Ground cherries. I had absolutely no idea what they were until I saw them at a farmers market here in Boston. When I walked by them I said, “Aww, baby tomatillos!” The sign said “ground cherries” so I asked the woman more about them. She carefully unwrapped one from it’s papery husk and handed it to me.
Wow, so weird. And so good.
They’re the size of cherry tomatoes. The ripe ones are a pale golden yellow. They have a hint (just a hint) of tomato, but are much sweeter. They smell like fresh strawberries, have the sweetness of grapes, and have a vaguely pineapple flavor. And a little vanilla, too. Weird. But good.
I picked up two little cartons and then let them sit on my counter for four days. I couldn’t figure out what to do with them, and I thought the point would be moot since they were probably spoiled. But nope! They store extremely well in the fridge, and as it turns out, pretty well on your counter top, too.
The most traditional way to use them is in pie. I been thinking about a way to make miniature pies in cupcake tins, so here was my chance to try it out. The upshot is that you can use the technique with whatever fruit you can find, should ground cherries not be available.
Ground Cherry Cupcake Pies
Makes Six
Pate Brisee (pie dough)
1 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 Cup Cubed, Chilled Earth Balance Margarine
2 Tbs - 1/4 Cup Ice Water
1 1/3 Cup Ground Cherries, de-husked and washed
1/4 Cup Sugar + 1/2 tsp Flour
Begin by making the pie dough. For a step-by-step, see this recipe.
Line a cupcake tin with cupcake papers. Spray lightly with oil. Place a scant tablespoon of dough into the bottom of each cup. Using a small glass dipped in water (one that has the same diameter of the bottom of the cupcake cup), press the dough to form a bottom crust.
Take small pieces of dough and build up the sides of the cup with dough, making sure the walls aren’t too thick.
At this point, you can use the glass again, dipped in water so it won’t stick, to neaten everything up if you want.
Your finished pie shells should look something like this. Place the shells in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up.
Preheat the oven to 400º F. Remove the shells from the fridge and fill to the top, slightly overflowing, with ground cherries (or whatever fruit you’re using).
Add 1/2 to 1 tsp of the sugar/flour mixture to each cup, depending on how sweet you want your pies. 1/2 tsp was sweet enough for me, allowing the flavor of the fruit to show through. If you’re using something tangier or less sweet, you’ll want more sugar.
Cover the back of a cookie sheet with a sheet of plastic wrap. Add the rest of the pie dough, and cover with a second sheet. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/4-1/8″ thick. Using a glass that has a slightly larger diameter than the openings of the cupcake cups, stamp out six pie crust tops. Place this in the freezer for a few minutes, or into the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
Once chilled, you should be able to easily peel out the tops and place them over your pies. Pinch the edges down, slash a X in the top with a sharp knife, and sprinkle with sugar. You can do other types of tops, such as lattice work, if desired.
Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool for several minutes before gently removing them from the cupcake tin to cook completely.
Ground cherry cupcake pies!
Again, you can use any fruit you like, but if you ever see ground cherries, definitely try them. They’re also sometimes called cape gooseberries (though some people say it’s a different fruit in the same family), husk tomatoes (which usually refer to tomatillos…), goldenberries, and a host of other names. Whatever they’re called, they should be small, sweet, and surprising. Make a jam, dip them in chocolate, add them to salsa, or eat them raw.
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Okay! Seems like a lot of people find these growing nearby their homes. PLEASE don’t eat them unless you’re SURE they are okay to eat. Wikipedia lists over 35 different plants in the Physalis genus. That’s a lot! So there’s no guarantee the species that is growing near you is this same species I’ve written about. Please be careful!! Even if they are safe to eat, they might not taste the same.
If the people that live around you don’t tend to eat the fruits of the bushes you see, there might be a very good reason why. Wild foraging can be dangerous, so please eat only ground cherries that you find at markets that have a reputation for, well, selling non-poisonous food. Ha!
September 3rd, 2008
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When it’s summer, I can’t get enough of recipes that use up fresh tomatoes and basil. But no matter what time of year, I’m always down with quick recipes. You can make this sauce in the time it takes to boil the pasta. My whole wheat pasta cooks in 9 minutes, so this simple sauce makes a 9 minute summer meal that’s hard to beat.
