Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Phun with Phyllo (and a blog makeover)

I imagine most people out there have a ever-growing mental list of recipes to try someday.  I used to bookmark every delicious thing that crossed my path while I read blogs, the collection getting to the hundreds and only barely did I look at it when it came time to actually satisfy hunger.  After a recent browser crash and wipe of everything I'd saved, I decided to keep the ideas in my head, with the reasoning that it's those things that I really wanted to eat anyway!  So right now, that list involves things like homemade bagels, tibetan yak dumplings, mole sauce, and anything ethiopian... and until very recently - anything with phyllo pastry!  I finally tried using it, not without trepidation, in a recipe I've been itching to make since the moment I saw it (and did not forget it) - Jenny Wren's fennel corn phyllo pockets of awesome!  (name-change mine)  

It took me a couple tries to get the hang of it, I will not lie.  But by the end I was folding up neat little dignified triangles with the best of them!  I ate the wonky first ones for lunch today with a tomato compote from the Artful Vegan, and felt pretty durn special, I can say that.  I'm pretty much on vacation for one whole week (wow) before I start summer classes again, so I'm up for any opportunity to get all indulgent in simple things, like tuesday's mid-day meal.  Not that I wouldn't anyway, but I broke out the giant white restaurant plate for this one. 

Hmm... and could not possibly resist making an apple-blackberry tart with local yellow delicious apples and BC golden syrup, nooooo.... not while the phyllo is just sitting there all defrosted and feathery and waiting for my apple-craving fingers to mash it into a crispy sugared square of fantastic with toasted walnuts on the bottom even !  It had to happen.  You know it did.  I'm glad it did.  I would have given my eye-teeth for ice cream or even soy milk alongside of this, but regardless it was light and perfect.  

Oh yeah - does anyone have experience with either/both of The Artful Vegan and Millenium cookbooks?  I'd like to get one, I think, but I'm not sure which!  

14 comments:

kecily said...

I have the artful vegan and I love it. It's the kind of cook book you read like a novel.

The recipes are elaborated, not necessarily difficult but take time. Every dish is composed of several items (4 to 5 in most cases). But I love Eric Tuckler's basics and he always give an idea about how long one can keep something in the fridge if one wants to prepare ahead or has leftovers.

Cyn said...

I love phyllo dough! It's a pain to work with, but so delicious. Those fennel-corn pockets look amazing. I totally keep a mental list of stuff I want to make, too.

Anonymous said...

I have both books and love them. In fact, I've been doing a bit of Artful Vegan blogging recently so have a look! I would say Artful Vegan is fancier than Millennium. There's more in Millennium that you could cook without taking all day about it, but the presentation, layout and pictures in Artful Vegan are nicer and more inspiring. basically, i'd say get them both!

Amy said...

Mmm those phyllo pockets look awesome. Plus yay for gaining important phyllo skills! I'm way intimidated by it.

VeganCowGirl said...

Your phyllo look amazing,and I adore the new blog look!

Anonymous said...

Mmmm... phyllo! I wish I could find spelt phyllo around here.

I have the Millenium Cookbook, and I've made the German Chocolate Cake from the Artful Vegan (which was AMAZING but cost me a lot of money to make). MC is really nice and you don't have to make the full meals if you want to (I've made the tempeh sausage crumble thing as a lasagna filling, for example). I've heard that AV is fancier like people say, and in my scanning it looked like it had a lot more esoteric ingredients (lots of exotic mushrooms and veggies I'd never heard of) than MC, so that might be a consideration. Tell us what you decide!

aTxVegn said...

Love your new look! I have both cookbooks and seem to cook more food from AV and more desserts from Millennium. Hard decision, but either would be great. And you don't have to make the whole recipe, just make the sauce or some other portion and do your own thing with your own ingredients. Perfect for your style!

jessy said...

sweet, sweet phyllo pastry awesomeness! wow! i have yet to make anything using phyllo pastry, but i think i need to be brave and give it a go! mmmmmmmm! i super love the new look, too! makes me most happyfaced! superw00t!

MeloMeals said...

I love your phyllo creations!

Tami said...

You totally rocked that phyllo! Yum!

I have both books and seem to cook more from Artful Vegan, but not a ton from either.

Love the blog makeover- and thanks a lot for your comment on the book. :)

jb said...

Mmmmm apple-blackberry tart sounds sooo good!

Anonymous said...

I love the new look! I've never tried working with phyllo dough...but I've done some eating of said dough.
I don't have either book, but I'd like 'em!

Theresa said...

I've only been brave enough to work with phyllo once. It's not as scary as it seems, but I still haven't mustered the motivation to bring it out again! Your apple pastry looks so yummy!!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Oh, flaky goodness!
My Eric Tucker experience is all at Millennium restaurant & a cooking demo I watched him do. He's amazing!