Sunday, February 26, 2012

New Foods





This month my goal was to try 5 new foods a week. Everyone warned me it was too ambitious, but I only learned after spending too much at the grocery store on foods that ultimately went to waste or did not come out well. Also, my refrigerator smelled funny after the first week of shopping. I suspect the Jerusalem Artichokes but still cannot be sure.

I started out buying almond flour and tried to make vegan scones. They looked like pancakes and were not very tasty. I tried another version the next week that tasted much better, but they were still flat. I will have to keep working on those.

Last night I was successful with one of my new foods, celeriac or celery root. I made vegan mashed potatoes mixed with this. The flavor was a little more earthy than regular mashed potatoes. I really enjoyed them. Also on the plate are spinach stuffed portobello and asparagus with a tahini-mustard sauce.

Ingredients
1 Celery Root
4 small to medium potatoes
3/4 cup soy milk
2 tbs earth balance
1 tbs fresh rosemary finely chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper to season

Method
1. Chop celery root into 1/2 inch cubes and put into boiling water for 15 minutes.
2. Add diced potatoes in 1 inch cubes, let boil for another 15 minutes.
3. When both vegetables are soft, drain the water.
4. Mash potatoes with rosemary, butter, and garlic.
5. Add soy milk until desired consistency is achieved.
6. Add salt and pepper for seasoning and serve warm!