FOOD LEAGUE

These truffles are delicious, easy, and vegan.

If this is your first time to make this recipe, double the batch so you can have more to experiment with, but MAKE SURE that the proportions are kept as above. Slight alterations do not bode well for these bites of chocolate deliciousness. I used to prefer Silk’s chocolate soymilk because it was organic and had the best flavor, but Silk discreetly discontinued using organic soybeans for most of their offerings, so I recommend any company that uses organic soybeans from the USA.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Warm soymilk until hot to the touch. Set aside.

2. Melt chocolate chips in large metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. (A double boiler also works.) Stir in warmed soymilk until smooth. If you want to put cayenne pepper and cinnamon in some of the truffles (I recommend putting them both in one small batch), spoon some of the melted mixture in a small separate bowl and add the cayenne and cinnamon. You don’t want to add them to the whole mixture and it is too hard to add them after the mixture has solidified in the refrigerator.

3. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. I recommend overnight. If you do not let the chocolate sit for more than four hours, they will melt in your hand before you have the chance to roll them.

4. Place cocoa on a plate and the chopped almonds on another. Shape chilled chocolate mixture into 1-inch balls (think small), and roll in cocoa and almonds. For the peanut butter, heat it up and put it in a pastry tube if you have one. Criss-cross across the top.  Store finished truffles in refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

If you want to try something a little different, put some goat cheese on top of a couple truffles that have not been rolled in the cocoa powder or almonds.

Adapted from a Vegetarian Times recipe.

An experiment by author Joann Bruso yielded some interesting results on its one year anniversary. She kept a Happy Meal in her office for an entire year and it never decomposed.

According to Bruso, ”It NEVER smelled bad. The food did NOT decompose. It did NOT get moldy, at all.” She adds, “I think ants, mice and flies are smarter than people, because they weren’t fooled. They never touched the Happy Meal. Children shouldn’t either.”

I guess it’s not so surprising. We all ate our fair share of happy meals when we were kids and at least we now know that we probably have a whole lot of happy meal still floating around in us today…

I haven’t always loved bread pudding. But there’s a simple reason why — I’d never had great bread pudding.

Even though I’ve spent five years  trying to hone my instinct for casseroles (both sweet and savory), I knew that this one deserved a recipe. It’s just close enough to baking that I wanted to start with the science. And when I need peer-reviewed recipes, I tend to go for Cook’s Illustrated. They had just published a Classic Bread Pudding recipe, which I followed down to the little t in each teaspoon. It was wonderfully creamy, the bread and custard mixture had a perfect texture, and the flavor was balanced between egg and cream. But no nutmeg?  Why, CI, would you eliminate the spices?  I wasn’t invested in their interpretation of classic, so I aimed for delicious by adding spices and apples.  It worked — I was trying to be sneaky about nabbing a bite after it had been out of the oven for  only six minutes. Which begs the question: for whom was I so delicately covering up the evidence of my nibble?

If you’re in Portland, I recommend the rotating flavors of bread pudding at Crema. They use chocolate a bit too much for my taste, but I’m inspired by their other flavors. Upcoming variations will include pecans, figs, berries, pears, and/or ginger. Check out the recipe after the jump.

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After many a conversation with Trader Joe’s “wine stewards,” I have some advice for customers of TJ’s wine section. I put wine stewards in quotes because, while most of them are knowledgeable about wine, they have little/no choice in choosing the wines they offer. Follow these rules at TJ’s and you will end up with a tastier bottle:

1.  Never buy wines labeled Trader’s Joe Exclusive. If they are only sold at TJ’s, it is almost guaranteed they are complete crap. The exception to this is often TJ’s own wine priced $10 and under, which is often organic, and at least gulpable. A wine steward told me this exactly and my experience agrees.

2.  The “wine steward’s selections” will differ from store to store, but they are usually the best bet for moderately priced and tasty wines. (more…)

DC Vegetarian
SW 3rd between Stark and Washington
Monday – Friday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Vegetarian food is in no short supply in Portland’s food cart community. Every cart has vegetarian options. Fewer carts, however, have devoted themselves entirely to the art of vegetarian eating. DC Vegetarian, dubbing themselves a “no kill cart”, is consciously minded, supports local food, and have some damn delicious options.

I haven’t tasted everything on the menu, partly because I already have my favorites. If you want to get full for lunch and want a sandwich that very well may satisfy the direst meat-a-tarians, get the Steak and Cheese. This sandwich is overflowing (I usually eat half of it with a fork because the seitan has fallen onto my plate) with house seitan strips, grilled onions and peppers, cheese, and mayo/special sauce. I usually choose dairy cheese with vegenaise (weird, I know), but they have vegan cheese too. The sandwich is only $5  = an insane deal. The only other contender to the Steak and Cheese is the Chicken Salad, which usually weighs more and could fool many an unassuming real chicken eater. The Italian sub doesn’t explode out of the wrapping like the Steak and Cheese, but definitely hits the spot. The vegan cookies are tasty.  The soups are not the best among the carts, but they aren’t horrible either. Bring your own to-go and get 25 cents off. This cart is here to stay.

Their web site is no frills, but they update it with holiday hours and have links to their Facebook page and Twitter feed.  Visit DC Vegetarian on the web.