Fried Zucchini Flowers with Basil

My little rooftop garden is doing splendidly, and I've been enjoying zucchini flowers. They have a beautiful, subtle flavor. This time, I stuffed each flower with a basil leaf before battering and frying it--the basil is the perfect complement to these flowers.

As many zucchini flowers as you can get your hand on.
As many basil leaves as you have zucchini flowers.
Equal parts water and chickpea flour.
olive oil for frying
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the water and chickpea flower into a paste. It should be a little, but not too, runny. Gently stuff each flower with a basil leaf. Heat a skillet on med-high, with some olive oil in the pan. Completely cover each flower with the chickpea batter. Make sure you get all the little nooks and crannies.

Fry on each side until golden brown. Remove and place on a cloth or paper towel. Gently pat to remove excess oil. Place on a serving plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

(You can make a little pancake with the extra chickpea flour. That's yummy too!).

Whole Wheat Peach Muffins

These whole wheat peach muffins are made with almond oil and agave, so they're good for you all around! They're moist and not too sweet.

2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
dash nutmeg
dash cloves
1/2 c. bran
1 c. soymilk
1/2 c. agave
1/4 c. almond oil
1 tsp. vanilla
4 ripe peaches
2 tbsp flaxseeds
6 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, mix bran and soy milk. Let sit for ten minutes. Grind flaxseeds and beat with the water. Dice three of the peaches, and make slices with the fourth to put on top.

Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients to the bran mixture. Gently mix in diced peaches. Add dry. Mix completely, but not too much. Spoon into a greased muffin tin. Place peach slices on top. Bake 20-30 minutes.

Alegria (a.k.a. Amaranth Bars)

I was in Germany during the E. coli outbreak, which meant that as a vegan who was not eating raw vegetables, I subsisted largely on potatoes and white asparagus. They are both wonderful in moderation, but I was looking for something to supplement my diet. I stumbled upon amaranth bars. I am sure that I have had amaranth before, but I had never noticed it, and it had never been the main ingredient in anything I ate. It's wonderful! It's a high-protein grain that has a subtle nutty flavor to it.

R informs me that amaranth (amaranto) is very popular in Mexico. They eat bars from it as a kind of quick snack. Those bars are called alegria. That seems to me to be quite an appropriate name.

Here is a recipe for alegria. R tells me that it's got a few more goodies in it than regular alegria, but I couldn't help myself. Here it goes:

1/2 c. amaranth
1/2 c. agave
1/2 c. almonds
1/2 c. figs
1 tsp. vanilla

Pop the amaranth. Do this by putting a pot with a lid on the stove on high. Wait until it is hot and then add one tablespoon of amaranth. It pops quickly. Once it is popped, transfer to a bowl. Then repeat with another tablespoon. Repeat until all the amaranth is popped. It actually doesn't take very long, because it pops so quickly.

Chop the almonds and figs into small pieces. Add to the amaranth. Mix. Add the vanilla to the agave, mix. Add the agave to the amaranth, coating well. Press into a 9" pan.

Hamburger Buns

Yesterday I attempted to make vegan veggie burgers to grill for the fourth of July, along with homemade hamburger buns. The veggie burgers were a total mess. They fell through the grill, and then finally we could cook them in a basket on the grill, but they still got crumbly and fell apart. I will be back hopefully with a more successful post for a veggie burger.

HOWEVER, the hamburger bun experiment turned out really well! I basically followed this recipe. It's really fast and easy:


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/hamburger-buns/detail.aspx

Of course I veganized it. Here's the vegan version. The buns on the original recipe were a little small, so I'd probably make 16 instead of 25 next time.

2 cups warm soymilk, plus some for brushing (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/4 cup earth balance, melted
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
2 (.25 ounce) packages instant yeast
2 teaspoons salt
6 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed

Preheat the oven to 375.

In a large bowl, stir together the warm water, sugar and yeast. In a saucepan, warm the margarine and soymilk together. When warm, add to the yeast mixture. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Mix in the salt, and gradually stir in the flour until you have dough that won't be too sticky to knead. Knead on a floured surface for 5 minutes. Divide into 16 pieces, and form into balls. Place on greased baking sheets so they are 2 to 3 inches apart. Let rise for 20 minutes.

Lightly brush the tops of the buns with soymilk, and then sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until the tops are a nice golden brown.