Ginger Pickled Sweet Peppers

Now that it’s almost the end of November, we’re trying hard to save the last few tastes of summer here in Austin. These pickled peppers were inspired by those sold by Moontower Co-op (a wholly worthwhile organization run by great people), so go pick some up from them at one of our local farmers markets if you don’t have time to make these yourself!

Ingredients

• 8-12 mixed sweet peppers (carmen, ringo, banana, bell, etc.), seeded and cut into 1/2-inch wide strips
• 2-inches ginger root, cleaned and roughly chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 3/4-cups white vinegar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 or 2 hot peppers, split (optional)

Preparation

1. In a non-reactive pot, bring vinegar to boil with sugar, salt, garlic, ginger, and hot peppers, stirring to aid in the dissolution of the sugar and salt.
2. Meanwhile, place pepper strips in a quart Mason jar, packing them pretty tightly.
3. Once the pickling solution has boiled, carefully pour it into the jar with the peppers and put the lid on top securely.
4. Let the jar cool on the counter until it is room temperature, then refrigerate for 2 or 3 days before cracking it open (if you can resist that long!).

This year’s annual Vegetarian Chili Cook-Off will be held Sunday October 26, 2014 from 12:00 NOON – 4:00 PM at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock. The cook-off is currently seeking contenders and booth sponsors, and we highly encourage our readers to take part in this great Austin tradition!

If you recall, Coseppi Kitchen did really well in the last two Vegetarian Chili Cook-Offs, sweeping first place awards in 2012, and taking home the judge’s silver last year.

More information about the Chili Cook-Off can be found at: www.veggiechilicookoff.com. You can also follow the event on Facebook to stay up-to-date with event information

Quick Information

Flat Track’s Interior

• Address:
  • In Farewell Books (on the back side)
    913 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78702
  • In No Comply Skate Shop
    812 W 12th St, Austin, TX 78701
• Phone: (512) 814-6010
• Hours:
  • Monday-Friday 7AM-7PM
  • Saturday and Sunday 9AM-5PM (No Comply location closed on Sundays)
• Reservations: No
• WiFi: No
• Website: http://flattrackcoffee.com/
• Twitter: @FlatTrackCoffee

Flat Track Coffee is a small Austin coffee roaster with a tiny espresso counter located in the back of Farewell Books on Austin’s East Side. Flat Track prepares coffee for the aficionado and newbie alike, but don’t come here looking for caramel whip anythings. The baristas carefully prepare espressos, cortados, lattes, and other espresso-based drinks using their in-house roasted beans. Expect to find a rotating selection of single origin coffees, but don’t expect to park with your laptop and surf the web. The owners of Flat Track decided not to offer WiFi, which is actually not a bad idea for such a small shop. Rather, customers are encouraged to chat with the baristas, owners (who are often there), and each other.

Side wall of Farewell Books and entrance to Flat Track

In addition to their prepared coffees, Flat Track also sells bags of their house roasted beans, growlers of iced coffee, branded apparel and rags, and some truly delightful scratch-made caramels from Butterdays Confections (owned by Flat Track barista Emily Jackson).

Flat Track Coffee Bags

Butterdays Caramels

Recently, Flat Track opened a second location inside the No Comply skate shop on W 12th Street. This location, as it caters more students, sells drip coffee along with espresso and espresso-based drinks. Additionally, the No Comply coffee counter also has house-made vanilla syrup, and ganache and caramel syrups made by Butterdays, so you can order flavored coffee drinks.

No Comply Flat Track

To-go Espresso Cup

This post is part of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance City Guide 2014

Quinotto is quinoa cooked in the style of risotto. Unlike rice, however, quinoa will not become creamy with this method, so we use a puree of tofu and raw cashews to add creaminess to this protein-packed entree.

