U is for Unctuous, Underrated and Unbelievably loaded with Umami.

      Rich, lush, intense, velvety in texture, layered and pallet coating, a bite of food that transports the senses is unctuous. In the foodie vernacular this word is used often when explaining the mouth feel of a dish. It is also a known associate of certain rather rich foods. Having never tried some of the different foods often described as unctuous, for example Fois Gras or Sea Urchin Roe, it has been my mission to find other ways to get the same sensual culinary quality. In my opinion, it is something that many omnivores tend to take for granted. However, for those of us herbivores, we are not missing out or taking this for granted. We have found ways to develop this characteristic of unctuousness via new and different methods of preparation of  grains, vegetables, proteins, starches and fruits. Technically unctuous is defined as greasy or oily. For foodies, like myself, it is something that is coveted, treasured and is known as the deepening of flavor and texture that can only be achieved by an artist of food, also known as a chef. 
      Sweet dishes can be unctuous, sour foods are often times unctuous, warm and cool dishes alike have been found to possess this layered and mouth coating deliciousness. But, like all great things in this world, there are few boasting this wonderfully complex and absolutely perfect balance of flavor and texture. So, without the use of butter, sugar and any animal products, I present to you a vegetarian take on what is truly unctuous. 
      
       This recipe I developed on a random day of nothing (which I seem to have many of these days). I was in my kitchen, every cupboard opened, staring into the abyss of stocked shelves. The refrigerator full of goodness, but as I watched the cool air escape out the top, I begged for inspiration to strike me. Instead of wasting my time wandering around in circles I opened one of my many cookbooks. Then another, then another and another. I desperately wanted to start the flame on the stove, get my kitchen aid mixer running, I wanted to throw flour in the air and glaze things. But I was at a loss. The last book I opened I was mostly expecting to fail at my final attempt for inspiration. Instead, I opened to a page waxing poetically about the glory of meatloaf. Then it hit me, vegan "meat"loaf. The idea bounced about the walls of my brain for a few more minutes. I began to tally all of the different items I saw in the kitchen. Then, like a whirlwind I just started grabbing, opening, pureeing, chopping, rinsing, sautéing, mixing, tasting, baking, glazing and smelling all that richness which had developed from just a few simple ingredients. 
     Not only did it turn out amazing, but it was absolutely unctuous in texture and especially flavor. It had umami (also known as the savory flavor), it had structure, it had spice, sweetness and a little sour. It contained all things good about what meatloaf is, without meat.  I know, some of you meat eaters are rolling your eyes, thinking about going back to your facebook accounts to check your status, probably even stopped reading after the evil vegan word, but if you don't try this you will be missing out. 
     It is not only packed with a ton of super foods, but its SUPER nutritious, and after I priced it out, it is WAY cheaper to make than regular meatloaf. Plus you don't have to worry about the cancerous after effects that so many meat products contain. (Just something to think about, no judgement.) 
     
     So, without further delay, here is my underrated totally unctuous and full of that 5th flavor umami recipe for ... 

Unbelievably Meatless-Veggie-Loaf. (Just trust me....) - Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Animal Free, Low Fat, High Fiber, Heart Healthy, Low sodium, High Protein, Super Food packed and all around good for you. 
By: Joy K Jenkins    
Makes 1 Loaf (in a 9"X 3" X 2" pan, this is just a regular bread pan) 
Preheated Oven temp - 425 F


Things you will need:
1 9X3 inch baking pan - line with Tin foil and before baking spray with Organic Nonstick spray or wipe inside all over with Olive Oil. 
1 food processor or blender. If you do not have one, yours will turn out a little chunkier and rustic, so use your best tools to mix it all together, your hands! 
1 large bowl
Measuring bowls and spoons
1 saute pan, skillet, fry pan, whatever you want to call it
1 big SHARP knife
1 spatula 
1 Open Mind and empty stomach


Ingredients (I)/Directions (D) for Loaf:
I:
1 15 oz can Organic Kidney Beans - drained and rinsed
1 16 oz Block of Organic Firm Tofu - drained and cut into squares
1/8 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Large Garlic Cloves - skinned and smashed
Juice of 1/4 of a Lemon


D:
1. Combine all Ingredients in Food Processor. Pulse until it cannot mix any more and then add Olive Oil, Water, Lemon Juice and Garlic Cloves.
2. Blend until chunky, or to the consistency you desire. 
3. Remove from Mixer into large bowl and hold until later. 
   PS - no need to wash out the mixer, you will use it again. 


