Alternative Vegan

Interview with Ramble Redhead

dsarma — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:05:00 -0700

This interview was recorded aaaaaaaaaages and ages ago, and I never got around to uploading it. It gives you a little more of a glimpse into my personal life, and that sort of boring stuff. :)

Ramble Redhead's website. :: Go check out his work!

File Download (55:00 min / 29 MB)

Pesach Seder with Dara

dsarma — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 09:14:00 -0700

This is the second part of the 2-part interview with Dara Lovitz about Passover and the traditions that she follows. It was a lot of fun, and definitely something I’d like to try again some time. Please excuse the horrible audio quality. I was chatting with her over the phone, and was holding up the phone to the microphone. Yes. You now have an idea as to the fancy setup I have going!

Muzzling a Movement :: Dara's book that we talked about. Go check it out!

File Download (81:36 min / 37 MB)

Kosher for Passover

dsarma — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 04:07:00 -0700

Dara Lovitz, a vegan from Pennsylvania, graciously agreed to appear on the show and share her tips for keeping Kosher for passover in the Ashkenazi tradition, and still being vegan. Ashkenazi Jewish people avoid legumes as well as wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye and a whole host of other stuff. However, she manages to do so with grace and a fair bit of food to.

We’ll be using a couple of terms during the show, and I figured I’d give a run-down so that we’re all on the same page.

Pesach: Also known as Passover. A festival commemorating the final plague sent down on the Egyptians, which lead to the Jews being freed, and fleeing from Egypt. Dara explains that Pesach is meant to be different from any other week of the year, so that you can remember the struggles of your people, and feel connected to the thousands of years of history.

Chometz: Anything containing the five forbidden grains of wheat, spelt, barley, oats and rye. When Pesach begins, you go through the entire house in a ritual to remove every last bit of chometz.

Kitniyot: Anything that can become adulterated easily or mistaken for chometz. This includes rice, corn, soy beans, string beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, mustard, sesame seeds and poppy seeds. Ashkenazi Jews are forbidden from eating kitniyot. Sephardic Jews are allowed to eat kitniyot.

Ashkenazi Jews: Jewish people descended from Eastern Europe.

Sephardic Jews: Jewish people descended from Spain, Africa, and the Middle East.

As we stated in the interview, we are not rabbinical authorities, so your mileage may vary. Please feel free to weigh in on what your Rabbi says, and how you follow the traditions in your own home! It should definitely prove interesting.

I’ve included in the links list a couple of kitniyot lists. If you’re not sure which one to trust, just ask your Rabbi! It shouldn’t be too difficult to get a handle on what’s permissible locally, as the discussions do vary for sure.

Dara also graciously offered to share some of her recipes for Pesach. I’ve included it in the links list. Don’t worry. It’s not a PDF you have to download. It’ll just open up in your web browser, and you can print it directly. She has made notes throughout the document, which is even better, because I find that another cook’s notes are endlessly useful when actually cooking. Take a look!

Kitniyot list :: List of kitniyot from OU
Kitniyot list 2 :: List of kitniyot from Kashrut.com
Audio of the show :: If you're not subscribed in iTunes, just download the audio here.
Dara's Vegan Ashkenazi Kosher for Pesach Recipes :: Please click here for Dara's Kosher for Pesach Vegan Ashkenazi recipes!

File Download (50:52 min / 23 MB)

Moving Cooking

dsarma — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:24:00 -0800

Not cooking on the move. More like cooking when you have to move.

Pictures :: These are some pictures of my new apartment.
Download :: Link to download the audio.

File Download (27:42 min / 13 MB)

Smoothies

dsarma — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:47:00 -0800

1 handful of almonds
1 handful of rolled oats
3 pieces of frozen bananas
1 cup ice
3 cups water

Grind in a blender until smooth. Adjust water or ice or fruit to your own tastes, as needed.

Goldilocks Smoothie :: This is what spawned the smoothie.
Audio :: Link to the audio, for anyone who'd like to download it.

File Download (12:42 min / 6 MB)

"Real" Indian Cooking

dsarma — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:21:00 -0800

Fanmail and a bit of a ramble.

