Goutweed Soup

By Anni | May 21, 2008 – 20:27

This is just a simple recipe to remind us that not everything edible comes from a supermarket. The name of goutweed reveals a lot - it’s generally thought of as a weed that should be rooted up, not as a green leafy vegetable. The young sprouts can be eaten raw, in salads or on sandwiches, but even the leaves that have grown a tad larger are edible, and can be used much like spinach. Goutweed has an interesting aroma, a little salty and a little sharp - delicious in a simple soup like this one.

Wild vegetables should never be picked from road banks or anywhere close to heavy traffic. It’s also important to know exactly what you’re looking for - we were happy to have the advice from Heikki’s mom, who’s been trying to root up the goutweed from her allotment garden for the last few decades!

Here’s what we had in our soup:

  • 5 dl goutweed (lightly packed), rinsed and chopped
  • 5 dl veggie stock
  • 2/3 dl semi-dry white wine (we had Portuguese vinho verde)
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 dl fresh bread crumbs (the insides of a baguette, for example)
  • oat cream and chives

I first fried the onion and the garlic in the oil on medium heat for about 12 minutes, until they started to turn golden but not yet brown. Then I added the white wine, and let it come to a brisk boil. I added the veggie stock and goutweed, heated the soup until it was boiling again, and simmered it for one minute. Now, I removed the pot from heat, added the bread crumbs, and used our immersion blender to purée the soup.

After plating the soup, I drizzled our portions with a little oat cream and sprinkled with chives.

Fresh goutweed leaves.

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Chocolate Muffins with Pink Peppercorns and Cinnamon

By Anni | May 19, 2008 – 20:50

The idea of combining chocolate with pink peppercorns, cinnamon, and nutmeg came to me when I read the newspaper the other day, and found an interview with Senyor Marc Escudellers, a chocolate shop keeper from Barcelona. He stated that these are some of his favorite cocoa flavorings, and I absolutely agree - I’ve already baked these muffins twice.

The combination of bitter cocoa flavor paired with intense pink peppercorns and sweet cinnamon is quite complex, and probably not to everyone’s liking, but I could live off the fragrance alone! Muscovado sugar imparts a pleasant, subtle sweetness, which situates these muffins somewhere between a dessert and a snack.

This recipe makes 6 muffins, but can easily be doubled.

The Dry Mix:

  • 2 dl wheat flour
  • 1/2 dl dark cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pink peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch of nutmeg

The Wet Mix:

  • 1/2 dl liquid margarine (or canola oil, or 50 g melted margarine)
  • 3/4 dl muscovado sugar
  • 1 dl plain soy milk
  • 1 dl plain soy yogurt
  • 50 g chocolate, melted

Garnish:

  • 6 chocolate squares
  • 1 teaspoon coarsely ground pink peppercorns

First I preheated the oven to 175 degrees Celsius. The making of the batter was quite simple: I just mixed together the two mixes in separate bowls, and then combined the two with a fork until relatively smooth.

I greased 6 cups of my muffin tin with a little margarine, dusted them with cocoa powder, and spooned the batter in the cups. I pressed a little square of chocolate in the middle of each muffin, so that they peeked out a little bit, and then popped the muffins in the oven. They were done after 15 minutes in 175 degrees Celsius.

When the muffins had cooled down enough to handle, I placed them on a rack, and sprinkled ground pink peppercorns over the melted chocolate in the middle of each muffin.

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Smokey Tofu Spread with Sage

By Anni | May 17, 2008 – 23:07

This spread was part of our May Day picnic. It gets its deep flavor from liquid smoke and fresh sage, and goes especially well with a bread that has a lot of flavor of its own - like the dried Finnish sour rye bread pictured below.

The recipe is very easy and quick to make, but the flavor is at its best after a night in the fridge. If refrigerated and stored in an airtight container, this should keep for about one week.

Here’s what I used:

  • 300 g firm tofu
  • 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
  • 1 teaspoon smooth peanut butter
  • 1/2 dl canola oil
  • 1/2 dl water
  • 2 teaspoons agave syrup
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
  • 12 fresh sage leaves
  • juice of 1/2 lemon

I just blended everything except for the lemon juice and salt in our mini food processor until smooth. Now, I added the salt and the lemon juice a little by little, until the balance was right. Then I refrigerated the spread overnight - the flavors developed and the texture firmed up quite nicely.