I:
1 Organic Zucchini - shredded, about 1 cup
1 Organic Carrot - pealed and shredded, about 1.5 cups
1 Medium Organic Onion - diced fine
1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Juice of 1/4 lemon (about 2 tbl)


D:
4. Heat Olive oil in skillet over medium low to medium heat, add Onions, Carrot and Zucchini into pan and saute stirring periodically for about 3 to 4 minutes. Do not let it burn, keep the heat lower if you need to. 
5. Add Lemon Juice. 


I:
Mix together:
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Dried Organic Oregano
1 tsp Dried Organic Basil
1/2 tsp Dried Organic Chili Flakes ( use more or less depending on how spicy you like your food)
1/2 tsp Dried Organic Thyme
1/4 tsp Onion Powder


D:
6. Add spices to vegetable mixture and stir until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. 


I:
1 tbl Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbl Soy Sauce - low sodium is fine, or Tamari if you have a soy allergy
1 6 oz can Organic Tomato Paste


D:
7. Remove Vegetables from heat and add Vinegar, Soy Sauce and Tomato Paste. Stir until well incorporated. 
8. Heat for another 2 to 3 minutes then remove completely. 
9. Add vegetable mixture to large bowl with bean mixture. Mix together until well incorporated. 


I:
Textured Vegetable Protein TVP
 If you do not want to use this, you can also use about 3/4 cup of cooked grains. I have tried Quinoa, Basmati Rice, Wheat Berries, Bulgar and they are ALL stellar. But TVP provides a lot of protein for the punch.


1 cup of TVP
7/8 cup of boiling water - or REALLY hot water


D:
10. Pour boiling or hot water over TVP and let sit for about 4 to 6 minutes. It will absorb all the water.
11. Once TVP has set add to Loaf mixture and stir until well incorporated and set aside. 


        At this point the mixture will be chunky but should hold together.


I:
Topping Ingredients:
In the spring and summer I use fresh tomatoes, but since they are out of season, I will give you the canned version.
1 15 oz can of No Salt Added Diced Organic Tomatoes
1 tbl Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbl Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Dried Organic Basil 
4 1/2 tbl Organic Ketchup


D:
12. Add all ingredients to a clean skillet, heat on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixtures comes to a simmer or boil. We are trying to reduce the amount of liquid- about 6 to 8 minutes depending on heat. Should have reduced and thickened.
13. Once mixture has reduced most of the liquid add Ketchup and cook for about 3 minutes more. 
14. Add mixture to food processor and blend until smooth. From here add 1/2 cup of mixture to loaf mixture and mix well. 
15. SEASON TO TASTE! This means if you want more salt, add a little more. More pepper add a little more, more spices add a little more. Cooking should be fun and not regimented! From here on, you really can't mess this up. Unless you burn it in the oven, which would be a bummer.


16. Add loaf mixture to prepared pan and smooth out evenly into the corners. Get creative with the top if you want. I like to make it look like a meat loaf by rounding the top, but its up to you. 
17. Spread topping over evenly. You can use all of it or some of it. Whatever you prefer. I like to use all of it! But you can reserve some and use it as a sauce for serving, either way.


18. Bake loaf in preheated 425 oven for 40 minutes uncovered.
19. CHECK IT AT 40 MINS! It may look a little darker and ready, but it's not. If it is looking burned, tent the top with a little tin foil. (Tent it very lightly!!! Or else it will steam, we do not want this.)
20. Bake it for another 20 - 30 minutes. 


21. To check for doneness use the brownie method, if a sharp knife come out clean after piercing, its good to go. 
22. Place under Broiler for about 2 minutes on high until top is caramelized. (If already pretty dark, do not do this step.)
23. Cool completely to room temperature. Then remove from pan. The beauty of the tin foil is you can lift it right out of the pan in one piece onto a large serving plate. Remove foil by tearing the foil in half in the middle and pulling it out from under the loaf. 
       Letting it cool completely will assist in this process.


24. Serve!  (Its super good with some roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, peas, steamed brocolli, or a nice light salad.) 

       And then give me your feed back. 