Download episode here. ::

File Download (21:34 min / 10 MB)

Do what you know!

dsarma — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:54:00 -0800

Today, we talk about doing what you know, and doing it well. Often times, we get bogged down with trying to impress, and we forget that people are the reason that we get together, and that the food is secondary.

The cabbage-carrot recipe:
1 head cabbage
1 lb carrot
2 medium onions, minced (red, white, or yellow are fine)
2 medium limes, juice and zest (lemon is fine, bottled juice is fine, vinegar is fine, just use 2 teaspoons, and adjust up or down to taste)
3 tsp salt (adjust up or down, to taste; start with one, and add as needed)
3 cups hummus (at least; you may want more, as you wish)
4 dill pickles, chopped fine
4 large handfuls of cilantro leaves, chopped (optional)

Grate the cabbage and carrot in the food processor. Chop the onion finely. Mince the cilantro. Sprinkle in the salt, and stir through the hummus, pickles, and cilantro. Taste for seasoning, and adjust up or down as needed.

Thanksgiving photos :: Some of the food I served on Thanksgiving.
Creamy hummus. :: Someone emailed me, asking about making perfect hummus every time. Here's my response.
Be YOU :: This is the blog entry that spawned this podcast.
Link to the audio :: You can download the audio from this link, if the preview button doesn't work.

File Download (28:34 min / 13 MB)

Interview with Green Hearts

dsarma — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:47:00 -0700

Today, I get onto the Green Hearts podcast. This is the cursing/swearing version. >.> Theirs is the clean one.

Green Hearts :: Alex and Brendan's show.

File Download (47:02 min / 22 MB)

Lisa Part 3 of 3

dsarma — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:55:07 -0700

In the final part of our journey, we nerd out about food a little more, talk about Lisa’s bunny, and a little bit more about summer, fall, and winter squash.

File Download (64:46 min / 30 MB)

Lisa Part 2 of 3

dsarma — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:54:48 -0700

Part 2 of the Lisa interview. Here, Lisa discusses basics of beginning a garden, from seeds. She’s got lots of good information about sprouting your seeds in little dixie cups, or planting them directly in the ground. We discuss watering, DIY gardening, and heirloom varietals.

File Download (68:25 min / 63 MB)

Lisa Part 1 of 3

dsarma — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:43:00 -0700

Today, we embark on a 3 part series, with our dear friend Lisa. We start by talking about what to do with her mystery ingredients that she had growing in her garden. I actually started in as soon as she gave me the ingredients, even though I thought I might have to pause.

File Download (60:35 min / 56 MB)

Dino Rambles about Storage

dsarma — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:26:00 -0700

Sorry for the rambling nature of this particular show. I just couldn’t help but to talk about the diversions that I brought up. If it’s annoying, please let me know. But ostensibly, this show is about how to store dry goods in your pantry.

File Download (22:46 min / 11 MB)

How to write a Cookbook

dsarma — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:53:00 -0700

I discuss with Alex on how to write a cookery book. But, there’s lots of good information about writing a recipe.

How to write a Cookbook

1) Detail matters.
If you’ve seen my book, you notice how I’m careful to be highly specific when I need to be? That’s because if the details are wrong, people get pissed.

You can never be ambiguous. Also, you can’t guesstimate EVER. Because there will be that one guy out there who uses a measuring spoon. And who doesn’t trust himself to cook, so he’ll follow your directions to the letter.

2) Your work flow matters.
It may seem natural for you, but it’s not to people who don’t cook. For example, if I’m making a soup with cabbage, I’ll start the water boiling, and have the slow cooking veg in the pot before I even touch the cabbage. Because the cabbage cooks fast, and goes last. So it’s more efficient to get my pot going first, and then do anything to cabbage.

But people who don’t cook? Will literally prep all the ingredients first, and have them laid out. And go through everything one at a time. Four hours later, a meal will be on the table, but they’ll think that vegan food takes forever to prepare.

3) List ingredients twice.
Once in the ingredients list, and once again in the recipe itself. This provides a cross-check for you as well as the reader. Never say “the dry ingredients” or “the spice blend”.

Re-list the spices, one by one, so that when you’re done writing the recipe, you have a handy cross-checking tool. Also, never ever call for something that you didn’t ask for in the ingredients list. It’ll make your proof reader and recipe reader yell at you.

