From Bach to Vegan Mozzarella

Last night I saw my life as a collage, you know like those of Picasso or Braque, with bits of newspapers, musical instruments, funny faces etc. Maybe the awareness came as a result of the realisation that life is a collage. Our lives are canvasses where the bits and pieces are glued on, usually with a basic theme connecting them, overlapping, sometimes making lot of sense, sometimes seemingly arbitrary, but all in all they create some sort of cohesive and even beautiful whole.
I made dinner for a couple of friends, Claire from my time in Boston, where we played Brahms clarinet quintet together, before we had partners, children, work, vegan cooking obsessions and a whole bunch of other things. The other friend was her partner Valentina, who lives in the Netherlands and with whom I coincidentally share the vegan cooking bug.
The conversation went from Bach to vegan mozzarella(which Valentina had deliciously made) and back. We enjoyed a dinner of fried polenta with what I now call a Mushroom Nightshade Fantasy(Shady Sauce for short)as well as braised carrots, blanched spinach with pine nuts, Valentina’s mozzarella with tomato and basil and a funky dessert with smoked chipotle! I often couldn’t quite figure out where I was since I was experiencing people and things from different periods of my life in my kitchen in the Netherlands. It all became even more wacky when my now grown up cellist daughter played two movements of Bach fourth cello suite for our visitors (which I also played for my conservatory exam for my Bachelors diploma). Throughout the whole evening food was the glue for this collage; or was it music?

Shady Sauce
8 tomatoes cut in half
2 eggplants cut in small cubes and sprinkled with salt to release the water
about 6 cups of different sorts of mushrooms sliced
6 cloves of chopped garlic
olive oil
sea salt
1 tbs of Vitamix mushroom paste(or a vegetable bouillon cube)
1tbs balsamic vinegar

-first cook the tomatoes in a pan with 4 tbs. olive oil, with the cut down facing down, sprinkle with a bit of chopped garlic
-cook the tomatoes until they begin to darken and the liquid starts to get syrupy
-in a separate pan cook the eggplant in 4 tbs olive oil until they are completely soft and cooked
-in a separate pan sauté the mushrooms in 2 tbs oil and a bit of crushed garlic, until they loose their liquid
-when the vegetables are all cooked mix them in the pan with the tomato, add a bit more crushed garlic and sea salt and the tablespoon of the mushroom paste or bouillon cube. Cook until the paste is integrated into the sauce and add the balsamic vinegar
-serve warm with the polenta or rice or put on bread or on pasta or…….

In the morning I made almond milk and saved the pulp, for which I didn’t have any particular plan. However before starting dinner I got the idea of making some kind of flat bread with it, as a sort of appetizer. It turned out really well, although if I made it again as an appetizer I would put half of the sweetener.

Almond Pulp Spelt Flat Bread
-mix the dry ingredients
-mix wet ingredients
-combine wet ingredients with the almond pulp
-combine almond pulp mixture with wet ingredients and add seeds or nuts of choice, I chose hemp seeds this time, but you can also add anise seeds
-mix well and pat it down evenly on a cookie sheet that has been covered with wax paper
-bake for about 15 min. in a preheated oven at 180* C

Mango Coconut Chia Pudding with Smoked Chipotle
11/2 cup coconut milk
1 cup almond milk
2 mangoes cut in small pieces
juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup chia seeds
liquid sweetener to taste(I use honey)
cardamon, cinnamon to taste
1 tsp turmeric
a tiny bit smoked chipotle (or chilli pepper)
tomato jam (or any other jam you have around)
minced mint

-blend the milks with the mango and orange juice
-add the spices and sweetener and blend again(I used a hand blender)
-add the chia seeds and mix well
-add the chipotle
-put into 6 individual serving cups and place a tsp of tomato jam on top of each pudding cup
-garnish wit freshly minced mint
-put it in the freezer for about one hour
-serve

