Brown Sugar Beer Bread

Beer bread has become one of my favorite recipes in the past couple months, and it’s my second favorite way of consuming beer. (1. Drinking it, 2. Eating it in bread, 3. Eating it in cheese.) It’s such an easy recipe and the beer lends this quick bread a really wonderful hoppy bite. It wasn’t long before I discovered that the slightly sweet addition of brown sugar is a great complement. It all started with an impulse purchase of Lagunitas Brown Shugga’ beer. I loved the festive name and label, as well as the promise of a sweet finish. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite what I expected so I figured if I’m not going to drink it, why don’t I eat it? And it’s called “Brown Shugga” so why don’t I add brown sugar?!?! Thus, brown sugar beer bread was born. It’s wonderful shortly out of the oven when it’s warm, but it’s just fine with me toasted or warmed in the microwave in the following days. It’s a hoppy, slightly sweet dense bread with a somewhat crunchy exterior. Definitely a winter guilty pleasure–although I’m on a healthy, whole foods kick, I wanted to share this recipe because it’s just so easy to make and very appropriate comfort food for the cold months. (Um, try it with chili and you’ll never be cold again.)

Just a note: you don’t have to use this particular beer. You can use what you have on hand. It comes together in less than 10 minutes (and it’s especially easy using a standing mixer though it’s certainly not required.)

Recipe after the jump!

I Need to Tell You About Chickpea Cutlets

If there’s one question I’m tired of hearing, it’s “But where do you get your protein?” You vegetarians & vegans out there know what I’m talking about. Turns out, there’s LOTS of alternative sources of proteins, and not just the fake meats you find in the freezer aisle.

For example, here are the grams of protein in a cup of various vegan foods.

• Spinach, 5g
• Peas, 9g
• Quinoa, 9g
• Tofu, 11g
• Black beans, 15g
• Buckwheat, 24g

And there’s more, trust.

Being a vegetarian who eats vegan most of the time, I’ve learned to get creative and try new things. I’m amazed at some of the incredible, creative vegan recipes I’ve found online. One of my favorite sources is Post Punk Kitchen, from one of the authors of Veganomicon, which is a crazy awesome vegan cookbook that belongs on your shelf.

It is from this glorious text that I first learned about chickpea cutlets. These cutlets make me want to go door to door and evangelize.

Ok, perhaps that’s an exaggeration…but there are so many things I love about this recipe:

• It’s really easy to put together.
• It’s a unique, delicious way to get protein and consume one of my favorite kinds of beans.
• It’s easy to make a big batch to eat throughout the week. (Though I have been known to make a double batch only to eat most of it in one day.)
• The cutlets have a slightly chewy toothsome texture is really satisfying. (Yep, I just used the word toothsome. So what?)
• It’s versatile! You can dress these little cutlets anyway you want. They’re excellent with a vegetarian gravy or tossed in buffalo sauce.

You can find the recipe here on the Post Punk Kitchen website. I definitely encourage you to give it shot, whether you’re a vegetarian or not. Think of it as a little adventure.

A chickpea cutlet with some mashed butternut squash and baby broccoli splashed with vegan worcestershire sauce.

On a slightly different note, I’ve started some mindful eating strategies: trying to plate everything I eat, even it’s a snack, eating while sitting at a table with NO screens on (tv, phone, computer.) I’ve been following these rules faithfully for the most part, but I’ve definitely faltered. Today for example, I was so busy with work, for lunch I just took one of my extra chickpea cutlets out of the fridge and ate it cold while working on a project on my laptop. Then I washed it down with a few truffles from Christmas. That’s exactly what I’m trying to avoid doing. However, it’s a journey and I’ll get better. I’ve been having the most success with these strategies for breakfast so far. It’s really nice to start off the day quiet, enjoying a meal slowly. I just need to continue that peace for the rest of the day.

Adios and may your meals be mindful!

P.S. I looked up the word “toothsome” and as I suspected, it’s peak use was around 1900.