If you need 1 cup of water to boil the peas in, make sure that you list water as an ingredient. If you need additional water at the end, reserved just in case, account for that in the list, and say where you’d use it.

In cases when you’ll need to add different amounts of the same ingredient in two places during cooking (add additional oil), list it in order.

For example: 25 mL canola, peanut, or sunflower oil, 3 grams cumin, 3 grams coriander, 1 aubergine, 10 mL canola, peanut, or sunflower oil, etc.

4) List ingredients in the order that you’ll be using them. As in, if you’re pouring oil into the pot to get things started, the oil you use to get stuff started goes first.

I’m also referring back to the point about being specific. If you want them to use canola oil, say so. If they can use peanut oil instead, say so. If you don’t want them to use margarine, shortening, or olive oil in place of canola oil, mention it in the intro what recipes don’t matter what the oil is, and which ones do matter.

Testers.

You’ll need to come up with a crack team of testers, either online, or in person. They need to be able to do a couple of things.

1) Be able to follow your directions to the letter.

2) Take specific notes on the process, and how it turned out for them.
take notes on timing, on measurement accuracy, and success of the instructions. Make corrections as needed (if they’re a good cook), or follow through and fail (if they’re a beginner) and yell at you.

3) Give specific feedback on taste, texture, ease of preparation, and total cooking time, including prep. You’ll need that last bit of info for the top of the recipe.

And finally, they need to tell you if they’d make it again. If not, why not. Because recipes that are only used once and then never touched again will take up needless space.

Alex’s mansion kitchen:

Their Podcast :: Check out their stuff.

File Download (94:00 min / 43 MB)

AV Interview

dsarma — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:17:00 -0700

A couple of years back, before my book was published, Lauren Corman of Animal Voices offered to have me on her show to do an interview about my book. It was a really fun time, because I love their show. They have so many topics, and cool people on there, and I’d been listening for like a year or so at that time. I couldn’t get on the skype with Lisa, so I figured I’d give those of you waiting for a new show a treat by uploading that old interview. Hope you enjoy it!

Animal Voices Interview :: This is the page on Animal Voices that houses the show with my interview on it. If you want to hear the other guy they interview, go to this page, and download both parts, and list there!
Animal Voices Website :: Excellent site with TONS of good information for vegans, or really anyone who loves animals.
Facebook Page :: Where you can find my book on Facebook. I'll upload new shows, and then post there that a new show is posted, so that you can get them as soon as they come out.

File Download (34:42 min / 32 MB)

Beans, Daal

dsarma — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:57:00 -0700

I can’t believe that it’s really been 40 episodes on this journey. Thank you muchly for your support, and for sending me the warm words of encouragement. I appreciate each of you giving me your time and trust in your kitchen. Let’s see what the next 40 brings up.

In this episode, I discuss daal (or dhal, depending on how you transliterate it), beans, and what to do with them, and how to make them taste good. I give a North Indian recipe and a South Indian recipe. Unfortunately, my mind was racing too much to give the proper ingredients and amounts, so hopefully, having them written will help.

North Indian style

Garam masala
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
3 small (2 cm long) pieces cassia bark
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 cardamom pod

Toast the spices over medium high heat until they get browned. You should hear the cumin, coriander, and fennel seeds popping. It should take anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute and a half.

As soon as they’re cooked, dump the spices into a cold ceramic bowl to prevent further cooking. Let the spices cool to room temperature. Grind all the spices except bay leaf together until it becomes a fine powder. Set aside about a teaspoon of your spice blend.

Daal
1 TB canola, vegetable, or peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium roma tomatoes (or any medium sized tomato), diced. Tinned is fine.
2 cups cooked beans (with their cooking liquid; in other words, use a tin of beans)
1 teaspoon garam masala (home made or store bought)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger root (do NOT use powdered ginger. Omit if you don’t have fresh ginger.)
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a one quart (1 litre) pot, add the oil, and set over high heat. When the heat comes up to where the oil gets less viscous, throw in the cumin seeds. They should start popping in about 10 seconds or so. When the popping subsides, add the onion, and wait for it to get translucent.