Phewwwww. That took a while. I am currently compiling the calories, protein, carbs, sodium, fat and fiber for this recipe so check back on the comments for that! 




BTW - All the Super foods and their sidekicks in this recipe are:
Kidney and Garbanzo Beans, Onion, Carrot, Tomatoes - in two forms, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Tofu and Garlic. And if you used some grain instead of the TVP, that grain, as long as it whole is probably a super food too! 
Good Job Friends! 

C is for Calories, Cupcakes and Cancer.

How do all of these relate? Who wants to think of something as innocent as a cupcake, with its nemesis, calories, and then something as horrendous as Cancer, in the same 2 second thought?

It is not a far stretch to link the three.

I'll begin with calories, kcals, or kilocalories. Some think they are just a number on the label, or something to fear and something to watch your intake of. But, brass tacks, it is the amount of energy required to raise one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius. So thusly, a calorie is energy. Food energy to be exact.

So what is all food made up of? Let's use an example : A harmless cupcake.

Decoratively adorned with creamy white vanilla frosting, and underneath, nestled inside a thin layer of parchment paper, a light fluffy chocolate cake, and it comes in perfectly personalized size. This handheld dessert could very well be the greatest invention and in the same breath our arch enemy. The point is it is made up of every major component of food energy. Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat.

Don't be scared. You knew this would happen eventually. Now, breath deep, and inhale the aroma of freshly baked calories. We need these to survive, to thrive, to conquer and enjoy life. So why are they so wrong? Calories are essential, yes, but if not used correctly and cautiously, can have the same detrimental effects as an atomic bomb to the human body. An average individual can eat thousands upon thousand of calories a day, in fact there are guidelines which outline to do so. The issue is, what kinds of calories are we eating. And more importantly, what are the foods which contain these dirty calories.

So, back to the cupcake.

Once something is baked isn't it our duty to ignore the idea that it could potentially make our favorite pair of jeans a little tighter? Shouldn't we just give ourselves over to the pastry gods and realize that, yes, this cupcake has butter, sugar, eggs, flour and above all things frosting, and it is going to be amazing.  Throw caution to the wind, peel off the paper enveloping the rich decadence that lay in waiting inside, carefully examine the outside edges, turning it in front of you slowly, as if it were the first time you set eyes upon it, questioning where to stop and take that fateful first taste. Pure ecstasy awaits you, sugar crystals dance before you like sparkling snowflakes atop a dark mountain, and then you find it, the perfect bite.

I'm sure you're not thinking about calories right now are you? Neither am I.

My point is, calories as well as cupcakes get a bad rap. Which brings me to Cancer.

A Neoplastic class of diseases plaguing millions upon millions in all corners of the world. No one can really pin point the moment when a malignant cell begins to mutate and cause an uncontrolled growth of similar cells which will then spread, invade, and thusly take over the body via metastasis. Of course there are a variety of pathways which cancer is shown to be caused, and one is by another C word, carcinogens, but we will save that for another time. Cupcakes and calories are obviously not on some kind of cancer causing list, no no no, but they are related to food. Food you eat. Food you put in your body. Food which is what your body runs and revs its engine on, what it is made up of. So, it is not just the first consonant of these three words that intrinsically links them, there is a fourth word that ties it all together, one which I have already mentioned, Cells.

Cells are the building blocks of life. Cells can grow, multiply, divide, replicate DNA, digest sugar into glucose, create by-products for use in the body, synthesize new proteins from amino acids, they can be large like an ostrich egg, or too small to see in a microscope. They make up everything around us and everything that is us. They contain all kinds of organelles with funny names like Golgi Apparatus and Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum.

But I digress.

A Cell, a calorie, a cupcake and cancer all have a connection. That connection is us. You. Without the cell there would be absolutely no humans. Without humans, there would be have never been the invention of the wonderful cupcake. Without cupcakes, cakes, baking in general, there may not be as much stress about the idea of calories. And, this may be a stretch, but, without the stress over the amount of calories in the cupcake which we have baked and frosted so neatly, there may not be cancer.

So how do these all relate? It's not so hard to connect the dots, and really, I'm sure I could strategize all kinds of ways to connect more, but for now, I'll take the safe route out of this one and go bake up a batch of the famous Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Toasted Coconut Frosting; I can hear my cells just aching for them.