Fruit Bag

Yesterday I went with Ella, Anna and Cyrille(most of my crew)to the Rijksmuseum. It was the first time I visited since the reopening after their major 10 year renovation, and what a place it is! Walking in there is like standing in front of a buffet table with all of my favorite foods, knowing that putting them all on my plate and eating them will not allow me to appreciate their full value. I opted to enter into the Middle Ages and make my way up, aware that it would be hard to continue past the Dutch Renaissance or the Golden Age because I just love that period so much; I knew that continuing to look around past this period would be like putting more food on my plate after having eaten my most favorite dessert.
I have grown to really enjoy the art of Middle Ages, their wacky sense of perspective is something that I find totally puzzling as well as humorous. I find it hard to believe that they really saw the world the way they portrayed it: baby Jesuses with muscular bodies, or very skinny and not at all baby-like, vacant facial expressions and landscapes with no realistic sense of perspective. I know that there are different theories as to why Medieval artist didn’t make use of 3D, but the fact that most people believed that the world was flat makes sense to me given their one dimensional depiction of the world. Nevertheless I find their pious representations, their use of colors(specially gold) and the child like depictions very beautiful and touching, specially knowing the horrors that society was enduring at the time where rampant diseases like the plague, extreme poverty and starvation must have been causing unbearable suffering.

For Dutch 16th century art I have no words, and I will not try to describe its beauty and skills and the emotions and insight which it invokes. One thing that I have noticed in the Dutch Renaissance paintings is the relationship to foods, how detailed and prominent foods are depicted and the emotions around it. These are some of amazing paintings I saw yesterday which left me with a sense of awe for humanity.

Once back home we had a simple dinner which we finished with a quick and simple dessert, something which one of the characters in one of those old paintings could have made. The Fruit Bag doesn’t use pie forms or anything else besides fruit and a dough, and yes in the Dutch Renaissance they would have used butter and not coconut oil.
Anyway, if you come to Holland you may not leave without paying the Rijksmuseum a visit, and who knows, if you come in october you may be right on time for Pop-up Restaurant Amsterdam’s Oktoberfest.
Willem Claeszoon Heda-Still life with Gilt Goblet-(notice the light almost refined color of the bread)

Nicolas Maes-Old Woman in Prayer-

Bag
2 cups spelt flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbs arrowroot
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4-1/2 cup cold water
cinnamon
4 tbs coconut sugar

-mix all dry ingredients in a bowl
-add coconut oil and work with a fork until it looks sandy
-add the water little by little until the dough forms into a ball
-wrap it in plastic and refrigerate while making the filling

Fruit
5-6 apples cored and cut in small cubes
1 cup frozen cherries
cinnamon
4 tbs coconut sugar
1tsp arrowroot
grated lemon peel from one lemon
1/4 cup roasted almonds

-mix everything in a bowl
-roll out the dough into a flat circle
-place filling starting in the center of the circle
-fold the sides leaving some of the filling showing in the center
-bake at 180* C until the pastry is done(about 20 minutes)

Scones

It’s summer, and for most of you living in countries with clearly defined seasons saying that it’s summer on july 8th may sound like duh! But here in the Netherlands is different, summer often doesn’t seem like a season but like a snapshot, or like an adjective describing the weather at a particular moment; it is summer now, but will it be summer tomorrow? As a result these summery days have a special quality for me, not only are the days sunny, but waking up to a sunny warm day in the Netherlands gives me a feeling of exhilaration, of creativity and possibilities. A summer day is not a normal day here in Holland. As a result I feel a readiness to participate fully in all the stages of the day, from very early morning to late at night. Of course the fact that it is vacation time helps, no alarm clocks and quick breakfasts to get to school on time, no scraping ingredients to make a sandwich to take away to work, or thinking that between 12 and 1 lunch has to be ready for the school lunch break……all those things don’t belong to the summer. Consequently summer time for me in the Netherlands feels like a wonderful meditation, making space for creativity and for enjoying the moment.

Receiving the gift of summer inspires me to reciprocate, this morning I made scones in the welcoming silence of the early hours, garden door opened and peace all around me.

2 cups spelt flour(mix white and whole)
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
5 tbs coconut sugar
5 tbs coconut oil
1 cup soy milk with the juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs chia seeds
1/4 cup pecan nuts
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup raisins

-in a bowl mix all dry ingredients except nuts and chia seeds
-add soy milk lemon mixture and mix
-add chia seeds and nuts
-make dived the dough in two balls and make two circles
-refrigerate for a couple of minutes(make sure it’s covered with plastic wrap)
-cut in wedges and sprinkle with a bit of extra coconut sugar
-bake in a preheated oven at 190* for about 15 minutes.