I wanted to make a dish similar to this one, but not using tofutti cream cheese. I decided to replace it with cashews. Cashews are the base of most of my favorite vegan cream sauces because they’re very rich tasting and blend easily, allowing you to create a velvety smooth sauce in your blender.
Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta
Serves Two
1 Large, ripe tomato (2 cups roughly chopped, 1 1/2 cups blended)
1/2 Cup Raw Cashews
1 Tbs Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Water
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2-4 Cloves Garlic, minced, optional
6 Ounces (ish) Whole Wheat Spaghetti
1 tsp Salt (edit: upped from 3/4!)
2-3 Tbs Wine or Water, optional
1-2 tsp Freshly Cracked, Coarse Black Pepper
1 Large Handful Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
Core the tomato, then roughly chop it. Add it to your blender, seeds, skin and all. Add cashews, tomato paste, and water. Blend until very smooth.
Add olive oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute until golden, being careful not to burn. Once water is boiling, add pasta. Pour sauce from the blender into the saute pan and bring to a simmer. Add salt and let cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
If desired add wine/water to thin out the sauce. Taste and season more if necessary. Let simmer until pasta is finished cooking. Once pasta is cooked, drain. Add pasta to the saute pan with black pepper and freshly chopped basil leaves. Toss to coat. Serve immediately, garnishing with more pepper and basil.
Enjoy! And stay tuned this week for a big, happy announcement.
August 12th, 2008
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The ever-awesome VegNews has nominated me for their 2008 VegNews Veggie Awards! Thanks, guys! Unlike the Bloggy Awards, the Veggie Awards are decided by readers. That means you!
If you like VeganYumYum, go ahead and vote for me! If you complete at least 50% of the survey (read: you don’t have to take the whole thing to vote for me), you can be eligible for some awesome prizes, the grand prize being a NYC veggie getaway–including airfare!
So vote for me and possibly win cool prizes! Yay voting!
In other news, do you have Twitter? I do! If you’re wondering what I’m eating, or when I’m going to post my next update, or if you want to see sneak peeks of my upcoming posts, you should follow me on Twitter.com. If you don’t want to join up for Twitter, you can always see my current status by checking the right-hand column of my website.
I’m going to get back to playing with these awesome red currants I picked up at Whole Foods the other day. I’m thinking rosemary, figs, and black peppercorns as my flavor palate. I don’t know, the final dish could be gross, but they sure do look pretty together, don’t they?
PS - You can grab the large or original size of this photo over on flickr if you’re looking for a new desktop background. : )
August 7th, 2008
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Yeah, I’d never heard of a blueberry grunt, either. Until I became friends with Sandy. Every since we became friends, I couldn’t use the word “blueberry” without her saying “Mmmm, blueberry grunt…” eyes half-closed and smiling. I knew it was one of her favorite desserts, but I couldn’t bring myself to make something called a grunt.
Until, that is, I had four cups freshly picked blueberries.
A grunt is in the cobbler family, and it’s a traditional East Coast maritime dessert. It’s perfect for people who might want something like a pie, but are too lazy make an actual pie. So that means it’s perfect for me!
Blueberry is a popular flavor for grunts, but I imagine you can use pretty much any berry or fruit. They’re a great way to use up bountiful–but fleeting–summer fruit. The most common way to make a grunt is to boil berries with water, sugar, and lemon juice, then add biscuit dough to the top, cover with a tight lid, and steam. It’s a one-pan, stove-top operation. I chose to bake mine because I had these ridiculously cute gratin dishes that I’d been dying to use for a blog post. I’ll give directions for both methods of cooking.
Recipes for grunts are all pretty standard, I adapted and veganized this simple recipe.
Blueberry Grunts
Makes four individual grunts, or one large
Blueberry Filling
Four Cups Fresh Blueberries (or frozen)
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tbs Lemon Juice
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 tsp Each Cinnamon and Nutmeg, optional (I left them out)
Simple Biscuits
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3 Tbs Earth Balance Margarine, or veg. shortening
3/4-1 Cup Soymilk
Add all of the ingredients for the blueberry filling into a large skillet. If you’re going to be making one large grunt and steaming the biscuits, make sure this skillet has a tight fitting lid. If you’re going to be baking the grunt, preheat the oven to 400º F.
Boil the berries for 10-15 minutes until the mixture has thickened a little.