When the onions are cooked through, add the tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes over medium high heat until they fall apart and make a gravy like situation in the pot. Add 1 teaspoon of garam masala.

Add the beans.

Allow the cooking liquid to come to a boil. Let it boil for a minute. Turn off the heat, and throw in the minced garlic and ginger. Stir to combine, and serve after letting it rest for 5 minutes.

South Indian

1 teaspoon canola, peanut, or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon coriander seed, crushed lightly
1/8 teaspoon asafoetida (optional)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 cups beans, with liquid (tinned is fine)
2 – 4 cups water
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a 1 quart pot (1 litre), heat the oil over high heat. When the oil gets viscous, add the mustard seed. The mustard seeds need to pop completely before you move on. Add the asafoetida. Add the cumin seeds when the mustard seeds are done popping. Add the coriander seeds shortly afterwards.

Stir in the onion, and allow it to get translucent. Add the turmeric powder, and allow it to cook in the fat until the onions are browned. Add the beans. Add 2 – 4 cups of water, depending on how thin you like your daal to be. Let the water come to a full, rolling boil. Turn off the heat, and stir in the garlic. Let it steep for five minutes, and serve over hot rice.

File Download (24:28 min / 22 MB)

Meatfree Radio

dsarma — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:56:00 -0700

I was on another podcast some time back, and finally got un-lazy enough to upload the results. I included a bit on easy, first-timer cooking, so some of it may be stuff you’ve heard before, but then I also included my coming out story in there. Hopefully, you’ll be awake by the end to check out their website:

http://meatfreeradio.com/

Dino’s Banana Bread

3 medium-sized, ripe bananas
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 coarsely chopped nuts
3/4 cup sugar

The dough for the bread will be relatively thick. Do not get nervous and decide to deviate from the recipe.

Mash the bananas. Add the peanut butter, salt, baking soda, sugar and nuts. Stir together to combine. Add the flour and stir to combine. Port into a greased baking pan. I used a small casserole dish and had excellent results. You can also try using a loaf pan, but I think that it would make the center be a bit uncooked.

Let the bread bake for one hour at 350. Let it cool for fifteen minutes before removing from the dish.

File Download (60:39 min / 56 MB)

Lisa's Garden

dsarma — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:24:29 -0700

Couple of notes from Lisa:

Here is my container garden!

The deck is about 12’ x 12’. The three big white troughs are self-watering troughs from gardenerssupply.com. The other containers I’ve picked up over time at antique stores, Lowes, and from family. Everything is organic, heirloom seeds. Even the soil is organic!

I do spinach, bok choy, pumpkin, eggplant, bell peppers, leaf lettuce, purple and common basil, oregano, chives, green onions, sage, thyme, common mint, catnip, lemon balm, arugula, carrots, summer squash, acorn squash, winter squash, watermelon, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, cucumber, Roma tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, and two kinds of bush beans…all in this little containers! Just goes to show how much you can do in a little space!

I have some bare spots right now because I’m about to put in a second planting of spinach and kale, which are the plants of which I plant the most quantity. And as a bonus, I always know I’m eating in season!

That’s not to say I don’t buy produce. A lot of our local stores say where a fruit or veggie is grown, so if it was grown in the US I’ll buy the occassional cherry, lime, potato, etc. I’m also lucky to be in Indiana where I can easily buy corn, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and artichokes grown within 20 miles of my condo at a local farmers market.

You can use this pic on your blog if you want. More to come! :)

File Download (78:14 min / 72 MB)

Beginner Cooking Tips

dsarma — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:37:00 -0700

My friend Kate is nervous about stepping into the kitchen, because she says she doesn’t have experience cooking. Let’s all send Kate some love and encouragement as she explores the kitchen. I address Kate’s concerns that she brought up on the Vegan Freak forums, and hopefully, she’ll listen to this episode, and feel less intimidated.

File Download (30:42 min / 28 MB)

Chickpeas, Listener Emails

dsarma — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:19:19 -0700

Today, we do a round-up of the emails from listeners of the show. I also explain popping spices, roasting chickpeas on the stove, and roasting other vegetables without using an oven. The summer is coming up, and you want to have dinner done with in just a few minutes.

Creamy Dressing :: Hummus Dressing, but jazzed up to include more flavour.