As Dutch as Apple Pie

This is the sort of pie that you come across in almost every cafe, bakery or restaurant in Holland. It is usually served with lots of whipped cream and most likely accompanied by coffee. It tends to be a mid morning or mid afternoon treat. In my vegan version the coconut oil replaces the butter and the soy milk the cow’s milk. Instead of whipped cream you can use unsweetened coconut cream, of course you could also use the fake whipped creams available but they don’t taste as good and have way too many ingredients, some of them don’t even sound edible!

11 jona gold apples
125 grams coconut oil
200 grams coconut sugar
vanilla
1 tbs baking soda
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
400 grams white flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup soy milk
2 tbs cinnamon
4 tbs rice syrup
2 tbs arrowroot

-pre warm oven to 180* c.
-peel and core apples and cut them in slices
-oil a round spring form pan
-in a bowl mix coconut oil, coconut sugar, vanilla, a pinch of salt until well mixed and light
-add the flour, baking soda and baking powder
-add soy milk and oil and mix. Until the dough forms a ball
-spread half of the dough on the prepared spring form
-put half of the apples on top the dough in the prepared pan and sprinkle with 1 tbs cinnamon and drizzle with1tbs rice syrup and the arrowroot
-put the rest of the apples on top and sprinkle with 1 tbs cinnamon, rice syrup and arrowroot
-roll out the other half of the dough about 1/2 centimeter in thickness and cut in 8 pieces of 1 1/2 centimeters width,and one long strip for around the edges of the pie
-place the dough strips in a diagonal pattern on top of the filling
-place the long strip around the edge of the pie
-place the pie in the middle of the oven until it becomes golden brown, about 40 minutes( depending on your oven)
-check it regularly to make sure it doesn’t brown too quickly, if it does lower the oven to 150*c

Hiziki Pastry

2 cups of soaked hiziki
1 onion cut in small dice
3 garlic cloves finely minced
1 carrot cut in small cubes
2 Tbs olive oil
2 or 3 Tbs tamari
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp chipotle adobo sauce or a sprinkle of another chili pepper

-in a broad saucepan saute the garlic and onions in olive oil until the onions are shiny
-add the carrots, and hiziki and continue sauteing
-add the tamari and rice vinegar
-add the chipotle and cook until the vegetables begin soften up
-let it cool down and proceed to make the crust

crust:

2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
1 tbs arrowroot
⅓ cup olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
¼ cup water

-mix the dry ingredients
-mix the wet ingredients separately
-mix wet and dry ingredients together to make a nice dough
-roll the dough with a rolling pin between 2 pieces of waxpaper
-make a rectangle shape
-place the filling in the middle of the rectangle going down the center in the length
-fold the sides overlapping each other and seal the ends of the strudel by pressing with your fingers, if there is too much dough hanging over cut it with a knife
-make 3 inches diagonal cuts on the top of the strudel to let the vapor escape
-bake in a hot oven(180 c) for about ½ hour

Maqluba

Maqluba is a Palestinian upside-down rice dish, traditionally filled with meat and vegetables. This is not a traditional Maqluba, but I liked the idea of layering rice with vegetables and lentils, mostly to pimp-up the presentation, and give it a “special” touch. Here I have made it really simple, but you can imagine how you could layer it sky high, (if you have a suitable pan) use all sorts of fillings and get more adventurous with spices, if you like.
My 11 year old daughter just came back from a three day school camp, she is totally wiped out, so I wanted to make something wholesome, not too rich, but a bit special and I figured that the presentation in this dish could work Unfortunately she has been sleeping deeply since she got back and doesn’t seem to be planning to wake until tomorrow, this mild Maqluba could make a nice breakfast though.

Maqluba

2 cups of raw brown rice cooked in 3 cups of water
2 cups of brown lentils cooked and then sautéed in olive oil with onions, garlic, 1/2 cup canned pomodori, smoked Spanish pimiento powder and sea salt
1 zucchini sliced and cooked in a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt
2 raw tomatoes thinly sliced

-oil a round oven dish and layer the sliced tomatoes
-add a layer of rice
-add a layer of sliced cooked zucchini
-add another layer of rice
-pat and push everything down with your hands
-add a layer of cooked lentils
-add another layer of rice and pat it down again so that everything is very compact
-cover the pan with aluminum foil and put it in the oven at 200* for about 25 minutes
-uncover and bake for another 10 minutes
-carefully invert the Maqluba on a flat plate and garnish the dish with roasted walnuts or pine nuts, wait a couple of minutes before cutting

We ate this dish with a green salad and steamed broccoli
Didn’t make it to prepare dessert