Vegan Mac and Chees(ish)

I made a shit ton of pasta the other night.  I don't know what I was thinking.  Cooking for 3 shouldn't challenge my ability to judge portion, but here I am with 2 pounds of pasta in the fridge.  I found this recipe on CHOW.  I think it was written by Katharine Brydges.  I could be wrong, but at least I tried to give credit where it is deserved.

my photo skills are severely lacking so I force you to look at these grainy blurry poorly staged pieces of garbage that do the food absoulutely no justice. but I'm cooking to eat, not to dazzle the internet.

INGREDIENTS

•                1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil (or more for the roasted veggies)

•                2 medium yellow onions, small dice

•                1/2 medium head of broccoli (about 12 ounces), stems trimmed to 1/2 inch and cut into 1-inch florets

•                1/2 medium head of cauliflower (about 10 ounces), stems trimmed to 1/2 inch and cut into 1-inch florets

•                2 medium garlic cloves, minced

•                1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed

•                1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed

•                1 pound elbow macaroni

•                1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk

•                1/3 cup whole toasted walnuts

•                2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

•                1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

•                1 teaspoon paprika

•                3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

•                3/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk

INSTRUCTIONS

•                Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

•                Place 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add the onions and cook, stirring rarely, until deep golden brown and caramelized, about 1 hour. Season well with salt and pepper, remove to a medium bowl, and set aside.

•                Meanwhile, place the broccoli, cauliflower, and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil, season with 1 teaspoon of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper, and toss to combine. Roast in the oven until the vegetables are browned in spots and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack and set aside.

•                Bring a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions or until just al dente. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water until cooled and the pieces are no longer sticking to each other (make sure to stir the pasta while rinsing); set aside in the colander. Reserve the pot (no need to rinse).

•                While the pasta is cooking, place the coconut milk and walnuts in a blender and blend until smooth; set aside.

•                Wipe out any water in the reserved pot, add the remaining 1/4 cup of oil, and place over medium heat until shimmering. Add the flour, Dijon, paprika, cayenne, remaining 1 tablespoon of salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and whisk until smooth. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the flour has darkened slightly in color, about 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in the nutritional yeast and cook, whisking occasionally, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.

•                While whisking constantly, slowly add the reserved coconut mixture, then the soy milk, until evenly combined and smooth. (It will get very thick when you first add the coconut mixture, then thin out when you add the soy milk.) Increase the heat to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a simmer and thickens, about 5 minutes.

•                Stir in the reserved pasta, caramelized onions, and roasted vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta and vegetables are heated through and steaming, about 3 minutes. Taste and season with salt and black pepper as needed.

A quick blurb.  I am not vegan.  I get asked this question quite often these days.  Not Vegan.  I love animals.  I would do anything for my animals, I wouldn't eat them.  I like steak, though.  I like chicken. I think pigs are cute and I think bacon is decadent.  I also think that human ego is disgusting and the way the meat that we consume is acquired and processed is horrifying.  Ethics are tough in this situation.  I believe that we have an obligation to those animals that provide us with the food that we consume.  I think a great amount of dignity is lost when a cow is brutalized with a hammer by some toothless sociopath at a factory slaughterhouse.  The Nuer use an extremely sharp spear and puncture the heart of their sacrifice.  They pray for it and thank it and use every last scrap for food or tools or shelter.  They revere their cattle for they are the world in which their tribe lives.  Americans stuff their cow into warehouses and pump them full of hormones and then torture them.  I know all of this.  I've watched the Vegan Shock films.  I openly admit that I would ball my eyes out if I had to kill a pig to eat it.  The issue I struggle with, though, is this.  If all omnivores stopped eating grocery store meat and stood up for animal rights would the factory meat industry cease to exist?  What happens to the massive amount of beef cattle and pigs and chickens that were grown for consumption and couldn't ever survive on their own?  There aren't enough animal sanctuaries or stretches of land to retire them to.  I think my point (which I seem to have drafted without much backing) is that I hate knowing what I know about slaughterhouses and meat production and, sometimes, I hate that I like to eat a burger.  So just in case shit hits the fan and we are faced with a massive epidemic of mad cow or some other livestock devastating disease I'm learning how to use nutritional yeast and make egg replacer.

Bangin' Brown Bread

This recipe is amazing.  It's simple, fast, and fucking delicious.  Irish Brown Bread is my favorite bread.  It goes great with anything, but is particularly effective at sopping up the remnants of soups and stews.  The beauty of this recipe is how easy it is to add on to it.

Blueberry and Goji Brown Bread

1 cup of all purpose flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
11/2 tablespoons of cold butter or margarine (butter if you're not picky because it's way better.)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 quick cooking oats
11/2 cups of greek blueberry yogurt
3 tablespoons of dried goji berries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix all purpose flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Add butter and cut in with two butter knives or a pastry blender until mix forms little crumbs.  Mix oats, whole wheat flour, and goji berries.  Add yogurt and stir in slowly.  Dough should be firm and moist, but not sticky.  If too dry add a tiny bit of cold milk until moist enough.  Turn dough onto floured board and need into a ball.  If the dough is sticky a liberally floured board will fix it.  Push dough into seven inch circle and cut an X into it with a floured knife.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.  Serve hot with butter!

