February 6th, 2010

My moment of reckoning

Posted by Ann on February 6th, 2010

I’ve been waiting for all technical difficulties to lie dormant, all connections to ignite and the stars to align. It’s come together and now I have to do my part. I have no other choice but to honor the commitment I made to myself. I must write a blog. I say that with equal parts terror and excitement. My promise was that once I finalized my second cookbook deal and the new RFD website was launched this would be the perfect time to chronicle the writing of my new cookbook. So without much adieu, here goes. I’m not quite dancing in the streets yet, but I did pop open the bubbly…. to celebrate a new journey.

Back in 2005, when I put my first book, The Real Food Daily Cookbook together, I always thought my second book would be The RFD Dessert Cookbook. Over the last few years, instead of organizing my pastry recipes in book form, I developed a full fledge pastry dept within my restaurant company. I built a state of the art bakery kitchen and expanded the original RFD location in Santa Monica, CA to include a bakery café. The cafe is a showcase for our baked goods and small works of sweet art as well as a groovy meeting place for like minded people who gather daily to eat and converse. My mission is to build the reputation of the RFD bakery for being the go-to place for vegan cakes and pastries. We’ve expanded our repertoire of special order cakes, such as birthday, anniversary and wedding cakes. Not only are our entire cake offerings vegan and organic, we’re now at work on a line of gluten free cakes, cookies and cupcakes—a subject near and dear to my heart. I’ve a lot to say on the topic, as I’ve been eating gluten free for eight months now. I’ll share more about this at a later date—um— I mean blog.

My new book with working title: Real Food Now, Modern Meatless Meals for Eco-Friendly Eating will be published by Andrews McMeel Publishers in the spring of 2011. Andrews McMeel is a boutique-publishing house based in Kansas City as well as London and Sydney. The story of the two men who started the company is a good one. Read about it at: http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/about.html
Kristy Melville who is the publisher at AM was also the publisher at Ten Speed Press. 10 Speed published The RFD Cookbook on October ‘05. Kristy took a keen interest in what I was doing back in the early 2000’s and offered me my first book deal. I didn’t get to work with her during the making of the book as she left 10 Speed to go to AM. When my agent was shopping this cookbook project, Kristy and I re-connected. It felt both ancient and familiar. Besides being offered a great deal, something just felt right, well, I admit, I felt the love and that always feels too good to pass up. I love the cookbooks AM has published – many of them regional and heartfelt such as John Besh’s My New Orleans. (see John’s book on AM site.) One of my favorites is Cake Wrecks. This sits on my coffee table and is the source of lots of laughter. Check out this book and blog: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/
One last thing about this is the Kansas City connection. I grew up a tad further south in Memphis. There are many similarities to these two cities from the blues to barbeque. KC has a blend of both Southern and Midwestern roots which I can resonant with and I spent a fabulous weekend there once while driving from NYC to California. Now, really I didn’t choose AM because of Kansas, I chose them because I think they will have my back and help me produce a great book.

Real Food Now is a cookbook with about 100 plus quick and easy modern recipes.
There will be lots of factual and fun supportive text on how to create delicious and doable meatless home cooking that is environmentally conscious, deliciously fresh, and up-to-the-minute.

Stay tuned as I share my journey of creating recipes and living my life while writing my new cookbook.

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January 27th, 2010

Is it 21 days already?

Posted by Beth on January 27th, 2010

Man, time flies when you’re neglecting to write blog posts daily… (Seriously, though, where did last week go?)

So here I am, at the end of the 21 days of the challenge, and I feel as though I have hardly scraped the surface! There are so many more things I want to explore– detoxing… macrobiotics…. juicing…. vegan, gluten-free pastries…

So the bottom line is that although the 21 days are up, and the “challenge” that I set for myself has come to an end, there is so much more to say here in the blog, that I fully intended to keep going, and hope that my discoveries about veganism and clean-eating can serve as a primer of sorts for others who are curious about what Real Food really means.

However, since last night was the end of day 21, I wanted to make a special vegan dish to celebrate with my husband. So many choice, one big night… so, I asked Ms. Ann Gentry herself, what she makes for guests when she is cooking for mixed-company, and she said that she always gets rave reviews when she makes a dish from her cookbook, the Amaranth Saute in Kabocha Squash.

