Galaxy Nutritional Foods Blog

Just in time for your Cinco de Mayo celebration we are posting a delicious recipe for homemade Guacamole and Chips from Canal House Cooking Volume No. 4 cookbook.

Friends and former co-workers Christopher Hirsheimer (a talented food photographer and founder of Saveur) and Melissa Hamilton (chef, food stylist, food editor…) started Canal House five years ago in rural New Jersey as a photo and design studio for their Canal House Cooking books. The series, which features their rustic and seasonal cooking, has earned them a cult following among foodies. Volume No. 6 was just released featuring (as always) simple recipes using ingredients found in most markets. The emphasis is on fresh and joy (of making and eating).

Guacamole and Chips from Canal House Cooking Volume No. 4

For the Chips:
Vegetable oil
12 corn tortillas
Salt

For the Guacamole:
1-2 cloves garlic
Salt
6-8 ripe Hass avocados, halved and pitted
2-3 juicy thin-skinned limes, halved
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

For the chips, add enough oil to a heavy skillet or wok to reach a depth of 2 inches Heat the oil until it is hot but not smoking, ideally to a temperature of 350 (use a candy thermometer to check the temperature). Meanwhile, cut the tortillas into quarters.

Slip the tortillas, a few at a time, into the hot oil and fry them until golden and crisp, 1-2 minutes. Using a slotted spatula, transfer the chips as they’re done to paper towels to drain. Season them with salt while still hot.

For the guacamole, use a pestle or wooden spoon to mash the garlic with a good pinch of salt in the bottom of a medium bowl. Scoop the avocado flesh into the bowl using a spoon or rubber spatula. Mash the avocados until chunky smooth. Squeeze the juice from some of the limes into the bowl, season with a little more salt, and mix well. Taste the guacamole and adjust the seasonings with more lime juice and/or salt. Stir in the cilantro. Serve the guacamole with the chips.

Yield: 4-6 servings (or one)

If you have A Platter of Figs you probably have some idea of the good things in store for you in David Tanis new (released in 2010) cookbook Heart of the Artichoke: and other kitchen journeys. A bit of chopping, few fresh vegetables, little heating, bit of blending, and voila a beautiful and inspiring meal. Oh, and while this is one of those soups that is extra special when warm…is also very good on a warm day served cool. We enjoyed a few of our cheddar flavored blocks with this soup. A bit of crusty bread might be nice too. Enjoy!

Fennel Soup with a Green Swirl from David Tanis book Heart of the Artichoke

Ingredients:

For the soup:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed and sliced
1 large onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup long-grain white rice (we used brown rice, because that is what we had on hand, and the end result was delicious)
6 cups chicken broth or water, or as needed

For the swirl:
1 cup roughly chopped fennel fronds
1/2 cup parsley leaves
1/4 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced fennel, onion, and garlic. Season generously with salt and pepper, and stew the vegetables, stirring every few minutes, until they are softened and light colored.

Add the rice and broth or water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Taste the broth, add more seasoning if necessary, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Puree the soup in a blender (we recommend a food processor instead), then pass through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any fibrous strands (we did not do this and there were no strands). Return the strained soup to the pot. Check the consistency. It it’s too thick, add a bit of water or broth.

Rinse and dry the blender, and put all the ingredients for the swirl into the blender at once. Blend on high speed until you have a smooth green puree. Transfer to a small bowl.

To serve, reheat the soup and ladle it into soup bowls. Swirl a tablespoon of the green puree into each bowl.

We paired with Galaxy’s Vegan Cheddar Block, Rice Cheddar Block, and Veggie Cheddar Block.

The Galaxy team loves to cook, and some of us really enjoy baking. Glancing over at the bookcase, the titles read Vegan with a Vengeance, Vegan Soul Kitchen, The Kind Diet, Babycakes. There are several on canning and preserving. Binders of recipes and beautiful (inspiring) photo essays torn from magazines and supermarket newsletters. Then the numerous cookbooks including Flo Braker’s The Simple Art of Baking, Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, and Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. There is a belief in not living without, but living with and substituting. Finding diet/lifestyle friendly alternatives for ingredients including dairy and meat products. We want this blog to be a resource for recipes, a creative center from which you will leave with ideas for everything from late night baking to after school snacks. From time to time we will also use this blog as a place to post about farmers’ markets, farm stands, opportunities for you to pick fruit (known as places “u-pick”), gardening tips (yes, city dwellers you too can have fresh herbs), and simple sustainable life “how to” lessons on things like composting. If we make a particularly good jam that goes nicely with say our Vegan Cheddar Block then we’ll post that recipe here too.

Now, without further ado…this past weekend our Marketing Director took to his kitchen with his children and made a vegan version of the Black and White Muffin recipe he found on food.com.

Vegan Black and White Muffins as adapted from food.com.

Ingredients:
4 oz. vegan cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup and 3 Tbsp sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 cup fair trade cocoa, sifted if lumpy
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 banana
1 cup Rice Dream
1/2 cup margarine, melted

Directions:

Beat cream cheese and 3 Tbsp sugar in small bowl until smooth. Set aside.

Measure next 6 ingredients (sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt) into large bowl. Stir. Make a well in centre.

Combine remaining 3 ingredients (banana, Rice Dream, margarine) in separate small bowl. Add to well. Stir until just moistened. Fill 12 greased muffin cups 1/2 full.

Make small dent in batter with back of spoon. Spoon about 2 1/2 teaspoons (12 mL) cream cheese mixture into each dent. Spoon remaining batter over top. Bake in 375°F oven for 18 to 20 minutes until firm to the touch. Let stand in pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool.

Yield: 12 muffins

This recipe for vegetarian chili from the blog Simply Recipes is healthy, nourishing, and something you may turn to at lunchtime and dinnertime. We like it with some of our Cheddar flavored Veggie Shreds or shavings from our Cheddar flavored Vegan Block. This is a recipe you can count on to warm you up during the cold months, or be eaten (once cooked) cool during the warmer ones. Easy enough to put into a thermos for a school lunch or a reusable container to be spooned out at the office. Make this chili and enjoy it at a relaxed pace so you can take in all of the delicious flavors.

Recipe is here.

Photo from Simply Recipes.