stir well. Add crumbled tofu and thoroughly coat with mixture. Add beer slowly. Mix in beans, TVP, and corn. Stir well.
• 4. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.
• 5. Remove from heat. Refrigerate overnight. Gently reheat portions to be served.

NOTES

• * Guinness Stout is really too mild a beer to get much flavor into the stew. Vegetarians would also want to avoid Guinness, because it is made with fish-derived isinglass for clarification (even though the brewery has announced its intention to change that procedure). Use half of the bottle. Reserve the other half for the chef.


• * Most American 'craft' stouts are not made with isinglass. Suggestions: Victory Storm King, Brooklyn Black Chocolate, Anchor Porter, or Heavy Seas Peg Leg Stout. Many craft' stouts are also hop-heavy; using them adds another layer of flavor to the chili.


• * If you're vegan, also avoid so-called 'milk' stouts, which, although they do not contain milk per se, do contain lactose: milk sugar.


• * Marmite is the brand name for a popular British spread made from dried yeast extract. A by-product of the beer brewing process, it is generically known as autolyzed yeast extract and can often be found as an ingredient in dried soup mixes and other prepared foods. It imparts a meaty/savory flavor. Think of it as vegetarian cooking's umami 'secret sauce.'


• * TVP, or textured vegetable protein, is often used in vegetarian cooking to add a chewy texture. It's made from defatted soy flour, and is high in protein.


• * For greater depth of flavor, omit the chili powder and use 4-6 dried whole red New Mexico peppers (depending upon how much 'heat' you want).
  • Toast the chiles until they're pliable (don't burn them!).
  • Remove from the heat and cut the stems off with scissors. Shake out the seeds and use the scissors to pull out the ribs.
  • Cut into 1-inch pieces and add into the pot.

And, finally, enjoy a bowl. With another stout in a glass. And with a few friends to help empty the pot.

And, oh ya. #RiseUp! Go Atlanta Falcons!

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MORE VEGGIE RECIPES

• Twenty-three dips, guacamoles, and salsas.
  — Via Serious Eats.
• One more: Chunky Mango-Avocado Guacamole.
  — Via Healthy Happy Life.
• Beer-Cheese Dip.
  — Via Great Cooking! with Beer.
• Vegan 'Mac un Cheese.'
  — Via Eat Air.
• Posted in 2016 for Super Bowl 50: Vegetarian recipes for the game.
  — Via YFGF.

VeggieDag Thursday is an occasional Thursday post
on an animal-free diet and ecological issues.

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#VeggieDag Thursday: Sweet Stout-Roasted Root Vegetables

When my husband tried these, he said he'd been hoping for years to taste a roast vegetable that seemed to have the gravy on the inside instead of on the outside, and I'd finally cracked it. As you simmer a selection of root vegetables in a little sweet stout, you can see the beer being drawn deep into the vegetables. When you finish them in a hot oven, the liquid is sealed inside, while the outside is seared to a roast caramel. I serve them with the Sunday roast, but, for a vegetarian, they are strong-flavoured and substantial enough to be the Sunday roast.

That's British freelance beer and food writer Susan Nowak describing Root Vegetables Roasted with Sweet Stout in her 1999 beer-cuisine cookbook, The Beer Cookbook, now out-of-print, but available online from third-party purveyors.

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The recipe

From page 165:

INGREDIENTS

• 225 grams (8 oz) each peeled parsnips, swedes, and large carrots, cut into roasting size chunks, roughly equal in size.
• Approximately 150 ml [5 ounces] sweet stout or brown ale
• 25 grams (1 oz) butter, for roasting

PROCEDURE

• Place the vegetables in a large pan and pour in enough stout to half cover. Put on the lid and simmer gently until they start to soften, then remove from the heat, but leave in the pan to cool and draw in the beer, turning the vegetables in the stock from time to time.
• Remove vegetables from stock and place in an ovenproof dish.
• Roast towards the top of a hot oven (400 °F) for ten minutes until the vegetables start to caramelize. Glaze with the butter and return to the oven [middle rack] to crisp for a further 20 minutes, basting twice, until soft on the inside and crisp on the outside with an intense sweetness. Simple but effective.

