Lucky us! Sanae and Eric from Seed just sent two recipes to share with SmartLifeways. As is everything that they serve at Seed these are vegan and of course delicious…not quite sure which one of those attributes comes first, but who cares. Delicious and vegan is a winning combination. Guilt free, healthy food, what more can we ask for?
In macrobiotic eating, the time of the year that we eat certain foods is really important and a crucial aspect of a healing regime. For instance watermelon is meant to be eaten in the heat of the summer (when it grows naturally), not the chilly days of winter. Of course if we live in the tropics we really don’t have a winter so then typical winter foods won’t be a part of the diet there.
The Butternut Squash and Kidney Bean Potage is a great dish for the Fall, so it has come just in time. Luckily for us the Tiramisu is an all year round dessert.
At Seed all ingredients are organically grown so try these out using only the best ingredients that you can find. Today, most of us are fortunate to have access to clean, organic ingredients so support your local markets and let them know that this matters to you. It also sends a message to the large commercial markets that we are beginning to demand clean, sustainable, non GM (genetically modified) food. If nothing else be sure to use organic tofu, since soybeans are one of the main GM crops.
So, thank you to Sanae and Eric for these recipes.
Let me know how they come out for you. I am really eager to try out the Tiramisu, so I will do the same.
To read more about Seed see our earlier post about the cafe.
Butternut Squash and Kidney Bean Potage
(Love, Eric & Sanae. Copyright 2007 Eric Lechasseur and Sanae Suzuki. All rights reserved.)
We wanted to make something special out of the common butternut squash soup by
combining it with kidney beans. The result will surprise you.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
For the kidney beans:
1⁄4 cup kidney beans, sorted and rinsed
2 cups water
1-inch strip of kombu
For the squash soup:
1 butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
2 cups water
2 pinches sea salt
2 pinches curry powder
1 tablespoon white miso
1⁄2 cup rice milk (unsweetened)
To make the kidney beans:
1. Soak the beans in ample water for 4 to 6 hours. Drain.
2. In a large pot with a lid, combine the beans, water and kombu and bring to a boil.
3. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes, or until beans are fully cooked and still retain their shape.
To make the squash soup:
1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the squash, slice in half, and remove the seeds. Coarsely chop the squash and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, warm the oil. Sauté the onions lightly for a few minutes.
3. Add the carrots, squash, and water, and simmer for a few minutes.
4. Add the sea salt and curry powder. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Transfer vegetables to a blender. Add the miso and rice milk and purée until creamy.
6. Transfer to a large bowl or pot, gently stir in the whole beans and serve.
Tiramisu
(Love, Eric. Copyright 2005 Eric Lechasseur All rights reserved.)
The perfect Italian dessert with a soybean base.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
For the cake:
3⁄4 cup pastry flour 1 1⁄4 cups unbleached flour 1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt 3⁄4 teaspoon baking soda 1⁄4 cup safflower oil 3⁄8 cup soy milk 3⁄4 cup maple syrup 1⁄2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar 1⁄2 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the tofu cream:
30 ounces firm tofu (Mori-Nu brand) 1 cup maple sugar 1 pinch sea salt 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon tahini 2 tablespoons arrowroot 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For the espresso syrup:
1 cup hot water 8 teaspoons grain coffee (Yannoh brand) 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1⁄4 cup cocoa powder, for garnish
To make the cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients until emulsified.
4. Using a spatula, add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until combined.
5. Cover a halfsheet pan with waxed paper and spread with the cake batter, 1⁄2-inch thick.
6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The cake is ready when a bamboo skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
To make the tofu cream:
1. Blanche the tofu in a pan of hot water for 1 minute.
2. Dry tofu by pressing between towels and place in a food processor.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
To make the espresso syrup:
1. In a small bowl, pour in the hot water. Add grain coffee and maple syrup and stir to combine. Set aside.
To assemble the Tiramisu:
1. Slice the cake in 2 halves.
2. In a 9- x 12-inch pan, place one layer of cake as the bottom layer.
3. Using a pastry brush, soak the bottom cake with half of the the espresso syrup.
4. Evenly spread half of the tofu cream mixture over the soaked cake.
5. Add the second layer of cake, and brush again with the remaining espresso syrup.
6. Spread the remaining tofu cream ontop.
7. Dust with cocoa powder, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Just in case you’re not in the mood to cook……
Seed is located at 1604 Pacific Avenue, just behind the Venice post office.
Their phone number is 310 396 1604
They are open daily 10am to 9pm
