Monday, July 30, 2007

Let them eat vegan blueberry shortcake


In the summertime, Ben and I have blueberry shortcake--and sometimes strawberry--for dessert several times a week!


Here's our recipe!


1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. soy margarine, softened or melted

Ener-G egg replacer equivalent to 1 egg

small amount of soy milk


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Whisk together the dry ingredients, then stir in the soy margarine and egg replacer until just mixed. Don't overstir or the batter might turn out tough. If necessary, add soy milk a little at a time until dough is moist but not too sticky (truly it is a fine line).

Turn the dough out onto a floured board or counter and flatten it into a rough square. (It helps to put some flour on your hands before you do this.) Next, use a knife with a long, smooth blade (not serrated) to cut the dough into four even squares. You could use a round cookie-cutter or glass to make your shortcakes prettier, but we're not fancy here.

Put the four pieces on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes or until your shortcake passes the toothpick test.

These shortcakes are so nice with blueberries and whipped cream! We use Rich's Richwhip (luuuv Rich's brand). Richwhip is what Ben and I term "accidentally vegan" and is available in conventional grocery stores. It's not organic, but it is about three bucks cheaper than the vegan whipped cream you sometimes see at the co-op!

Alright, I definitetly wasn't going to admit this, but since it's visible in the photo I will 'fess up to the fact that we sometimes put a little bit of soy ice cream on our shortcake, too. That's right: between the buttery shortcake and the fluffy Richwhip is a delicious layer of vegan ice cream. Decadent. Now you know the whole truth.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

KnitKnit

The book in which I am generously referred to as a "fiber artist" will be out in September! If you're gonna look for it--it's called KnitKnit: Profiles and Projects from Knitting's New Wave, by Sabrina Gschwandtner. The publisher even flew a photographer to our house in Wisconsin to take pictures of me and my projects!

The work of my hero Debbie New is also included. Her knitted teacups and barn-sized reproductions of photographs (in yarn) are pretty breathtaking. Total knitting nouveau.

Monday, July 09, 2007

An herb blurb


Because I couldn't dig a backyard vegetable garden this year due to my being temporarily wretched, I planted an indoor herb garden instead. My devotee Maria gave me the seeds and pots, and soon Ben and I will be cooking with homegrown basil, marjoram, chives, and--best of all!--cilantro.