Happy Single Awareness Day: Mushroom Stroganoff With Charred Brussels Sprouts

I made a pleasant Galentine's Day dinner last night sans the originally planned dreamy chocolate cake. Yes. Yes, I had planned to make a fabulous moist chocolate cake with sliced cinnamon bananas and mountains of heaping So Delicious Coco Whipped Cream to go alongside my Buffy and Cold Case marathons. In fact, my mouth still waters at the sumptuous concoction still swirling around in my Willy Wonka-n imagination, especially on this day where chocolate should rule the day. Alas the energy dwindled from a long day of library books and drawing on my litho stone for my CE printmaking class.

Rough layout sketch of Augusta Savage's life with No. 4 litho crayon on the heavy 14" x 17" stone.

Not quite finished. I'm filling in the whole measured rectangle and adding darks and razor bladed highlights. Augusta Savage will be part of a printmaking series on Black Herstory Month women.

After I returned home from hours spent in the print shop, I stood in the kitchen, reflecting on cooking memories.
Traditional stroganoff at my childhood home was a rarity. It was one of those Hamburger Helper box type situations where Mom just added the meat and extra sour cream. We didn't eat it often. I must say, however, it was a favorite pasta dish of mine next to the Fettuccine Alfredo and mac and cheese. There was something deliciously appealing about the combination of al deinte ribbon noodles coated in a light creamy sauce.

I liked the addition of Brussels Sprouts to give the fork a bit of flair to sink into. The preparation of mushroom sauce and reusing that same gas burner gets things started nice and hot, quickening pace for the sizzling flicker on the little green cabbages of joy.

Also, I didn't have vegan sour cream for my rotini styled in a stroganoff fashion. I don't think it is absolutely necessary, but for one who wants to mimic tradition as much as possible perhaps it would be beneficial to have that on hand. In the meantime, the dish turned out splendidly well with a lovely savory sauce and charred crispy edged Brussels Sprouts.
As for dessert, there is always tomorrow for chocolate cake.

Mushroom Stroganoff With Charred Brussels Sprouts Ingredients and Preparation

2 cup rotini (or noodles)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 cup portobello mushrooms
2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 cup almond milk (or any other nondairy alternative)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

olive oil
2 cup frozen petite Brussels Sprouts
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Prepare rotini according to package directions.
In a skillet combine olive oil, garlic, and mushrooms. Let cook for 5-7 minutes.
Add nutritional yeast. turmeric, onion powder, almond milk, salt, and pepper to seared mushrooms. Stir and simmer for an additional 7-10 minutes.
Remove from heat and blend with rotini pasta.

For Brussels Sprouts, bring them to a boil and drain.
Let skillet heat up with olive oil for a few seconds before adding the sprouts.
Add cumin, sea salt, and black pepper, turning them around every few minutes, watching for various sides to blacken.

Happy Single Awareness Day & Fair Trade Approved Chocolate Avocado Pudding

A sweet divine treat to celebrate another year of 2/14.

In the words of of Lin Manuel-Miranda, "love is love is love is love is love is love is love......."
Happy Single Awareness Day for my darling attachment free friends.
Happy Valentine's Day to lucky ones joined at hearts with someone to adore and treasure whether that's a beloved beau or an adorable furry pet.
Originally, my plans were to make Food From Africa's illustrious Berbere-Spice Chocolate Pudding. Berbere, a spice blend used in Ethiopian cuisine, includes ginger, garlic, chili peppers, cumin, coriander, cardamom, fenugreek, and other ingredients. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a cheat sheet Berbere anywhere. Frontier, a popular brand for great organic spice blends, actually makes one that can be purchased on Amazon. I enjoyed reading Enem recounting a friend's Ethiopian mom handcrafting an ancient spice blend. Plus Enem's eloquent pictures are quite seductive and captured in a brilliant light. Still, her recipe saved for another day, a day in which I'll share how amazing a touch of spiciness brings to classic chocolate pudding.
There are not enough words to speak on the greatness of mixing creamy, ripened avocados with chocolate and homemade date syrup.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding Ingredients and Preparation

I used Equal Exchange's Organic Baking Cocoa which provided ample chocolaty flavor. In the meantime, I'll be searching for the perfect fair trade cacao/carob powder for future chocolate dessert recipes.

2 ripened avocados
1 11oz So Delicious Culinary Coconut Milk  (or 1 can of 14 oz coconut milk)
1/4 cup Raw Date Syrup (or maple or agave nectar or Bee Free Honee)
3 tablespoon fair trade cocoa powder (used Equal Exchange)
pinch of cinnamon

Date syrup!