File Download (40:20 min / 37 MB)

What do you do with raw peanuts?

dsarma — Tue, 19 May 2009 05:25:00 -0700

In response to our dear friend Emily’s question, I take a look today at what one does with raw peanuts (with skin). This show only refers to raw peanuts, and does not necessarily work for other nuts. I will cover more nuts, if you want me to.

File Download (9:46 min / 13 MB)

Food, Politics, Food Politics, Rants, etc

dsarma — Sun, 03 May 2009 05:32:00 -0700

What happens when you get together a few vegans, and feed them well, and then sit on sofas, and chairs, and other such surfaces, and record the results. This is a little snippet of our conversation, which I hope you’ll find entertaining. We don’t really stay on topic for very long.

File Download (83:06 min / 114 MB)

Yucca

dsarma — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:26:00 -0700

Very short show about Yucca.

File Download (5:10 min / 7 MB)

Basics of South Indian Cooking

dsarma — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:00:00 -0800

Very basic introduction to South Indian cooking. I don’t get into the higher intricacies of the cuisine, but I do give an overview of some of the starting points of how to make South Indian food work in your own kitchen, with just a couple of extra things that are easy enough to find in any major grocery store. Please send me your comments, and if you have any specific questions, I’ll see what I can do.

File Download (29:56 min / 41 MB)

Curries.

dsarma — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 06:48:00 -0800

Listener email, coconut, and curries of the different parts of the world.

File Download (26:58 min / 37 MB)

Why do gourmands chase ingredients?

dsarma — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:34:00 -0800

We’ve all been there. You’ll be reading a cookery book, or podcast, or watching a television show, and the person on the other side is insisting that you have to try it just so, or else. Today, we explore the ins and outs of making it, then faking it.

File Download (24:32 min / 34 MB)

Vegan gumbo, vegan sandwiches, vegan raw

dsarma — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:53:00 -0800

Today, we explore stuff that’s really out of my depth. I had to do a bit of homework for these topics, but it was interesting to do the looking up in any case.

Hummus dressing:

1 cup hummus
1/4 – 1/2 cup water
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp salt

In a blender, combine the hummus, 1/4 cup of water, lime juice, and salt. Blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning, and thin it with more water, as needed.

Ani Phyo :: This is the Ani Phyo I was talking about, who does excellent raw food recipes on the web.
Ani Phyo's Youtube Channel :: Here are videos with Ani showing you how to make the food happen.
Vegan Gumbo :: Looks pretty solid to me.
Pressed sandwich :: Sort of like a panini, than a long sitting pressed sandwich, but you get the idea. Experiment with your own ingredients.
Vegan Pressed Sandwich :: This is the long sitting, pressed sandwich.

File Download (50:28 min / 69 MB)

Oils

dsarma — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:07:00 -0800

Today, we discuss oil, and how to use it in various applications. Apologies for running a little longer than I usually would. It’s just that there is so much to discuss when it comes to oil!

Please email me at alternativevegan@gmail.com and let me know what you think, or if you had any corrections to list. Also, let me know your favourite oils, and how you use them.

From my blog post:

The difference between a cooking and a finishing oil is based on two things: resistance to heat, and price. For example, although coconut oil can technically take a lot of heat, it’s expensive, so I personally wouldn’t consider it to be a cooking oil. This is why I list it as a finishing oil, although I do put cooking as a possibility.

Why do I factor in cost? Because the more expensive oils should be used in such a manner that their full flavour is brought to the forefront, instead of being muddled by other factors. Every time you heat an oil, you change its chemical and flavour structure. Things break down, things interact with the ingredients in the cooking vessel and the vessel itself, and all sorts of things happen to the oil, so that it’s no longer the same as before.

Just as I wouldn’t dream of taking a perfectly ripe, juicy, succulent mango, and demolishing its delicate flavours and textures by cooking, I wouldn’t dream of using a fine quality extra virgin olive oil and blasting it with a hit of heat. If it’s a grocery store mango, on the other hand, whose origins are shady, and whose skin (and not flavour) is perfect, or in the case of an olive oil with equally shady background and “consistent” (how I loathe that word) oil all throughout (no sediment, and identical product form bottle to bottle), I wouldn’t be bothered about using it for whatever.

