Pasta party rolls on!

New from the apt test and taste kitchen, sweet potato ravioli!

Many thanks to Bess and Edward for the gift of a ravioli press.
It was the first time using this fun-tensil and the results were pretty solid.
The filling was easy enough, one mashed sweet potato seasoned with a bit of salt n pepper. Some parmesan cheese was also added.
As for the pasta itself, the dough was a basic flour, egg, water and olive oil mix that I cut with a bit of corn flour and rolled through the pasta press.
Total cook time was about an hr …total eat time, 3 mins. Yum.

Hey, loyal readers!

The Vegiboys are taking an extended break from this site for other pursuits, so you may not find any new posts or updates here for a while. You can still peruse the blog archives for our past recipes, restaurant reviews, and other vegetarian fun – we’ll continue to leave the website up for you to review and share.

Veggie of the Week – Kale

In Season (in NYC): Spring (March) – Early Winter (December)

Found: A global croup, Kale in its many verities can be found across North America, Europe, and Asia.  It loves the sun but not the heat making it an ideal croup for cooler claimants.

About: Kale is the spring green that just won’t quite.  It begins to make its appearance in the farmers markets in early spring and is often the last green to leave.  Prized for its high nutritional content, kale dates back to the middle ages in Europe, often being one of the few croups consumed in lean the winter months.

The world wide web is ripe with tips and tricks for making crazy kale kick-ass.  Everything from stayed, stuffed, wrapped and raw.  Personally I find the most simple and amazing way to enjoy this sometimes stigmatized healthy green is to toss the deveined leaves with some olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast um on low heat for about 15mins.  They’re crunchy and crisp a sure fire favorite!

Recipe: Turkish Tacos

Well, these tacos are not specifically “Turkish,” but we’re taking creative licence for some alliteration. This recipe will give you more of a generally Middle Eastern-themed taco, which (like all tacos) can use as many (or as few) fillers as you’d like.

Whether you choose to simplify with fewer ingredients, or go full-gusto with the recipe below, you’ll be sure to find these creations to make for tasty exotic eating!

What you’ll need:

• Hard corn taco shells (about 12)
• Firm tofu, drained (16 oz)
• 1 Can chickpeas, washed
• 1 medium cucumber, skinned and diced
• 1 – 2 Cups arugula or other leafy greens
• ½ Cup crumbled Bulgarian feta
• ½ Cup thick plain yogurt
• ½ Cup tahini sauce
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 – 5 Tablespoons olive oil
• ½ Tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon zatar
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ¼ – ½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you want ’em)
• Handful of chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

STEP ONE: Tofu time!
Wash and drain your tofu. I find the most effective way to do this is to place the tofu on a folded paper towel, and sandwich the tofu block between two plates. Stack additional plates on top to get more weight pressing down onto the tofu. Let gravity take its course for about 2 hours, and drain any liquid pressed out of the tofu.

After your tofu is drained, dice the block into 1/2 inch cubes and toss into a frying pan with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally to keep the cubes cooking evenly. If they start to burn, just lower the heat. People always ask how I get my tofu so crispy; the answer is simply a longer cooking time.

Let the tofu sizzle for about 10 minutes, and while its cooking you can follow Step Two in preparing the chickpeas.

STEP TWO: Garbanzo bean greatness!
In a medium bowl, mix the chickpeas, 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, the turmeric powder, the cayenne, and some salt and pepper. Toss the chickpeas until thoroughly coated with oil and spice, and then spread them on a small baking sheet.

Roast the chickpeas for about 20 minutes at 300º F (I find using a toaster oven works very efficiently for this, but a full oven will work fine too). Once the beans are finished roasting, toss them back into the bowl, add the fresh parsley, and set aside.

STEP THREE: Cool cucumber yogurt!
This taco topper cold not be simpler: in a medium bowl mix the diced cucumbers, yogurt, vinegar, and  a touch of olive oil (½ a teaspoon should be fine). Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix until the ingredients are incorporated, and set aside. Now lets check back on our tofu!

STEP FOUR: Tofu finish!
Turn down the heat to a medium low setting, and add the soy sauce. Toss the tofu in the soy so that all the pieces have a chance to absorb the sauce. Cook about 2 minutes, then add the lemon, tahini, and zatar. Stir frequently for about 1 minute, making sure all the tofu has a chance to be coated with all of the ingredients. The mixture will quickly begin to brown (this is fine, just don’t let it burn). Turn off the heat and set aside.

STEP FIVE: Cuisine construction!
Time to put your tacos together. There is no right or wrong way to build a taco, but here’s our suggested method: Start with the leafy greens, stuff in the tofu mixture, pile on the chickpeas, then add the yogurt, and end with the feta. A little goes a long way when stuffing a taco, so don’t feel obligated to overflow your shells with fillings.

This crazy combination of flavors will be sure to impress any guest! For an extra-showy wow factor, serve them from a tagine. Yep, you’re cool.

Tuesday Photo Fun: Sweet Noodle Lunch

Our lunch of tempeh in a sweet peanut sauce with glass noodles.

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