Almost perfect avocado.

Blend all ingredients together, whipping it to velvety consistency. You may or may not see a heart or two in the blender. Eat promptly at warm room temperature or chill in the refrigerator for later.

Trying to make a heart, but failed. Chocolate avocado pudding is topped with Nature's Path Love Crunch Premium Organic Granola in Chocolate & Red Berries and pieces of Tazo Chocolate's Raspberry Crunch Bar.

Yummy blissful dessert waits for no one. Enjoy.

Know Your Chocolate's Soul & Valentine's/Single Awareness Day Suggestions

Make February 14th (and beyond) special by purchasing fair trade, slave free chocolate. Here's Food Empowerment Project's Official Chocolate List.

The vegan chocolate industry is another eye-opening horror to glare at. Very disappointed, very heartbroken in discovering that most of my favorites lay in the Not Recommended-- Enjoy Life Foods, Chocolove, Go Max Go, Clif Bar.....
Key points in F.E.P.'s listing:

To help people buy chocolate that does not involve the enslavement of human (children or adults) or non-human animals (such as cows and goats). 
To make sure consumers are informed about where companies stand on the issue. 
To encourage consumers to contact the companies and let them know how they feel!

 
I look forward to doing my part and stop eating/supporting bad companies. New chocolates it is.
However, I wish to be of bigger aide-- move to West Africa or attempt growing cacao beans in Philadelphia.  I will look further into seeing what more can be done-- campaigning and whatnot. I may love chocolate to death, but not at the cost of young lives. These beautiful children are likely deceived into believing farming is their only purpose. And most never get to eat the chocolate. *sighs* 
Other less saddened news, it is another year of Single Womanhood, another year of red and pink filling every store. My Sunday plans include watching Girlfriends, soaking medjool dates for truffles, making a fabulous dinner, mud mask facial treatment and deep conditioning my hair. It's going to be awesome-- or as my friends say "super lit."
I have included romantic ideas for two (or one) that are still memorably delicious.
But the best thing of all is knowing that my chocolate bar dessert saved for tomorrow hasn't been sourced from a child slavery area.

Top Entree & Top Dessert Ideas for Valentine's/Single Awareness Day

Roasted Tofu With Blueberry Fig Sauce And Butternut Squash

Be super duper fancy with roasted tofu topped with a sweet reduction blueberry-fig sauce. Best with candlelight and light jazz.

 Roasted Tomato & Mozzarella Pizza Hearts

Nothing says cute like a heart shaped dish-- a pizza made from scratch that is! Roasted tomatoes and bubbly vegan cheese wins atop of a delicious, hearty crust.

Baked Cashew Cheese Penne, Spinach, & Almond Puree

A creative effort of using both cashews and almonds in a single pasta dish that impressed me. Plus, one of the rare occasions I used spinach over broccoli. *gasps*

Hot Chocolate Fudge Sauced Bananas

Chocolate is the ultimate sign of devotion, especially when involving dipped fruit. Strawberries and cherries may be other people's treat menus, but peeled and quartered bananas glistening in hot chocolate satisfaction would bring anyone's heart to a melting boil.

Lemon Raspberry Bread

This inviting sweet bread just screams romantic with its vanilla dripped icing and luscious red raspberries the color of rosy lips begging for a goodnight kiss.

Vanilla Banana Chai Tea Ice Cream

Blending a frozen banana with Bolthouse Farms Vanilla Soy Chai Tea Latte would be a great idea. But I went the other way around, steeping tea and freezing the tea before blending with a frozen banana. That's true love and dedication.

Roasted Tofu With Blueberry-Fig Sauce And Butternut Squash

Heart shaped tofu "cutlets" dressed in a luxurious blueberry-fig sauce.