If you’re going to be spending that money in any case (as neither good mango nor good olive oil is cheap), you might as well get the best that you can afford, and enjoy the experience fully, rather than settling for a half-assed, bland, watered down version that isn’t going to satisfy you. And then when you have the product which is the best that you can afford, you treat it in such a way so that you showcase the best of that product, and hide nothing. That beautiful mango, whose aroma wafts up from the skin to your nose, and fills your head with the sun-drenched, rain quenched soil in which it grew, should be served simply: sliced and peeled. MAYBE a tiny teeny touch of salt to bring out the flavours, but nothing more. You take your first bite, and the perfume envelops you in its warm embrace, and you are fulfilled.

It’s the same with a good quality oil. You want to show off the fact that you have that oil in such a way that the flavour comes to the forefront. When I use olive oil, sesame oil, til oil, coconut oil, or any other fragrant and expensive oil, I use only the barest little amount, and in places where it’ll shine. With the olive oil, I’ll drizzle a tiny bit over fresh, sun-ripened tomato, liberally sprinkled with fresh basil. With sesame oil, I save it for when the summer cucumbers are crisp and cold, and loaded with flavour. I add a few drops to the thin slices of cucumber, and finish it off with a bit of rice wine vinegar. With the til oil, I add a few drops to the dosa that I’m frying, or use it for dressing up a bowl of steamy, fluffy rice. For coconut oil, that king of all oils, I use it on my skin and hair. If ever I use it in cooking, I add just a few scant drops to the boiled soups and stews (in each individual bowl) just before serving, so that the heady aroma can diffuse through the air.

In the end, I am able to save those oils for a much longer time than if I were to use them in cooking. Moreover, a tiny amount goes a long way, meaning that I won’t have to use quite as much oil as most recipes call for, thereby reducing the total fat intake in general.

Kernel? :: An explanation of the different parts of the seed.
Seeds :: Wikipedia article on seeds.
Smoke Point :: The smoke points of various seeds. Anything with a smoke point below 200ºC (400ºF) is unsuitable for deep frying.
Oils Spreadsheet :: I made a spreadsheet of the types of oils that you use, and their characteristics.
Oils PDF :: Downloadable PDF of the oils spreadsheet.
Seed parts :: A drawing of the parts of the seed.
Altveg :: My corresponding blog entry on Oils.

File Download (41:42 min / 57 MB)

Cake of Almond

dsarma — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:22:00 -0800

Dry
2 Cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt (optional)

Wet
3/4 cup water or juice
1 TB white or cider vinegar
1 TB vanilla extract
1 tsp almond or orange extract (optional)
Enough oil or apple sauce to have total wet equal 2 cups total.

Extras
up to 1/2 cup ground almonds, finely chopped walnuts or pecans, grated apple, or finely chopped dried fruits (raisins, apricots, cranberries, dates). Make sure that the “extras” don’t exceed the amount of batter.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Stir together with a fork or whisk, to aerate a little bit.

In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine the water, the vinegar, the vanilla and almond/orange extracts. Stir to combine. Add enough oil or applesauce to make the liquid ingredients equal 2 cups in total.

When the oven comes up to 350ºF, fold in the “Extras”. Make sure that all of your extras combined come up to no more than 1/2 cup.

Bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes.

File Download (19:46 min / 27 MB)

Food for when you're broke.

dsarma — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:30:00 -0800

Today, we discuss food that one makes when one is broke. Ramen not included.

"I'm Broke" food :: The link to the blog post that I mentioned.

File Download (17:58 min / 25 MB)

Keeping clean and organised.

dsarma — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:00:00 -0800

Today, we discuss how to keep things sane in the kitchen, so that you don’t end up frustrated at the last minute.

File Download (29:24 min / 40 MB)

Popping spices, listener emails.

dsarma — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:25:00 -0800

Today, we discuss popping spices (and not making a giant mess), and catch up on some listener emails.

File Download (21:36 min / 30 MB)

Ask me questions!

dsarma — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:20:00 -0800

I address some listener emails about “Indian” food, how to make your own recipes, asking questions, and jazzing up your bread.