My Favorite Vegetarian/Vegan Spots in Nashville

DCXV Mural

I haven’t mentioned this yet, but I spent the past summer in Nashville for work, mostly stuck on a college campus with a mediocre cafeteria that lacked quality vegetarian options but was free for me while I was there. I quickly burned through the limp salad bar and ate more grilled cheeses than I care to remember, so whenever I got the chance I took advantage of Nashville’s numerous delicious restaurants, including a few spots with stellar vegetarian/vegan menus. If you’re ever in the Music City, give them a try!  (I’m currently deeply longing for dosa from Woodlands.) Here they are in no particular order:

1.  Sunflower Cafe

Sunflower Cafe is a vegan cafe located in a small old house with two huge spools painted like sunflowers in the front. Their most popular item seems to be their veggie burger, which is no surprise. It is, no lie, one of the best veggie burgers I’ve had. In fact, I had many a veggie burger here during the summer and it definitely cost me; it was hard to leave here for no less than $13-15…but then again I was a sucker for the great sides, like the peanut noodles, and the vegan chocolate rose cupcake.  It also has a great deck to eat outside and enjoy a great summer read like Beautiful Ruins.

Sunflower Burger

2.  Woodlands Indian Vegetarian Cuisine

Woodlands is a cozy little restaurant tucked away on West End — and I’m not saying “tucked away” to be cute.  I completely missed it the first time I tried finding it since it is at the bottom level of a building that looks like a hotel or apartment building. The menu offers an extensive variety of Indian food, all of which is vegetarian. I had dosa for the first time here and I fell in love. A giant crepe stuffed with delicious fillings that is so huge it hangs off the already giant plate? Can’t go wrong. (Oh, and the naan and chana masala are also amazing.)

3.  The Wild Cow

The Wild Cow, located in east Nashville, is a favorite spot in the city for vegan food. I was addicted to their vegan buffalo wings but they’ve got lots of great options, like sweet potato black bean tacos. With salads, tacos, appetizers, sweets, sandwiches, and other entrees – there’s definitely a little something to fit whatever mood you’re in. Unfortunately, as many times as I ate there, I couldn’t find a picture so I’ll leave you with a drive-by of the Nashville skyline until I can visit once again.

Summertime for Vegetarians: Vegan Scrambler

Being a vegetarian in the summer is great.  Aside from having to avoid most of the traditional grilled fare at barbecues, nature’s bounty blesses our plates with fresh foods from bursting farmer’s markets.  Admittedly I haven’t been to the farmer’s market nearly as much as I would have liked this summer, but I did get the chance to go recently.  For this particular trip, I decided to run down to the market, which isn’t too far, but the sun was hot and the run was tortuous.  I picked up some  berries, small super-sweet tomatoes, kale, and something called garlic scapes, and I paid with a very damp $20 bill that I pulled from my armband.

First of all, I don’t know why I persist in buying kale when I don’t even like it that much.  Perhaps it’s because it seems uber trendy these days, but I do like that it lasts much longer in my fridge than any other greens, and I do like that it’s good for me.  So I keep buying it and I keep making kale chips or tossing it into whatever I can, such as a vegan scrambler!  (What a winning segue.)

Vegan scramblers, for those that don’t know, are scrambled “eggs” but it’s really scrambled tofu.  I never buy eggs and I’m not a fan of milk, so I usually eat vegan at home and vegetarian when I’m out.  Vegan in the sheets, vegetarian in the streets, if you will.  (This is actually pretty accurate considering the number of times I’ve eaten meals in my bed.)

Vegan scramblers sound a little odd but they are easy to make and really delicious.  It’s one of those “kitchen sink” dishes; whatever you got in your fridge, you can just chop it up and stick it in the scrambler.

This particular scrambler was tex-mex inspired.  I happened to have some vegan “soyrizo” so I cooked that in a little oil.  I chopped up the tomatoes, kale, and garlic scapes.  Garlic scapes were new to me before this dish, but they are essentially the green onions of garlic; they have a grassy, subtle garlic taste.  I added the garlic scapes and kale to the dish and sautéed with the soyrizo.