Mushroom Quinotto

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3-4 shallots, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 ounces mixed mushrooms (cremini and chanterelles work well), sliced
• cream sherry or white wine
• 6 cups vegetable or mushroom broth, warmed
• 2 cups uncooked quinoa (tricolor works well and looks pretty)
• 8 ounces firm tofu
• 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in warm water for about 20 minutes
• Salt
• Black truffle or truffle oil (optional)

Preparation

1.  In a large skillet, saute shallots and garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat until the shallots are translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute until the mushrooms are thoroughly cooked down, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the sherry or wine, stirring until it has all been absorbed or evaporated. Transfer sauteed shallots and mushrooms to a bowl.
4. In the same skillet, add the quinoa and lightly toast for about 30 seconds, stirring to prevent burning.
5. Add 2 cups of broth, increase heat to bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer, stirring often.
6. Once most of the liquid has been absorbed/evaporated, add about 1/2 cup more, reduce again, and repeat until the quinoa is just about finished. This process might not use all 6 cups of broth, but should be close.
7. In a food processor, process tofu and soaked cashews until smooth. Add this mixture along with the shallots and mushrooms to the quinoa. Stir to fully incorporate and heat until warmed throughout. Season to taste.
8. Serve with a few truffle shavings or a light drizzle of truffle oil.

This version of classic Thanksgiving cranberry sauces mixes it up with the addition of Angostura Bitters. Angostura Bitters have some great spice notes reminiscent of classic holiday flavors, like allspice and cloves, so their use in this sauce works wonderfully.

Angostura Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

• 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup turbinado sugar
• juice of 1 orange
• 1/2 cup water
• zest from half a lemon
• 2 teaspoons Angostura Bitters

Preparation

1. In a large pot, heat cranberries, sugar, orange juice, water and lemon zest over medium-high heat. Stir frequently to dissolve the sugar and wait for the majority of cranberries to pop.
2. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in Angostura Bitters, transfer to heat-resistant bowl, and let cool before serving.

25th Annual Lone Star Veggie Chili Championship

Last Sunday, Taylor and I competed again in the Lone Star Veggie Chili Championship, America’s longest running vegetarian chili cook-off. We were joined by Taylor’s parents and her good friend Linda for a long, fun day of cooking, serving, and eating chili. Having won first place All-Veg and People’s Choice last year, we had a lot on the line defending our title. Due to its overwhelming success last year we decided to stick with our Black Bean, Eggplant, and Lentil Chili (click for the recipe!).

Our day started bright and early at 8 AM when we arrived to the competition site, had our ingredients inspected to ensure vegan-compliance, and then got to work prepping our ingredients. We then cooked our first 3-gallon batch to begin serving the public tasters at noon. Meanwhile, our second 3-gallon batch stewed away so that we would have enough to serve the hundreds of people who came by our booth until about 4 PM. At about 5 PM winners were announced by the competition’s organizer, Brendan Good of  the Vegetarian Network of Austin. Coseppi Kitchen ended up taking 2nd place in the All-Veg (no meat-substitute) division, and also 2nd place in the People’s Choice award. While we didn’t end up sweeping the competition like we did last year, we definitely felt the level of competition and quality of chilies increased this year, meaning a big win for everyone involved.

Congratulations to Whole Foods for taking 1st place All-Veg and Primarily Primates for their People’s Choice award! Primarily Primates has a great mission of providing a sanctuary to house, protect, and rehabilitate various non-native animals (mostly apes and monkeys!).

We also want to thank Johnson’s Backyard Garden for providing such great organic vegetables for us to use in our chili!

This coming Sunday, November 10, is the 25th Annual Lone Star Veggie Chili Championship! This year’s competition will be held from 12pm til 5pm at 4301 West William Cannon at MoPac here in Austin (map).

Taylor and I will be competing again this year, but this time with a title to defend (we won the All-Veg division and the People’s Choice award last year)!

This long-running chili competition features all vegan chili from teams around Texas and beyond, and is sure to be a great time. Whether you’re vegetarian or not, come on out to have fun, taste and learn about delicious vegetarian food, and vote for your favorite team (which we hope will be us)!

Also, if you’d like to compete, registration is currently still open.

Hope to see you there!