File Download (28:32 min / 13 MB)

Hummus and Bean Dips

dsarma — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 03:47:00 -0800

Hummus should be:
-16 oz tin of chickpeas
-2 TB tahini
-2 TB lemon juice
-1 tsp cumin powder
-Salt to taste
-Water, to thin out as needed

Hummus dressing:
-1 cup of hummus
-2 TB dijon mustard
-1 TB – 1/4 cup olive oil (optional)
-1 TB apple cider vinegar
-1 TB lemon juice
-Water, to thin it out
-Salt to taste
-Pepper to taste

File Download (29:32 min / 14 MB)

Soups, Part 4: Wrap up, and general instructions.

dsarma — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:38:00 -0700

We discuss how to make a soup from start to finish, how to fix the texture, how to fix over/underseasoning issues, thickening, thinn-ening (is that even a word), and all sorts of other helpful rubbish.

File Download (52:54 min / 24 MB)

Soups Part 3: Roasted soup

dsarma — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:37:00 -0700

Corrections:

The final roasting took 2 bouts of 45 minutes. After the first 45 minutes, I was able to remove the garlic and onions and most of the carrots. After the second bout, everything was tender, and I allowed it to brown under the broiler for a bit. I deglazed the bottom with a bit of red wine, and kept that aside as a sauce for if Steve wants the veg just by themselves with a deep ruby red sauce.

In the end, I have the following:

Simmered veg:
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 TB fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 large head of cabbage, chopped
1 bunch rappini (broccoli rabe), chopped roughly
1 coconut, grated
1 cup coconut milk

Roasted veg:
2 heads garlic (added to the soup at the end)
3 medium onions (added to soup at the end after roughly chopping)
1 lb carrots (mashed, and added to soup)
5 medium beets
3 large turnips
2 large sweet potatoes

You can definitely scale back if you need to, or scale up. If you’re roasting everything on a baking sheet or in a casserole dish, this will take you much less time than it did in my large roasting dish. The soup is VERY garlicky, which I like a lot, but it’s a creamy sort of garlic punch.

I finished the soup with a bit of Hungarian hot paprika, and fresh chopped herbs (I used cilantro, feel free to use your favourites).

File Download (28:00 min / 13 MB)

Soups Part 2: Soup for when you're feeling sick.

dsarma — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:49:00 -0700

Rasam is a really good soup for when you’re feeling sore throats, or congestion of any sort.

File Download (16:16 min / 8 MB)

Soup; the basics. Part 1

dsarma — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:42:00 -0700

File Download (28:34 min / 13 MB)

Omnisubs suck, Choosing produce, MAKIN' SMOOTHIES

dsarma — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:19:00 -0700

Aww yeah.

File Download (29:00 min / 13 MB)

Travel

dsarma — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:33:00 -0700

Brent asks about travelling. I explain more.

File Download (14:36 min / 7 MB)

What to do with a rice cooker, listener emails, get your foot in the door.

dsarma — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:46:00 -0700

In this episode, I read some of the listener emails that I’ve been getting. Keep them coming! I love hearing from you folk, and I’m sure you enjoy hearing what others are saying too. :) I explain what are the essential kitchen gadgets, and what to do with them. Also, I explain how to get your foot in the door, in terms of when someone is unsure of what to make you (when you’re the only vegan coming over!); it’s not hard at all to get some basic food down. Apologies for the crappy quality and the lack of recent updates. Life has a way of flinging stuff at you from every corner when you least expect it.

File Download (25:18 min / 12 MB)

GroceryShopping

dsarma — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:54:00 -0700

I got some emails about shopping with a small budget. I address this, and how to prevent the rice cooker from splattering your counter! Please excuse my lack of recent updates. It’s been a crazy month!

File Download (18:26 min / 9 MB)

Garlic Bread Quickie

dsarma — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:40:00 -0700

Quick snippet about making strong garlic bread.

File Download (3:32 min / 2 MB)

Summer Cooking

dsarma — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:40:00 -0700

I hate cooking during the summer. Here are some tips on how to get through the discomfort, and get in the kitchen. To review:

1. Do things efficiently, and quickly.
2. Avoid standing over the stove. Try using your microwave or conventional oven instead.
3. Toaster oven is your friend for super fast food.
4. Hummus = salad dressing
5. Salad = win, because it’s cold!

