Scenes From a Cinnamon Snail Recipe Testing Adventure

Sorry for the abbreviated posts of late (or perhaps a "you're welcome" is in order instead); it's been a busy few weeks- what with recipe testing for an exciting new cookbook, the implementation of a Facebook page for my blog, and simultaneously preparing for Halloween. Did I mention recipe testing for an exciting new cookbook?

What exciting new cookbook, you ask?  Why, the Cinnamon Snail, of course!  Yes, it's true.  It's not enough that the folks at the helm of the Snail dish out phenomenal food day in and day out; they're also hard at work creating a cookbook.  So, soon (I'll keep you posted) you will be able to make some of your favorites (and much, much more) within the confines of your own kitchen to amaze your friends and family.  Or, to consume in large quantities in the privacy of your own home- your call.

I was intending to have a 48-hour recipe-testing marathon, so I fortified myself with a healthy, convenient breakfast.

Then I buttered up my sous chef (with arugula) to endure a looooong cooking session.

And then I got started.
five-spice fried sunflower gomasio prep:

 Major props to the bullet for whipping up sauces like a champ.

 

89, moments after she heard the unmistakable sound of the last sheet of paper towel ripping off...

The first masterpiece I completed: the astonishing miso teriyaki seitan with grilled onion, arugula, wasabi mayonnaise, and five-spice fried sunflower gomasio on a toasted baguette.  Show of hands; who doesn't want this in their belly?

More bullet action in full view of cashews about to skinny-dip.

This is what passes for a bunch of kale some days (I know you feel my pain, JD).

De-stemmed...

In action:

And Snail-marinated!

Smoked chili roasted peanuts, I will eat all of you.

Breaktime: kettle korn and a G&T, extra lime:

Mason jar action: pickled Thai basil and onions.  And just like that I'm mesmerized by pickling.

You can never have enough onions.  How about some slow roasted smoked onions:

Or perhaps some chilies preparing to morph into grilled aioli?

Recipe testing is serious business; it takes heart and devotion- both of which are exemplified by the Snail through the impeccable, original creations they invent and serve to an ever-growing public.  I often find myself in a huge Snail line marveling at the fact that most of the customers are not vegan... not even vegetarian.  The thought of how many people they reach daily and how many more people will be reached by a cookbook- through interest; curiosity; or friends sharing recipes, is exhilirating and I'm happy to have the opportunity to play even a small part in helping them to further spread the vegan word.

That being said, the day before testing commenced found me hitting up 8 stores for a ton of food shopping in advance of about 40 recipes/recipes-within-recipes preparation.  I felt like I was embarking on an adventure!

 

After all the groceries made it inside, a quickly thrown together dinner was called for: it involved celery (more on that later) and, in my haste, I cut my finger while intending to cut the celery.  So, mid-recipe testing I learned that a double band-aid does not shield such a wound from the evils of citrus; so, the universe sent me some love as I was wincing whilst zesting and juicing countless limes (or maybe the universe was suggesting I carve a lime instead of a pumpkin?).

Unfortunately 89 can no longer be tricked into lime-licking for my entertainment.

"I am going to disembowel this tiny toy because you continue to ignore me."

If you think things were getting a little silly, you'd be right.  It was my coping mechanism for this VERY messy kitchen.

What better time to break out the booze (again)?  I've never had bourbon before.  Do yourself a favor: buy some, sit on your couch, and wait for The Cinnamon Snail cookbook to come out so you can make brown sugar bourbon glazed seitan with smoked slow roasted onions, arugula, and grilled ancho chili aioli on a grilled baguette.  You can thank me later.  With bourbon.

Words can not adequately describe the succulence of this sammie.

I know what you're thinking, "What about the famous Korean barbecue seitan?"

 

What about it? Ta da:

All wrapped up and ready for eating...

Or perhaps lemongrass 5-spice seitan with curried cashews, Szechuan chili sauce, and wasabi mayonnaise is your jam.  Just try not to eat all of the cashews before you finish preparing your sandwich; it will be worth the wait.  Ok, sneak a few.

For the record, after co-taste-testing all of these recipes, OD has been officially introduced to seitan worship.

While all these impossibly delicious seitan dishes have persuaded me otherwise, I generally prefer tempeh. 

just keep swimming...

I'm not yet sure when exactly the cookbook is expected available (or when the launch party is: holla at your girl!), but you should prepare in advance to have your socks knocked off with maple bbq smothered tempeh with beer batter fried pickles, roasted garlic cabbage slaw, marinated kale, & roasted habanero aioli.  Did you get all that?

Aaaand, end of recipe testing, day 1.

(Consecutive) recipe testing day 2 commenced with roasted tomatillo salsa verde and smoked chili coconut bacon in the works.

Also, fried sage leaves. 

