(What the) Halawa (are in these) Treats (?)

One of my favorite places to explore is the Flint Farmer's Market. One of the permanent spaces at the market is occupied by Jawhari's Beirut Restaurant from Linden, Michigan (click here for a review and directions). In addition to cooking up all sorts of great-smelling dishes, they sell a large variety of Middle Eastern specialties. Since going vegetarian (and then vegan) I always make sure to stop at their booth and pick up something I haven't tried before. Yesterday I came home with sugar-free Halawa (a tahini "fudge") and a bottle of pomegranate syrup. I grabbed a fresh pomegranate as well and on the ride home I started to think of what I could do to create something new.

Here's my experiment. I added a few ingredients (like chocolate and pistachios) and came up with a truffle-like treat. It's sweet, but not too sweet, and definitely a new and unique flavor combination for someone like me.

Halawa Treats

4 tablespoons sugar-free halawa
3 tablespoons pomegranate syrup
Fresh pomegranate seeds from 1 wedge of a quartered pomegranate (or ¼ cup dried pomegranate seeds)
½ cup salted pistachios
2 tablespoons natural sugar (plus more for rolling)
1 king-sized bar dark chocolate



1. Combine all ingredients (excluding seeds and chocolate) in a food processor and blend until smooth. Alternately blend with a hand mixer in a bowl.
2. Fold in seeds. Take a tester of the mixture; if it's not sweet enough, add more sugar until it's to your liking. Using a tablespoon measure, portion out mixture into balls and roll in additional sugar.
3. Place balls in freezer for about 10 minutes until they firm up a bit.
4. Melt chocolate in the microwave or in a double-boiler.
5. Roll balls in melted chocolate and allow them to harden on wax paper.
6. If you use fresh seeds your ingredients will be more moist, so you may want to freeze the treats and serve them cold. If you used dried seeds you'll find that they hold up nicely at room temperature. Makes about 1 dozen.

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Branden's Dinner (with "The Green Stuff")

I love being a teacher. Even on my worst days, it beats folding shirts at The Gap for a living (which I did, briefly, much to the consternation of the company). One of the best things about teaching high school is that I get to watch kids come in as a group of goofy freshman and be a part of how they grow and mature towards their senior year. Some students stick with you, too, and even now, a few thousand kids later, I could probably tell a former student just where he or she sat in my classroom.

Branden and I hit it off from the very beginning. For one thing, he was nearly 6' 7" as a 9th grader to my 5' 1", which he found endlessly amusing. I had Branden for numerous classes during his four years in high school and I never remember seeing him without a huge smile. It was infectious and it still is.

Branden struggled a lot with his weight in high school. Yes, he was tall, but he was also much heavier than he wanted to be. Then, one day, something seemed to "click," and he began to transform into the man we all knew he could be. He began working out in earnest when he started to play football his freshman year in college. The rigor of the program, a dedication to eating healthily, and Branden's never-ending optimism have all made him virtually unrecognizable (with the exception of his smile).

Over the years, Branden has become part of my family. With his mom's blessing he's always managed to fit in some time with us when he comes home from college. When he came to dinner this last time he asked if he could help cook. He's really dedicated to lean proteins and low fat eating, so together we whipped up a quick, easy, healthful meal that he can recreate on his own back at the ATO house. We didn't use a recipe because it was more about tastes and techniques and creating something he could do later on his own. He declared it "awesome" and said "the green stuff" was "EFFING fantastic." I love those college boys!


Some of our ingredients: shallots, spinach, mushrooms, avocado, garlic and tempeh.



Branden preparing the red quinoa (1 cup quinoa to 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth)



Shallots

 
Branden crying like a girl because the shallots burned his peepers.



Making the "Green Stuff," as Branden christened it.  Scoop out 1 avocado.





Add about a tablespoon of Italian herbs.



Add about a tablespoon of minced garlic.



Add between 1 to 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast.



Add ingredients to food processor.



Add some low sodium broth until it thins out to a sauce consistency.  Taste it and add some salt if needed.  Pop it in the fridge so it's cold to serve.  It was so yummy!



Quick frying of shallots, garlic and mushrooms in a little olive oil.




I had Brandon add little bits of low-sodium vegetable broth, cooking it down until it really reduced and concentrated the flavor.  It adds a buttery flavor without the butter (and fat).



Just before plating the vegetables, Branden adds some ground, toasted almonds for a little texture.





Veggies aren't Veggerific until they get some spinach love!



Here we're trying to capture the comical difference in our height . . .