File Download (12:40 min / 6 MB)

Freezing Food

dsarma — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:46:00 -0700

Dino discusses the ins and outs of keeping a gallery of frozen food that you make by yourself!

Email Me! :: Comments, Questions, Tips, Tricks, Anything!

File Download (23:04 min / 11 MB)

How do you SAY that?, part 2; Listener question.

dsarma — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:28:00 -0700

I missed a couple of recipes in the How do you SAY that segment, because they’re equally interesting foods, although they’re a fair bit easier to pronounce. But then, you can’t really take my word for it, because I speak the language, don’t I!?

Personal Blog :: Leave comments here or on my blog.
Email me ::

File Download (35:32 min / 16 MB)

How do you SAY that?

dsarma — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:47:00 -0700

Recipes for Channa Masala and bajji.

File Download (15:04 min / 21 MB)

Waste bad.

dsarma — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:44:00 -0700

Recipe for quick cauliflower, carrots, broccoli. Dino discusses how not to waste food.

Cauliflower:
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets (mince up the leaves and stem as well)
2 TB oil
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 TB coriander powder

Microwave for 15 minutes, or bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Alternately, use 1 TB oil, 1 tsp cumin seeds, and pop seeds in oil. Add cauliflower, along with leaves and stem (minced), and cook over high heat for a few minutes. Sprinkle in the coriander powder and turmeric powder. Sautee until well cooked. Finish with salt and pepper.

Same recipe works for the broccoli, carrots, or leaves.

File Download (19:56 min / 27 MB)

Potluck Planning

dsarma — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:00:00 -0700

After a bit of an absence, due to my travelling all over creation (!), I return with some tips about planning a potluck.

File Download (22:00 min / 10 MB)

Onion Soup!

dsarma — Sat, 31 May 2008 13:55:00 -0700

I sound horrible. I know I do. But! Onion souuuuup! If you don’t have miso in the fridge, just use a few teaspoons of soy sauce or tamari, mixed with a hefty pinch or three of cumin powder. It’ll probably taste better than just the miso.

The lovely Leah transcribed the recipe for Onion Soup. Here it is:

Dino’s Onion Soup

2.5 pounds (1kilo) of onions peeled and cut into half moons
2 tablesoons of oil
3 teaspoons of coriander powder
Freshly ground black pepper
Generous pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of Miso
Few litres of boiling water
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
Half teaspoon of turmeric powder
2 tablespoons Extra of oil
2 tablespoons plain flour
Bread for croutons
Garlic salt

Place onions and oil at the same time into a screaming hot pan then drop down to low and let it sit there for 15-20 minutes to cook through till transparent.

Turn up the heat to medium add the coriander powder, salt and pepper. Stir around and let it get dark brown in colour slowly. While that is going boil a few litres of water. Add miso to boiling water stir then turn down heat to low. Add tomato sauce and salt and pepper. Let simmer.

Once onions brown add the turmeric powder and few extra tablespoons of oil. Cook turmeric down for about a minute add flour. Turn up heat to high. Stir fast with large wooden spoon.

After 30 seconds on high heat pour in a ladle full of the hot water to the flour. Stir vigorously. Keep adding a few more ladles stir continuously. Once thick paste and boiling add the rest of the water in two amounts stirring, bring to boil then turn down to simmer for 10 minutes.

 Toast the bread for croutons you can sprinkle some garlic powder on the bread before placing in the toaster to give it more flavour. Break into pieces and place in the bottom of the bowl then cover with the prepared soup.

File Download (14:38 min / 20 MB)

Herbs

dsarma — Mon, 26 May 2008 13:14:00 -0700

In this episode, I discuss some of the common herbs found in people’s kitchens, and what to do with them.

Herbs :: A summary of the show, in table format.
Chatni :: The recipes for Dhania Chatni and Pudina Chatni
Pesto :: Good recipe for fresh pesto. Use the basil, oregano, spinach/mint, or whatever other herb you'd like.
Email Me :: Have questions? Send me an email!
Personal Blog :: This is where I keep my text ramblings.

File Download (33:54 min / 47 MB)