Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Okay, okay, lemon bars! I usually just buy a lot of stuff from the pantry section in the beginning of these cookbooks without regard to what recipes they'll actually be used in. So thanks, now I know at least one!

This is what I love about cooking there's always something new to explore! I have yet to cook with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, oyster mushrooms, spaghetti squash, seitan or tempeh for that matter! I'm such a bad veg*n!

Or agar. Maybe I'm jump on this lemon bar boat!

I've got a great Turkish recipe which uses red lentils and bulgur. It's called mercimek kofte (lentil balls!). Let me track it down.

Okay, I don't feel like typing mine up, but this recipe is pretty standard. I tend to use a bit more cumin, but you can season these to taste.

I would really like to try celeriac and lotus root. I can't freakin' find them anywhere! Also, I've never made anything with lentils...

spaghetti squash is my favorite! it's so good and currently in season!

Green jackfruit should be available at any Asian market. Just make sure you get the green (unripe) kind (it's cool if you get the sweet kind--just eat it straight up, not in a BBQ).

Lotus root's easy to find at Asian markets, too. It's mostly flavorless crunch though, so nothing to get too excited about.

Celeriac is too expensive for the mild flavor that it lends, in my opinion. Just sub potatoes for a fraction of the price and almost no flavor difference.

Yucca is fantastic. Cut into fries and bake it. Sprinkle salt and yum.

I've never bought jicama,and don't really know what to do with it except cut in strips and eat raw.

On my last trip back to America I shipped a few more ingredients from my pantry at my mom's house, including a bottle of umeboshi plum vinegar. I used it once, but I can't remember the recipe. I want to use it more since I love vinegars.

Dried bean curd sheets! http://chinesefood.about.com/library/blphotobcurdsheets.htm

I've bought them but never used them.

Me neither but I will soon! I can get it here but they call it Vietnamese yam. There are some good looking recipes in Viva Vegan.

I can help you with lavender! The husband and I interned on an organic lavender/blueberry farm for 6 months.

Lavender is very medicinal tasting so you don't want to go overboard with it. It pairs well with chocolate and is normally found in Herbes de Provence, an assortment of dried herbs most commonly found in the South of France. We made a smoky salt with lavender that we sold on the farm. You can try to mix your own [I can't give out specific amounts but I'll give you ingredients] lapsagn souchong tea [that's the smoky bit], guerande sea salt and ground lavender. We found the smoky salt to be excellent on grilled tofu!

I really can't stress enough how important it is to start with very small amounts and work your way up, tasting as you go. If you get a bite of a big bud of lavender, it can ruin the dish.

If you have any specific questions, I'll try to help more!

I have approximately a thousand recipes using kale and have never cooked with it because I can't find the stuff. When I have a yard I'm going to grow my own and I'll be unstoppable.

Yuba! I have the sheets and the sticks but don't really know how to use them.

For chayote: there is an excellent recipe for stuffed chayote (called christophene in the Caribbean) in Caribbean Vegan. I think there are a few recipes for chayote in the book, actually!

For celeriac, which I think is delicious: boiled and pureed with black olives, or made into Tal Ronnen's amazing soup.

Asafoetida

Truffles is my main one, which will also give me an excuse to adopt a pig one day.

I want to explore the wide world of kale beyond kale chips, but I hate how it tastes raw so I'm worried I won't like it.

I've never cooked with kale EVER so I definitely need to do that.