Not bread, but a terrific dish

Saw a review of Robin Robertson's Vegan Fire & Spice (Woodstock, VA: Vegan Heritage Press, 2008) that made it sound interesting, so got it from the library. Tried the Baked Mahogany Tempeh-- terrific!

1 lb tempeh, cut into 2 inch bars
1/4 c soy sauce
2 TBS mirin
2 TBS agave nectar or brown rice syrup
2 garlic cloves
1 tsps chopped fresh ginger
1/4 tsp grd coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
grated zest of 1 orange

Poach the tempeh in simmering water for 30 minutes. Place the tempeh in a shallow baking dish and set aside.

In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour the marinade over the tempeh and marinate at room temperature, basting often, for 30 mintues to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Bake the tempeh, basting often with the marinade, until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Serves 4.

I used only 1 TBS of sweetener, and am not really convinced that's necessary. We baked for about 20 minutes, as the oven was reaching the temperature, so wasn't near the heat or time called for in the recipe. Still delicious.

Will buy the book. Other recipes look equally inventive and interesting.

Last of 08

Had a query about starter, so decided to grow one of the starters to share. And the coop had Chirstmas Ale on sale. Hence, bread using the Wychwood Bah Humbug! Christmas Ale, and the San Francisco sourdough starter, officially the Last Bread of 2008!

The starter working


loaves formed, ready for rising


here's the ingredient list:

Last of ‘08

Organic whole wheat bread flour
Organic whole wheat flour
Ground flax seed
Hemp seeds
Soy powder
Amish organic cornmeal
Soured soy milk
Wychwood Bah Humbug! Christmas Ale
San Francisco Sourdough Starter
Kosher Salt
Organic canola oil
Agave syrup


the loaves baked



and the crumb

Irish Wholemeal Bread

Made up loaves from a bag of King Arthur "Irish Wholemeal Flour" -- haven't tasted yet, and didn't let them rise enough since my time was limited. Here are the finished loaves:



and the dough, resting



and the San Francisco Sourdough, busily growing -- although after some nine years, it's Central Ohio Sourdough at this point!



Here's the recipe:

Irish Wholemeal Bread

KA Irish Wholemeal Flour
Amish organic cornmeal
Organic whole wheat
Organic soy powder
Al Blyth honey
Hemp seed
San Francisco sourdough starter
Soy milk
Organic canola oil
Kosher salt

Mixed 11/16/08
Baked 11/18/08

Obama Victory Bread

Baked this on Election Day! Since we had to be at precincts at 5:30 a.m. to be election officials, put the loaves in the oven on a timer, and baked for a shorter time than usual since I knew they'd be sitting in the warm oven all day. The formed loaves rose overnight -- made with a combination of hard and soft winter wheat that I ground coarsely in the VitaMix. Should have let the loaves rise longer, but couldn't because of the election day requirements -- so they're not quite as high as they could have been. But the coarse flour gives a great texture.

Whole Grain Whole Wheat

Coarse ground winter wheat
King Arthur First Clear flour
Organic cornmeal
Organic high gluten flour
Ground flaxseed
Hemp seed
Al Blyth's honey
Columbus Pale Ale
Sour soy milk
Kosher salt
Organic canola oil
New England starter

Mixed 11/2/08
Baked 11/4/08

Wholly Rye

Some soy milk soured, so bread was the result; and since I'd just gotten some First Clear Flour from King Arthur, that suggested a rye. Here's the resulting three loaves:



And one loaf, isolated; it's brighter because it was taken with a flash.



and the recipe:

Wholly Rye

Org. Rye Flour
K.A. First Clear Flour
Soy Powder
Org. Cornmeal
Org. High Gluten Wheat Flour
Agave syrup
Kosher Salt
Hemp Seed
Ground Flax Seed
Black Sesame Seed
Whole Cumin Seed
Whole Coriander Seed
Whole Flax Seed
Sour Soy Milk
Columbus Pale Ale
Giza Sourdough Culture

Mixed 9/16/08
Baked 9/17/08

The high gluten flour was mainly used to feed the starter. Haven't tasted it yet; the aftermath of Hurricane Ike's winds on Sunday meant no power since then to Ann's studio, so we had to empty the refrigerator and freezer there, which has taken up a good part of the day!

Rye Again

UPDATE: the twenty-one year-old tofu was fine; see next entry for more details. Sorry the Cleveland Tofu Company's no longer in existence!

baked rye again, with more organic flour than usual; didn't have time to grind flour as I'd planned, so picked up some Amish organic rye flour at the Coop. Timing was off--had an errand after loaves were formed, and hoped they'd rise sufficiently for baking when I got back; they hadn't, but I had to bake anyway. So the loaves are pretty small. Haven't tasted them--they went straight to the freezer.


the barm, working away. Used the King Arthur "New England" starter that's been working for me for the past eleven years.


here's the dough.


Organic Rye
Amish org. rye flour
King Arthur First Clear Flour
King Arthur pumpernickel
King Arthur white rye
King Arthur rye blend
Org. corn meal
Org. whole wheat
Ground flax seed
Hemp seed
Caraway seed
Black sesame seed
Ground dill seed
New England starter
Kosher salt
Org. canola oil
Org. barley malt


the dough separated for four loaves


the baked loaves

Not bread, but ancient tofu

No bread this week (still working on the whole wheat from last time), but came across a container of Cleveland Tofu hidden in the freezer. According to the container, it was on sale in 1987 -- for $.29! Here's the container, recovered after 21 years--


and the tofu itself, thawing. We'll try it tonight and see how it's survived all that time; the Cleveland Tofu Company no longer exists (its founder, Bob Carr, remains very active in the natural healing world and is now back in Cleveland, at the East-West Center), and it now costs a whole lot more than 29 cents for a pound!
UPDATE: Had chunks of the ancient tofu, pan fried and then added to stir fry. Still good, after all this time!



So how did the tofu remain hidden in the freezer for two decades? Tucked in a back corner. And since we get fresh tofu a couple of times a week, and it's now readily available not only at the Coop, but at Asian stores, and even at the commercial Giant Eagle and Kroger Supermarkets nearby. No longer a speciality item difficult to obtain; and it's a long, long time since we had to make our own (although we still have the pressing box).

More bread next week--and I have grain to grind for the flour this time--