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What YFGF did

• To prevent the reduction from becoming unpleasantly bitter, avoid cooking with an overly roasty or overly hoppy stout (as is the case with many American 'craft' stouts). In fact, I added a tablespoon of agave syrup when basting the vegetables. (I also substituted Earth Balance for the butter.)
• I used a full bottle, 12 ounces (355 ml), of Milk Stout from The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery (of Farmville, North Carolina).

  The Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout is a traditional full-bodied stout brewed with lactose (milk sugar). Because lactose is unfermentable by brewer's yeast, it remains in the beer. The subtle sweetness and fullness of flavor imparted by this sugar balances the sharpness of the highly roasted grains that give this delicious beer its black color. All year long, Milk Stout is our number one selling beer! ABV: 5.7%.

  
  
• Before roasting the vegetables, I simmered them in the beer (and 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice) for 20 minutes, then let them marinate, refrigerated, overnight.
• If you're vegetarian, you would want to avoid Guinness Stout, which is was made with fish-derived isinglass for clarification. The brewery has announced its intention to change that procedure [and since 2016 is vegan]. Most American 'craft' stouts are not made with isinglass.

  Guinness is no longer made with any animal products in any part of the process. So: fine for vegans/vegetarians. That being said, if you're vegan, you would want to avoid so-called "milk stouts", which, although they do not contain milk per se, contain lactose (i.e., milk sugar).

• After roasting the vegetables, I whisked a tablespoon of arrowroot into the beer-vegetable stock. Presto, a gravy.
• A British "swede" is an American rutabaga. Nowak suggests a dry hoppy bitter as beer accompaniment. England and America are two countries divided by a common language...and beer.

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In the Photo

• Veggie Beastie Loaf (center)
• Stout Mushroom Gravy (not pictured).
• Popcorn Cauliflower (left)
• Sweet Stout-Roasted Root Vegetables (right)

VeggieDag Thursday is an occasional Thursday post
on an animal-free diet and ecological issues.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Briarcliff Pumpkin Patch (and Borani Kadoo).

Years ago, my Lithuanian-American parents introduced me to Afghan food. And it was love at first aromatic pumpkin bite.

Borani Kadoo is Afghan pumpkin stew, savory, spiced with heat and sweet. That description does it injustice. Here's a recipe via the San Francisco Chronicle:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 3-pound sugar pie pumpkin
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 small jalapeno pepper, halved, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Pinch salt

PROCEDURE

• Puree the onion in a food processor. Heat the oil in a 14-inch saute pan or large casserole over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 10 minutes.


• While the onion is cooking, cut the pumpkin. Set the pumpkin on its side and use a sharp chef's knife or bread knife to cut the top and bottom off the pumpkin. Put the pumpkin right side up and cut off the peel, trying to remove as little of the flesh as possible. Cut the pumpkin in half down the middle and scoop out the seeds and string. Save the seeds for toasting if you like. Cut the pumpkin into 1-inch-thick wedges and cut those wedges in half crosswise.


• Once the onion is tender, add the garlic, jalapeno, tomato paste, turmeric, ginger, sugar, salt and 1 1/2 cups of broth. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.


• Once the mixture boils, turn the heat to low and gently press the pumpkin pieces into the onion/broth mixture so the pumpkin is tightly tucked into the pan. It's OK if the pieces overlap somewhat. Every few minutes, move the pumpkin around so all the pieces cook evenly in the sauce and the bottoms don't burn. Add more liquid if the pan gets dry. Cook until the pumpkin is fork-tender but doesn't lose its shape (about 30 minutes).


• While the pumpkin is cooking, combine the yogurt, garlic and salt in a small bowl.


• To serve, spoon the yogurt over the pumpkin and pour any remaining yogurt around the outside edges of the pumpkin. Serve with warm pita or naan bread.

Take it from this Lithuanian-American: cook an Afghan pumpkin; drink a German bock bier. It's quite a cultural melange and, gourd, it's good.

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