So, armed with this expert advice I cracked open “The Real Food Daily Cookbook: Really Fresh, Really Vegetarian, Really Good” and saw that the very simple recipe really only called for kabocha squash, amaranth, green onions, and tamari. Simple! Quick! Ideal! I thought that would make a lovely centerpiece, and since I knew I had both beets and lacinato kale in my fridge, I thought I would pair it with roasted beets and garlicky greens (a recipe for which can also be found in the RFD cookbook.) It was a very vegetal celebration of 21 days of animal free eating, and although is was a perfect ending to the challenge, I also felt like it was a great inspiration to keep me going for the next 21 days (and 21 days after that… and then… well, we’ll see how long I can go without a bagel with cream cheese…)

Reprinted with permission from “The Real Food Daily Cookbook: Really Fresh,
Really Good, Really Vegetarian” by Ann Gentry. Copyright 2005
Ten Speed Press, Berkeley CA.
Amaranth Sauté in Kabocha Squash
The porridge-like amaranth mixture is seasoned with tamari and green onions, then spooned into a steamed whole kabocha squash, making it a festive fall side dish.
Serves 8
1 (2-pound) kabocha squash
1 cup amaranth seeds
3 cups water
6 green onions, thinly sliced diagonally
2 tablespoons tamari
Using a sharp knife, carve out a circular opening in the top of the squash. Reserve the top. Hollow out the squash. Return the top to the squash. Pour enough water into a large pot to come 1 inch up the sides. Place the squash in the pot. Cover with the pot lid and bring the water to a boil. Decrease the heat to medium-low and steam the squash for 30 minutes, or until it is tender but still holds its shape.
Meanwhile, heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the amaranth and stir constantly for 5 minutes, or until the amaranth is toasted and fragrant. Transfer the toasted amaranth to a bowl. Bring the water to a boil in a heavy saucepan over high heat. Add the amaranth. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often, or until the amaranth is tender and the mixture thickens like porridge. Stir in the green onions and tamari.
Remove the top from the squash. Spoon the amaranth mixture into the cooked kabocha squash. Return the top to the squash. Cut the squash into wedges and serve.
prep 2

The stars of the show-- kabocha squash and golden beets

Amaranth Sauté in Kabocha Squash

Reprinted with permission from “The Real Food Daily Cookbook: Really Fresh,
Really Good, Really Vegetarian” by Ann Gentry. Copyright 2005

Ten Speed Press, Berkeley CA.

The porridge-like amaranth mixture is seasoned with tamari and green onions, then spooned into a steamed whole kabocha squash, making it a festive side dish.

Serves 8

1 (2-pound) kabocha squash

1 cup amaranth seeds

3 cups water

6 green onions, thinly sliced diagonally

2 tablespoons tamari

Using a sharp knife, carve out a circular opening in the top of the squash.Reserve the top. Hollow out the squash. Return the top to the squash. Pour enough water into a large pot to come 1 inch up the sides. Place the squash in the pot.

raw squash

The squash ready to be steamed (NB-- the top should be added back to the top prior to steaming to prevent condensation from re-entering the squash during cooking)

Cover with the pot lid and bring the water to a boil. Decrease the heat to medium-low and steam the squash for 30 minutes, or until it is tender but still holds its shape. [Note from Beth: This is where it all went awry for me... Check your squash periodically, because if you over-steam it, this will happen:]

uh oh

When culinary disaster strikes...

Meanwhile, heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the amaranth and stir constantly for 5 minutes, or until the amaranth is toasted and fragrant.

amaranth

Amaranth: This Mexican super-grain has a long history, and is believed by many to possess magical properties. As it cooks it develops a porridge-like consistency that is both hearty and filling.

Transfer the toasted amaranth to a bowl. Bring the water to a boil in a heavy saucepan over high heat. Add the amaranth. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often, or until the amaranth is tender and the mixture thickens like porridge. Stir in the green onions and tamari.

Remove the top from the squash. Spoon the amaranth mixture into the cooked kabocha squash. Return the top to the squash. Cut the squash into wedges and serve.

squash

The broken-up squash that was fished from the pot

final dish

The final dish, a celebration of winter veggies!

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November 15th, 2009

New Cookbook in the Oven ?

Posted by Ann on November 15th, 2009
rfdcookbook

I'm Going For Number 2 !!!

My 48-hour trip to NYC was to meet with editors at major book publishing companies to talk about my second cookbook.  It was exciting to be in the center of the literary world.  There are many opinions that believe this space will end, as we know it.  From my vantage point, this world is alive and percolating with creativity, people and passion.  I am really excited about the possibility of my new cookbook. This one will be written from the perspective of the ‘real’ home cook, more personal and dare, I say sassy and sexy, with 100 plus recipes with accessible ingredients and easier steps.  Don’t get me wrong, my first book; The RFD Cookbook is a great book.  It’s just that it was a restaurant cookbook, thus recipes made for serving and impressing hundreds of people per day.  This time, I will share more from the heart and soul of my own home kitchen.

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