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Boozy Chocolate Pie

By Anni | May 15, 2008 – 22:58

This pie was very easy to make, and quite delicious as well. I found the original filling recipe through Eric at VeganGrub, and my only additions were a little bit of Grand Marnier, some salt to make the chocolate flavor shine, and a little bit more agave syrup than Eric used. Heikki thought that the filling was similar to a children’s chocolate pudding called Jacky makupala, something that we both ate when we were kids, but I have to say that the relatively large amount of liqueurs in the recipe distracted me from any such associations!

The crust I made was really nice too, and its crunchy texture was a great compliment to the smooth filling. We’d left the sides of our springform pan over at a friend’s house, so had to use a pie tray instead, but that didn’t really cause any problems.

The Crust:

  • 1 and 1/2 dl wheat flour
  • 1/2 dl potato starch
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
  • 1 tablespoon muscovado sugar
  • a pinch of salt
  • 50 g margarine, cold
  • 2 tablespoons soy milk, cold

I first mixed the dry ingredients together, then added the cold margarine, and mixed with a fork until crumbly. Then I added the soy milk and stirred until the mixture was sticky, and then pressed in the bottom our prepared pie tray with fingertips dipped in cold water. I baked the crust for about 17-20 minutes in 175 degrees Celsius, on the middle rack of the oven, until the sides were just lightly brown. Then I let the crust cool down before preparing the filling.

The crust puffed up quite a bit during the baking process, but settled once removed from the oven.

The Filling:

  • 350 g silken tofu (we had Mori-Nu firm)
  • 200 g vegan chocolate
  • 1 and 1/2 tablespoons agave syrup
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 dl coffee liqueur
  • 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier liqueur

First, I melted the chocolate in a water bath, and set it aside to cool down a little. Then I measured everything else in a mixing bowl, and blended with our immersion blender until smooth. Now, I added the melted chocolate in the mix, and stirred until combined.

When the crust had cooled, I brushed the sides of our pie tray with a little bit of canola oil. Then I poured the filling over the crust, spread it with a butter knife, and made wavy shapes on the surface with a fork. Now, we refrigerated the pie overnight to let the filling settle, but the original recipe said it would be good to eat after two hours.

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Potato Salad

By Anni | May 12, 2008 – 20:41

This potato salad derives from a family recipe I’ve learnt from my step-mom. The original version is just as vegan as this, but I added some chick peas this time to make it a little heartier, and the dressing of course is my own making. The basic concept is the perfect union between capers, Russian salted cucumbers, apple, and leek, all of which add their own flavor dimension to the lovely boiled potatoes.

It’s important to choose waxy potatoes for salads, since they won’t get all mushy once cooked and cubed like their starchy relatives do. I even forgot my potatoes on the stove this time, and consequently overcooked them until their skins started to crack, but they still kept together just fine!

The Dressing:

  • 1/2 dl olive oil
  • 1/2 dl apple cider vinegar
  • 3 cloves garlic, pressed
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, rubbed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon red paprika powder
  • 1/2 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

The Salad:

  • 1 and 1/2 kg waxy potatoes, boiled, peeled, and cubed
  • 4 Russian-style salted cucumbers, cubed (see our Stroganoff recipe for more information on Russian cucumbers)
  • 35 g capers (1 small jar, or about 5 tablespoons)
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely cubed
  • 1 can chick peas, rinsed, or about 3 dl cooked chick peas
  • 1 small leek, rinsed and sliced
  • chives (for garnish)

I just combined all the ingredients, whisked the dressing together, and mixed it in the salad. At this point, I always adjust the saltiness, and check if the salad still needs a dash of vinegar, or a little more black pepper.

Then we let the salad develop in the fridge overnight before taking it with us to the May Day picnic. This makes a big amount, and we even had leftovers with lunch for a few days after the picnic day - which is good, because this salad just gets better and better.

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