Happy belated Single Awareness Day! Oh and Valentine's to those whom celebrate it.
There's almost too much amazing things happening in  the world. Too much! First of all, I have been accepted into the Masters of Fine Arts Program here at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. How can I not be over the moon about that? I have received a merit, alumnus, and portfolio awards, but need more. Now I've been researching other grant and scholarship opportunities, spoke with the Student Services advisor, and feel confident about fall 2014! I still cannot believe it! I'm going for the MFA!!!
I'm also really psyched about going to Brooklyn next week for Apothecary Theatre Company's Anti-Valentine's Day Party. The theme happens to be Edgar Allen Poe's Annabel Lee. I sort of wanted to go in hopes of seeing Tom Pelphrey, an actor from Guiding Light (I miss Guiding Light a lot- once my favorite soap opera and it hasn't held that honorable title in 7 years) who is a founding member and artistic director of ATC. Maybe it'll happen. Maybe it won't. Still, how can one pass up the opportunity to watch three different interpretations of Poe's haunting poem and possibly go to yummy Terri's after?
In the meantime, to celebrate yesterday's February 14th, Single Awareness Day, I made an unbelievably delicious dish thanks in part to a recipe (meant to prepare beloved cute ducks in *sniffles*, but tofu is the perfect replacement) sent by a classmate. Thanks Tim!
I never made a savory sauce with blueberries let alone figs, but the combination over top roasted tofu tasted like something out of a gourmet cookbook. The sweet tartness bring a compelling element that is simply too impossible to resist. From first bite to finish, this is an amazing dish for both singles and couples. Certainly don't need it to be February 14th to make it either.

Blueberry-Fig Sauce

1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoon water
2 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup dried figs, diced finely
3/4 cup blueberries
salt and pepper

Roasted Tofu and Butternut Squash

5 slices tofu, about 1- 1/2 inch thick
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic
2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb. butternut squash, diced (I used Trader Joe's)
green onion

Stir sugar and water over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil without stirring until mixture is deep amber- about 8 minutes. Stir in vinegar (mixture will bubble). Add broth. Simmer until reduced to 1 cup, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in dried figs. Let stand 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix olive oil, garlic, Italian seasonings, coriander, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper.
Evenly coat tofu slices in the marinade and lay on a greased baking sheet.
Mix butternut squash with a smidgeon of olive oil, green onions, salt, and black pepper.

Lay butternut squash cubes around the tofu. Roast for 30 minutes. Turning over halfway at the fifteen minute mark.

Reheat sauce and add blueberries. Allow to thicken. Should be about 20 minutes more. Be patient. I love the little figgy dots. Pretty. Add a minute pinch of salt and black pepper. Turn off heat.

Layer a bit of sauce onto tofu cutlets.

Dig in!!!

Happy Single Awareness & Valentine's Day

I was uber excited for Single Awareness Day also known as Valentine's, knowing that I would be spending it watching a lot of romance flicks including my faves- "Chocolat," "Moulin Rouge," "Bridget Jones' Diary," and others in pajamas!
But a trip to Dorothy Lane Market- a ritzy upscale gourmet grocery store that at times have amazing deals and price mark downs was what I needed to fully prepare for the evening's dinner menu. (psyched about finding $2 hand tossed vegan dough! pizza for tomorrow's post maybe?)

I cooked the macaroni first until al deinte, worked in olive oil, a handful of Daiya cheddar shreds, a dash of mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, and soy milk. After scooping into a mini ceramic baking pan, I added a mixture of flour, seasonings, olive oil, and extra cheese on top.
Gardein's Chick'n Scallopini filets are coated in Kikkoman's Panko Bread Crumbs, an Italian seasonings blend, salt, pepper, and olive oil before being placed on a greased cookie sheet next to macaroni and cheese.
Already precooked and grilled, the asparagus only took a few minutes in the microwave.
Dinner was amazing! Absolutely enjoyed the crunch of the chick'n. So crisp and flavorful.

Dessert, however, almost a complete disaster! Haha!
I honestly believe those ceramic baking pans are no good! No wonder they were fifty cents each.
Or perhaps I'm being way too hard on them.
I made an experimental mini cake comprised of flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, cocoa powder, applesauce, dark chocolate peanut butter, vanilla coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, blueberries, and pieces of Lindt's 90% Supreme Dark Chocolate bar.
The best part of the catastrophe was the darn chocolate sauce- 6 Lindt squares, 20 blueberries, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk.

Strange thing- half of the cake was a great, yummy addiction.
I couldn't put it down, scaring the cat with my excessive moaning joy as I savored the indulgence. That burst of hot blueberries, melted dark chocolate pieces, along with that amazing warm sauce tasted absolutely incredible, like a major chocolaty orgasmic taste bud explosion.
I was dying from an aphrodisiac's pleasure as I consumed, happily eating and eating and eating...
Until then.....
The other part was a soggy, very custardly mess that even the largest spoonful of chocolate sauce couldn't save.
Oh well...
Sadly, I threw out the cake, a bit confused as to why it fell flat at the last few bites, but sauce, however, is worth saving.
Perhaps it would go well on breakfast/brunch waffles, fresh strawberries, and other treats!
Quite frankly, I could just eat it warmed up and alone.
It's that good!