If you've not had them before, you'll want them all the time once you're hooked on sage tempeh sausage sliders with olive tapenade, truffled cashew cheese, fried sage leaves, and lavender roasted shallots: another mind-bogglingly outrageous but totally amazing concoction.  I really wish I had a shot of those beautiful shallots roasting with the lavender, but it was getting late...

Look familiar?  A perennial favorite of mine: gochujang burger deluxe with pickled leeks & daikon, black sesame gomasio, kimchi, arugula, and sriracha mayo.

Howzabout a Thai BBQ tempeh sandwich with pickled Thai basil and onions, sriracha mayo, smoked chili roasted peanuts, and arugula on spelt bread?  Yet another of my perennial faves!

And, finally: blue corn hempseed crusted tempeh with smoked chili coconut bacon, roasted tomatillo salsa verde, beer simmered onions & garlic, chipotle mayo, and arugula on spelt bread.   You know, just a little something I threw together.

These recipes are no joke; they are descriptive and require your full attention.  They are also better than most things you've ever eaten, so well-worth the effort.

Once you see them come together- let alone taste them, you'll be reminded of how much more the Cinnamon Snail is than simply a food truck.  And while these recipes are only a small portion of the total goodness to come in the cookbook, they are wholly indicative of the innovative, global tastes that have taken the tri-state area by storm via the Snail.

I am not particularly skilled or courageous in the kitchen.  But with the Cinnamon Snail's ingenuity relayed in easy-to-follow directions, I amazed everyone- including myself.  You will too.  Rock on, Cinnamon Snail.

Farmstand Haul (Vegan MoFo 2013)

A friend of mine lives in a rather rural area of New Jersey.  The drive to see her is picturesque and relaxing, and I always look forward to visiting with her and her family.  Because a lot of people in her area have considerable, organic vegetable gardens of their own (she herself has an extremely impressive herb garden), there is little need for official farmer's markets.  Instead, on any given day, you can purchase their surplus for a relative pittance.  Many people set up a rudimentary table/tent area on their property (which I didn't feel comfortable photographing), but the woman who runs the farm below takes it to another level: displaying her fruits, vegetables, and fresh-cut flowers (you can make out the tip of the sunflower field on the right of the photo) in an old truck! 

photo credit: LR

We recently took a short tour of what was available in the area on a Sunday as the summer was winding down (better get there early before everything is sold out) and this was my haul, all organic, for a total of $7.

 

These tomatoes were my favorite; I started eating them, plain, that evening.

The morning after our excursion I realized I hadn't prepared anything to take to work for lunch.  I quickly assembled a salad of arugula, walnuts, soybeans, orange muscat champagne vinegar...and topped it off with some of the tomatoes.  The good news: my simple salad was delicious.  The bad news: I ate it at 11:00am.

The green peppers went, with (Trader Joe's) carrots; (farmer's market) string beans; (canned!) water chestnuts; and onions, into a modified lo mein from The Asian Vegan Kitchen.  This picture is pretty, but when I tried to stir the rice noodles in with the veggies, they pretty much just stayed in a clump. 

With patience and two forks I was able to turn the large clump into a few smaller clumps, but the whole dish was a good reminder that rice noodles do not cooperate and definitely do not lend themselves to good leftovers.  One word: pasty.  I tried to pretty them up for you the best I could.

 

I have to admit that I could have been significantly more creative with the potatoes; I wound up making two batches of French fries with them!  First I tried them BYOL style: baked with no oil (tossed, instead, with broth/herbs/spices).

They actually came out much better than I expected, but someone neglected to recommend parchment paper and I was left with this mess!

In retaliation, for the next batch I coated the pan and the fries with a light spray of oil along with salt and pepper. 

I still baked them and they were pretty good (no sticking!).  Nowhere near as good as these, but good nonetheless.

I actually forgot about the cucumbers, so one day- long after they should have been wilted but weren't, I quickly mixed up a batch of kalamata olive hummus to eat with them sliced.  For the record, I didn't really love the olive/cucumber combo...bread or crackers would have been better.  But the cukes?  So hardy!

Note: It was my first time making dip in my Vitamix and I was a little perplexed by how to get the rest of my hummus out from within the blades at the bottom. 

In addition to sharing her local bounty with me, that day my friend also sent me home with some goodies from her personal herb garden: fresh mint in numerous varieties.  She's so fancy.

It stayed for well over a week in a cup of water in my fridge as I made mint smoothie after mint smoothie.

And when I say fresh, I mean it.  Check out this free gift with purchase.

Also, this one.

She slipped it into my bag!  The only thing better than fresh, cheap, organic produce is a friend generous with her booze.

Mid-draft update: said friend has since picked up gorgeous string beans from the truckstand.  There was a sign that said, "pay what you think is fair."

Same truck:

off the grid!

P.S. Just because I don't have a theme doesn't mean I can't be inspired by the themes of others.

P.P.S. I'm coming for you, taco cleanse.