Then I added the crumbled tofu with a little water and some spices (turmeric for color, pepper, and this spicy mix from The Spice House called “Vulcan Fire Salt,” a mix of cayenne, salt, and various other fiery flavors.)  Finally I added the tomatoes and sautéed a minute or so longer, and then I served it to myself on a bed of blue corn tortilla chips.  I also happened to have some vegan cheese, which I don’t buy very often because it can be kind of weird, but sprinkled on top of this, it was amazing.  (not shown)

The sweet tomatoes were an interesting contrast to the spicy soyrizo and tofu and the subtle undercurrent of garlic brought it together.  It was so good I was compelled to make it again the very next day, and the pic below is of that scrambler.  I “forgot” to add kale to it that time.

Unfortunately summer is almost at an end but with fall comes a new prospects for the plate and an urge to buy school supplies.  Pumpkin butter and fresh notebooks, mmmm…can’t wait.

All the Small Things: Pupusas Stuffed w/ Vegan Chorizo & Platanos Maduros

Sometimes in a small moment, I wonder if I am creating a lasting memory.  I did this upon my first visit to Chicago almost two years ago, standing with my little brother in his first apartment kitchen eating slices of deep dish pizza from around the corner.  I asked myself, will I remember this years from now?

Yesterday I sat at my brother’s table sharing a giant cinnamon bun we got from Whole Foods because the frigid day gave us a craving for one and Ann Sather’s was closed.  We listened to a Nina Simone record and he taught me about Wong Kar Wai’s films and sure enough I turned inward at one point not only to remember that time in the kitchen, but also to wonder if my brain would randomly call upon this current moment sometime in the far future.

Because of this strange self-awareness, I inevitably make memories out of many small moments.  These moments don’t really have much significance.  There’s really no reason for me to remember that the post office clerk yesterday answered my question of “How are you doing today?” with the cool, smooth enthusiasm of an old jazz radio DJ. “I’m supercalifragilistic!” And how he bid me a farewell as if signing off his show. “Have a great day, a great weekend, and a Happy New Year.  I’ll see you on the flip-side.”

There’s no reason for me to remember that on my personal brunch at 3rd Coast Cafe today, while enjoying my coffee and magazines, my thoughts were interrupted by the punching and ringing of an old-fashioned register I hadn’t noticed before.

These are small moments with little significance, but pausing to ask myself if I will remember them, while makes me an observer of my own life for a second, forces me to appreciate the present.  And appreciation allows me to enjoy laid-back lovely weekends such as this one when I can just do whatever my whims call me to do without the pressure of what a fun weekend for a 20-something is supposed to be–whether that’s buying myself brunch and magazines, or making vegan chorizo and frying up the plantains that are finally ripe enough for maduros.

Because I’m trying to use up what’s in my fridge so I can start fresh for the new year, I had to get creative with dinner.  I fried ripe plantains in a little vegetable oil to make plátanos maduros and afterwards the vegan chorizo I made a couple days ago using Terry Romero‘s recipe from Viva Vegan.  Then I chopped it into smaller pieces and used them to stuff them into pupusas.

Pupusas, a traditional Salvadorean dish, are essentially fat corn tortillas stuffed with various fillings.  They’re simple to make since you just add water to Maseca (which is a maize flour you can usually find in the Latin foods section of the grocery store) until it forms a damp dough that you can shape into patties, stuff with whatever you want, and pan fry.  Shaping them is a little tricky, but this is a good step-by-step tutorial.

I haven’t made them in the traditional Salvadorean way quite yet; I have been opting to fill them with whatever I have on hand–in this case, chorizo and plantains!  Since I didn’t have the customary tomato salsa or slaw (curtido), I opted to blend a couple chipotle peppers in adobo sauce with a little vegan mayonnaise, slather it on top, and garnish them with some extra chorizo and plátanos maduros.

It wasn’t the healthiest of meals, but it was pretty delicious for an iron-cheffed dinner.  I also made some hot chocolate with a bar of Olive & Sinclair (a Nashville-based artisan chocolate company) for dessert, just to make extra damn certain that I would spend the rest of the night in food coma.  Highly effective.