Vegetable Sambar

This version of a typical South Asian soup is a tasty and nutritious use for late summer vegetables.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dried red lentils
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 3-4 dried hot red chili peppers
• 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
• 1 large yellow onion, minced
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 1 medium potato, cubed
• 1/2 pound eggplant, cubed
• 1/2 pound okra, sliced
• salt to taste

Preparation

1. In a large soup pot, bring lentils and broth to a boil and simmer, covered, until soft, about 30 minutes.
2. While the lentils are cooking prepare vegetables and spices. In a mortar and pestle (or a spice mill) combine coriander, peppercorns, mustard seeds, fenugreek, and cumin. Grind spices until they are a coarse powder.
3. Heat vegetable oil in a large wok. Over medium heat fry the ground spices until fragrant, about one minute.
4. Add asafoetida, turmeric powder, whole red chilies, and onion. Continue frying until the onion is translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes.
5. Stir in tamarind paste and add the remaining vegetables. Lower heat and cook until potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes.
6. Remove cooked vegetables from heat. Add the vegetables to the lentils and broth, and when they have finished cooking season with salt to taste.

Panna cotta, or cooked cream in Italian, is a super simple, but delicious dessert. Our vegan take on it uses coconut milk in place of the cream, and agar agar powder in place of the usual gelatin. This recipe is quite basic, so feel free to get creative with flavoring (maybe some cardamom or lemon zest, or even chocolate!). Other toppings, like fresh berries, are also fun to experiment with.

Coconut Milk Panna Cotta with Poached Pears

Note that while the preparation is quick, the panna cotta does have to set for a few hours in the refrigerator, so prepare well ahead of dessert time.

Ingredients

• 1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon agar agar powder (we used NOW Foods Brand Agar Powder)
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Pears

• 1 large pear, not too soft, seeds removed and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 cloves
• 1 cardamom pod, cracked open
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

1.  Add coconut milk and sugar to a small saucepan and bring to boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
2. Lower heat to simmer, and whisk in the agar agar powder. Continue to simmer and whisk for 2 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract, and pour into ramekins or other small heat-resistant bowls. Let cool on the counter for about 20 minutes, then refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

For the Pears

1. In a large skillet, bring the water to a boil and dissolve the sugar in it.
2. Add the pear slices and spices, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 20-25 minutes until the pears are soft.
3. Remove from heat, add lemon juice, and let cool. Save in an airtight container until you’re ready to use them.

Fresh hot peppers are abundant this time of year and it is easy to take them for granted. But, come this winter, you will be glad if you take the time now to preserve your piquant summer bounty.  Here are a few of our favorite ways to make sure we have hot peppers all year long:

Fermenting Peppers for Hot Sauce

• Dried Pepper Flakes – This is my favorite way to preserve hot peppers with thin flesh like hinkelhatz, cayennes, scotch bonnets, and habaneros. Dehydrate whole, clean, fresh  peppers in a dehydrator until they are dry and brittle, about 12 hours. If you don’t have a dehydrator you can also dry peppers in a warm (150 degree) oven or outside, but these methods may take considerably longer. Dried peppers are more comfortable to handle then fresh peppers – once they are dry you can easily remove the stems and shake out the seeds if desired. Transfer the dried peppers to a food processor and pulse until the peppers are in the desired size flakes. Let the flakes and any dust settled in the food processor then transfer to an airtight container and keep for up to a year. 
• Smoked Peppers – I get really excited when I hear that a friend is smoking a brisket, not because I have ever even had brisket but because it is a good chance to smoke salt (yummy) and peppers. Choose hot peppers with thicker flesh that can soak up the most flavor. Homemade smoked jalapenos (also known as chipotles) will make you think twice about their canned cousins and smoked poblanos are fantastic in cold weather chili. Serranos are also a good option. If your smoked chilies are not fully desiccated store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a year.
• Pickled Peppers – I love pepper relish and sweet pickled hot peppers. We have a good pickled jalapeno recipe, which would also work well padróns  or any pepper with a medium-high heat. Canned pickled peppers will last forever and should be refrigerated when opened.
• Salt Brine Fermenting – This summer we are making fermented hot sauce with padrón peppers and habaneros using a recipe from the Joy of Cooking. They are brined in a salted sweet wine and left open to the air for several days to ferment. The fermented peppers are then ground, vinegar is added, then it is bottled. This hot sauce can last in the refrigerator indefinitely (think about the bottle of Tabasco that always seems to be in the back of the fridge when you need it).