HI! Plus Curry and Sweet Potato Chowder

It has been a long while since I've logged into this blog.  Alot of changes.  New job, new hobby, new cooking interests.

This recipe is something I've been making and working on perfecting for a few months now.  It is my wife's favorite dish of mine and so I find myself making it quite frequently.  It is perfect for cold days and really only takes about an hour to prep, cook and serve.

Curry Sweet Potato Chowder-

3 tablespoons margarine
1 finely diced onion
3 potatoes peeled and diced 
3/4 cup of chopped celery 
2 cups of sliced carrots
1 red pepper diced
1-2 tablespoons of indian curry powder (truthfully, i dont measure this out.)
2-3 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
dash of clove or cinnamon 
3 cups of veggie broth
3 cups of milk
dash of dried parsley
1/4 cup of cold water
1/4 cup of corn starch

melt margarine in dutch oven over medium heat and add onions.  cook til transluscent.  and celery and red pepper and cook for 10 minutes (carrots ought to be starting to feel tender).  add water, broth, potatoes and salt/pepper and bring to boil and then turn down to simmer for 15-20 minutes or until everything is tender.  add milk and parsely and bring to boil.  while soup comes to a boil mix corn starch and cold water until all starch is dissolved.  remove from heat once boiling, add water/starch mixture and serve hot!

Whoa, Hi.  Long nap.  Need Coffee!

I have been out of the loop for a long time.  Roasting ended, although I'm still looking for new work!  So if any of you roasteries need a roaster here I am!

Currently I'm doing some consulting for Zen Roasters here in CT.  They are a great bunch of people looking to roast the best coffee they can.  They roast on a 5lb San Franciscan.  I'm having a great time working with such enthusiastic learners.  And they don't need much from me.  They're a small up and coming roaster with a lot to offer so pick up a bag and support some upstarts!

Besides that, I graduated from college! and am trying to go back already.  haha.  glutton for punishment.  I'm trying to make it to MANE this year as well.  Last years roasters track was a great tool and I'm excited to see what Gerra and the New Harvest crew have in store for this years conference.

Also, if you're local in CT come check out Goodnight Blue Moon at any of our upcoming shows!

I'll try and do this more often since It's been idle for nearly two years...

Roasting...

I am a slacker. I haven't been posting at all and I apologize. However, I bring new content. Yes, I said new content.

I was presented with the opportunity to learn to roast!!! Blue State Coffee took over a roastery in South Windsor, CT after Day Break Roasters decided it was time for retirement. New Harvest Coffee was kind enough to impart their plethora of roasting knowledge on to myself and one of BSC's owners, Alex Payson.

It is amazing! That may even be the understatement of the year. I love roasting. There is soooo much to pay attention to. For those of you that have roasted or are roasters, I humbly bow to you for I have so much to learn. All that I can say is that I have found my place in the coffee world. I think that it's the attention required to roast effectively. Controlling the temperature over a specific amount of time all the while listening and watching and smelling!

And because of this new position I get to search for new great green coffee to bring in! My favorite right now is the Bali Blue Moon. It's just so complex. It's also not easy to roast. The beans vary a great deal in size, which means the overall profile is a bit varied too. Some roast dark, while others appear lighter. This makes for a really unique cup! Come down to 84 Wall ST and try some!

I'll be back with more once I've gotten into so more new coffees! Until then, dry your portafilters!

It's been sometime... Oops.

So, it really has been a few months. August if I'm not mistaken? I've been busy. School is well under way and fully kicking my ass. I've been rendered nearly useless regarding any non-work, non-school endeavours! Boo-fucking-hoo.

I suppose this brings us to the present. Today officially starts my first day as Blue State Coffee's Coffee Trainer for New Haven. A small achievement, but an achievement non-the-less. I passed the 2.0 Barista Certification and now get to spend my Fridays honing my skills and helping others perfect theirs! So thanks in advance for the congrats and gifts. I wear a medium.

I have also been bringing in some new coffees recently. We have a new edition to the Sidamo family. The Guji Triple Sort! It's pretty fucking rad. It's a natural process, which means it's sorted by hand. The sorting process is a whole lot more picky as well. Hence the triple sort! Seriously, the process requires a more rigorous sorting process. The cherries are all supposed to be bright and at the peak of ripeness to ensure a consistent, even flavor throughout all roast profiles. Ours comes in as a city roast and certainly lives up to the standards the sorting process requires. We have also been privelaged enough to have one of the best coffees to come out of this years Cup of Excellence qualifiers. Honduras Finca Las Amazonas is one of the most dynamic coffees we've had on at Blue State. So fruity. Really fruity. Really fucking fruity. Clean cup, nice body, and lots and lots of fruit notes. So many it's rather difficult to pick one from another. Notables include- lime, mango, banana, red cherry! Cup this coffee! If you have access to it that is.

I have more, but I'm saving them!

On a side note, the world famous Colombia Don Telmo is back! My favorite coffee. Hands down.

Hope all is well. Happy Turkey Day and all the shit. Dry your portafilters!