We cut tempeh in half length-wise and width-wise, then browned it up with olive oil and some sea salt.





Branden says, "Effing FANTASTIC!"

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Drunk-as-a-Skunk Sweet Potato Cups

In my opinion, sweet potatoes are one of the greatest things ever to grow out of the ground. And seeing as this is my blog my opinion is the only one that matters, right? This recipe is adapted from an older Emeril Lagasse dish. It's veganized but really does taste like the original recipe. Try it out before Thanksgiving- you may just find a new side dish for the big day.


Brandied Sweet Potato Cups

5 large sweet potatoes
4 large oranges, cut in half and scooped out so rinds remain
1 stick Earth Balance
½ cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs' equivalent of Egg Replacer
¾ cup fresh orange juice
½ cup silken tofu, beaten in food processor until creamed
¼ cup brandy (optional. I used ginger-flavored)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt



1. Preheat the oven to 400º. Place potatoes on a baking sheet and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and let rest until just cool enough to handle. Alternately, boil potatoes if pressed for time. Just make sure to drain them well.
2. Lower the oven to 350º. Make the orange cups by cutting oranges in half and scooping out pulp, leaving only the shell. Set aside.
3. While still somewhat hot, peel potatoes and place in a large bowl. Add Earth Balance, and use an electric mixer to blend until smooth. Add sugar, Egg Replacer, orange juice, tofu, and brandy, and mix until smooth. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and mix well.
4. Spoon sweet potato mixture into orange cups. Sprinkle tops with nutmeg or cinnamon. Bake until puffed and slightly golden, about 20 minutes.

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Stuffed Eggplant Appetizers

My amazing cousins Jean and Jerry had the best baby shower I ever attended for many reasons, not the least of which was the food. It was catered and there were all sorts of good things to nibble on as we celebrated Molly's impending arrival.

One dish that I especially loved was a stuffed eggplant appetizer. They were presented beautifully and had all sorts of interesting flavors and textures. I've thought about making them myself over the years but never have. Problem with me is that I love eggplant too much, and breaded eggplant is the cat's pajamas. It's hard for me to be patient and do something more to it when it already looks so good.

Having this blog has motivated me to pull out all those clippings and handwritten recipes that I've kept close for years. Even though many have meat as a main component I still like having them close to me, like old friends. I dug into a box last night and pulled this idea out. The note read: Eggplant appetizer from Jean's shower. Pasta, cheese, pine nuts, and some other stuff.

I knew what I meant by that note, but since you might not I've written out the recipe I made up below. :0)

Stuffed Eggplant Appetizers

3 small eggplants, peeled and sliced lengthwise into thin pieces (mine were too thick. If you have a mandolin use that)
1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for frying
Uncooked spaghetti (enough to fit your index finger and thumb
around)
½ cup flour
1 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
½ cup corn meal
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes or ½ cup vegan Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 eggs' equivalent of Egg Replacer (or more as needed)
½ cup prepared pesto (or Italian seasoning that comes in a tube)
½ cup vegan mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ cup toasted pine nuts, whole or chopped fine



1. Break spaghetti up into quarters or thirds and cook according to package directions. Drain well. In a bowl, toss cooked spaghetti with a little olive oil to keep it from getting sticky and set aside.
2. Cut each slice of eggplant into strips, making rectangles of equal size. A pizza cutter works wonders at this as it doesn’t tear the eggplant. Save the eggplant “scraps” and use them in your morning tofu scramble!
3. Put the flour in a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs, corn meal, grated vegan Parmesan or nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and pepper. Stir to mix well. In one more bowl, prepare Egg Replacer.
4. Coat eggplant rectangles very lightly in flour; shake off excess. Dip pieces in Egg Replacer then dredge in bread crumb mixture to coat. Let breaded eggplant rest for about 10 minutes.
5. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Fry breaded eggplant until golden on both sides. Drain very well on paper towels. Let eggplant cool to room temperature. While cooling, preheat your oven to 350°.
6. When cooled, spread some pesto on the strip then place about 1 tablespoon of spaghetti mixture at the bottom of each rectangle.
7. Sprinkle some pine nuts and vegan Mozzarella on top of spaghetti.
8. Roll rectangles up from bottom and place on a non-stick cookie sheet, seam end on bottom. Use toothpick to keep them closed, or put them on skewers as I did. Trim off any spaghetti that hangs over the sides with kitchen shears.
9. Bake until heated through, about 8 minutes. Cut each roll in half, if desired, for bite-size pieces. Serve hot or at room temperature.

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