Meanwhile, combine all the dry ingredients for the biscuits. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the margarine/shortening into the dry ingredients. If you’re berries aren’t done yet, go ahead and stick the dry mixture in the fridge or freezer to keep the margarine cold until you’re ready for it.
When the berries are ready, add the soymilk to the dry mixture to form a soft biscuit dough. The consistency is pretty forgiving, a slightly too-soft or too-firm dough won’t make a difference in the final product. As long as it holds together, but is soft enough to break apart into clumps, you’re good to go. Don’t over-mix the dough, or the biscuits will be tough. But you knew that!
For one large, steamed grunt:
Break the biscuit dough up into small, bite-sized pieces. Place the pieces on top of the hot, still-cooking berries, spread evenly across the top. Cover the skillet with a tight fitting lid, reduce the heat slightly, and steam for 15 minutes without peeking. The biscuits should be puffed up and cooked all the way through. Serve warm.
For one large baked grunt:
Follow the instructions for a steamed grunt, but place in the oven to bake at 400º F (without a lid) for 20 minutes. You can sand the biscuits sugar before baking if you like! Serve warm.
For individual baked grunts:
Transfer berry mixture to individual ramekins or gratin dishes, filling only half-full. Add biscuit mixture on top. Sand with sugar and place all the grunts on a baking sheet (this will help you take them out of the oven with burning yourself). Bake for 20 minutes, serve warm.
Here’s what my individual grunts looked like before baking:
These are great just as they are, but you can also serve them with some ice cream if you want. I invited Sandy over to try them, and she said that not only were they delicious, but they “taste exactly like a non-vegan grunt.” So if you’re looking for a simple, but elegant dessert to use up summer berries, I highly recommend this one.
I won’t blame you if you call it a cobbler, though.
July 31st, 2008
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I hate it when I order a tofu sandwich somewhere, and it pretty much just tastes like (or actually is) blocks of watery, plain tofu stuffed between two pieces of bread. What’s up with that? You might as well be eating a wet, mushy sponge. I love me some tofu, but you got to treat it right, you know?
So I was thinking about tofu, and imagining thin slices of flavorful goodness to stuff into sandwiches. I knew wanted to use miso as the base for the flavor. The first sauce I mixed together used a bit of maple syrup, which seemed like a good idea until I tasted it. Something about the combination of red miso and maple syrup did not sit well with me, so down the drain it went. I moved on to pure, unadulterated sugar, a twist of lemon, a splash of tamari… I was definitely getting close. I scooped in a little bit of nooch (nutritional yeast, aka vegan pixi dust) and liquid smoke and it was finished. It’s a dead-simple marinade, tangy, salty, smokey and rich. I wanted eat it like a soup.
I thought some pan-frying was in order, but when I heated up my cast-iron skillet and proceeded to burn all of the sauce right off the tofu, I decided the oven was a better choice. The oven baked the flavor into the tofu, and 20 minutes was all that was needed since the slices were so thin.
This tofu will keep well, so it’s nice to make a whole block and set it aside for sandwiches, salads, or.. umm… snacking directly out of the fridge.
Smokey Miso Tofu
Makes 18-20 Thin Slices
2 Tbs Red Miso
2 Tbs Lemon Juice
2 Tbs Sugar
2 Tbs Tamari/Soy Sauce
1 Tbs Nutritional Yeast
1/4 tsp Liquid Smoke
1 Tub Extra/Super Firm Tofu, drained and pressed
Preheat the oven to 425º F. Wrap your drained tofu in a few paper towels, then again in a terry cloth bar towel. Press with something heavy - a cast-iron skillet, a plate with some cans on top, etc, for 10-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the marinade together.
Unwrap the tofu and make many thin, width-wise slices with a large knife. I got 18-20 slices out of one block of tofu. They’ll look something like this:
Line up your slices on a baking sheet topped with a non-stick baking mat. Brush both sides of the tofu with the marinade.
Let the slices absorb the marinade for 10 minutes or so, then brush just the tops again. Bake for 20 minutes at 425º F. Remove from oven and let cool on the sheet. The tofu should be darkened around the edges, but not burnt. Use immediately or refrigerate for later use.
I’m a simple girl, so some vegan mayo, baby spinach, and sourdough toast were all I needed to make a delicious sandwich. Whatever your favorite sandwich fixin’s are will go great, most likely. This would tofu would make a nice vegan BLT!
Now that’s a tofu sandwich!
July 25th, 2008
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