Hello everyone… I need a new camera and I’d love some advice. I’ve talked with pretty much anyone associated with photography, anyone I’ve seen with a camera, and gosh, anyone with eyes to wheedle advice on what kind of camera to get. This blogging thing has made me realize how much I LOVE taking pictures of small edible objects and I need to ameliorate feeding my hunger with a new set of dentures, or something metaphorical like that… I need a new camera!

Digital
$200 - $300
Good macro setting
Good action shots a plus (like Muybridge’s horses, I’m still trying to document that I run with both feet off the ground at some moments)

So here’s your small edible object of the day: roasted tomatoes. Simple. Yum. Yeah, I do like this photo, but it could be a lot nicer with a snappy new camera.

Thanks to Dad, a relatively new vegan and old vanesscipes fan, purchaser of my first digital camera, and partial financier of my second!

Serves: 3-4 as a side dish. They’re easy so double the recipe and toss them in whatever.
Time: 25 minutes – 2 hours

Roasted Tomatoes

12 medium-sized nice ripe tomatoes
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
dried herbs of your choice (thyme, basil, etc.)
salt and pepper

Oil a baking sheet lightly and preheat broiler. Half the tomatoes, lay them on the baking sheet cut side up, brush with olive oil and vinegar. Sprinkle with fresh herbs, salt and pepper.

Pop in the broiler for 20 minutes or until brown on top. Transfer to a 400 degree oven and keep baking until they reach your desired state of dryness.

This weekend’s autumnal equinox and the first wet leafy breezes have got me craving a change to harvest cooking.   But I wasn’t sure exactly what to cook until inspired by the ingredients of September’s Monthly Mingle at What’s for Lunch Honey.  The featured ingredients are zucchini and sage - perfect for that transition to cozier autumn dishes.  Hello to everyone that I’ll be “meeting” at the mingle and thanks to Meeta for being hostess! 

The Li’l Sis voted on making a pot pie rather than zucchini burgers or zucchini boats and, if I pat my own back for a sec, this huge, golden and bubbly pot pie turned out terrific!  It was very rich and the sage gave it a really homey “Thanksgiving” taste.

Notes on Veganization: I wanted to make this pot pie richer than some of my previous posts so I used real butter and cream, though I would be easy to sub a combo of soy milk and perhaps some white wine for the cream and a vegan biscuit topping rather than the one I’ve outlined below.  Consider this recipe (and better yet, ALL recipes) a general theory rather than a set of hard and fast rules.

Serves: 6
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Here’s the concept quickly: chop and cook up veggies on the stove, add the liquid ingredients and spices and pour into a large rectangular baking pan.  Top with a layer of biscuit dough and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Ingredients and more detail after the jump…

(more…)

Admittedly this recipe looks like I took my entire spice rack and pantry and threw it together to make a sauce, but mole (rhymes with “ole!”) is great traditional Mexican vegetarian sauce with a lot of taste. It’s usually gets infiltrated with turkey or chicken in enchiladas, put you could bake your dirty vegan sneakers in it and feel pretty good about serving it your friends. I, however, recommend portabellas and squash, but whatever you like.
I topped my enchiladas with cheese, but will work great without.

Serves: 4
Time: 1.25 hours

Mole Sauce

1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbl oil
1/3 cup raisins
1 Tbl peanut butter
1 large bar (3.5 oz) bittersweet chocolate
1 can tomato paste
1 Tbl chile powder (please use good quality)
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp coriander
2 1/4 cups water
1 tsp salt

(more…)