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Maybe the marital feast we're catering next weekend, and feverishly planning for right now, has us pondering how food can bring people together. Or maybe it's the Spice Girls' "2 Become 1" on repeat. Whatever the reason, we loved giving Israeli couscous a Moroccan kick, because we needed a sauce with some heat that would slick the bloated caviar-like balls of wheat with some oily heat. We chose a mild harissa of assorted red chiles. We added toasted cumin seeds ourselves for the real kick and served it as a room temperature salad. The stuff also works under a tagine, or alongside grilled vegetables. Just make sure to let the stuff sit for an hour or two to let the flavors "marry." Har-har.

8 oz. Israeli couscous
1 Tbs. vegan margarine
1 large red bell pepper
2 shallots
1 scallion
1/8 cup flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup harissa (mildly spicy)
2 Tbs. olive oil
3 Tbs. whole cumin seeds
Salt and black pepper

1. Bring water in a medium-sized pot to a near-boil over high heat. Lightly salt the water, just a pinch of sea salt, and add margarine. Right before the water hits a rolling boil, add couscous and turn down to low heat. Gently stir once or twice to keep from sticking. Let cook for 5-8 minutes or until couscous balls are perfectly plump and not at all crunchy. Remove, drain and shock with cold water.

2. Finely dice your vegetables. Slice the red bell pepper into quarters length-wise and remove seeds. Then slice quarters into long thin slivers, turn and dice into confetti. Dice your peeled shallots into the same small shape. Wash, pat dry, and chop flat-leaf parsley like you would for tabouleh. Add all of this to a large mixing bowl, saving a couple pinches of parsley for garnish, and mix with the couscous.

3. Dress the couscous with your harissa sauce and some additional olive oil (adjust to get a slick and smooth consistency, depending on how thick your harissa is).

4. The clincher: in a small sauté pan, toast the cumin seeds for about 2 or 3 minutes or until fragrant and slightly more brown. Add the seeds to the mixture and stir well. Season to taste. Let sit for at least an hour to marry. Serve at a room temperature.

Beverage: Unibroue's Maudite
Soundtrack: Primal Scream's "Little Death"

We're back on the wedding catering warpath kiddies. Next weekend the Hot Knives crew is shipping down to San Diego for a marathon baking and grilling session for what will, hopefully, be an epic reception. The menu is done and most of the kinks are worked out, but we've been slow to post the recipes. Now, here comes the deluge. First up, possibly the greatest raw vegan edible we've concocted this year: a cold pad thai salad made not of fatty coconut flesh like some vegan "chefs" do, but out of all the veggie trappings that make pad thai krinkley and fun, dressed in a tamarind-coconut milk. We're still playing with the proportions, but you get the idea.

(Serves 4)

Coco-Tamarind Dressing
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 lemongrass stalk
5 kaffir lime leaves or the zest of two limes
1 Tamarind pod
2 tsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/8 cup grapeseed oil

Raw Pad Thai
4 or 5 large carrots
1 quarter of a purple cabbage
4 radishes
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup raw peanuts
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
4 scallions

1. In a small sauce pan, heat the coconut milk on medium heat. Beat the lemongrass against a hard clean surface until the outer laers start to split (this brings out more flavor int he infusion) and cut into manageable pieces. Place lemongrass into saucepan. Add kaffir lime. Let this heat until a rolling boil, then turn down to a simmer. Let cook for 15 minutes, then let cool.

2. Using your fingers,break open the tamarind pod and dig out each goop coated seed. Take a paring knife and carefully make an insicion that breaks through the goop membrane to the nut of the tamarind; then squeeze out the seed. Add tamarind pulp to the coconut milk mixture, blend or pulse together until smooth.

3. Combine the tamarind pulp, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar and chilled coconut milk in a blender or robot coupe and pulse until well combined. While blending, add the grapeseed oil in a steady stream to make an emulsion. Blend for an additional minute after all the oil is in the mixture and your sauce is done.

4. Roughly peel your carrots. Using a mandolin, or your vegetable peeler, slice carrots into thin ribbons. Collect in a large mixing bowl. Slice your purple cabbage in the same fashion. (Veggies should look like the garnish on a typical pad thai dish). Slice your radishes into pickle-sized chips. Add bean sprouts.

5. In a small sauté pan, toast your raw peanuts until slightly brown, about 5 minutes on medium heat. Let cool and chop roughly. Reserve 2 Tbs. for garnish and add rest to the salad.

6. Pluck individual cilantro leaves from their stem and add, as well as the scallions, roughly chopped.

7. Toss the pad thai with tongs, dress and stir until coated evenly. Chill in the fridge for at least one hour. Plate and dust with additional peanuts.

Beverage: Echigo Stout
Soundtrack: Acid Mother's Temple, "Interplanetary Love"

Cold drink of water, such a sweet surprise, put a smile to your face 10-miles wide… Whoawwwww!

Tonight we buckled down with some fresh groceries and even fresher ideas for the May wedding we’re catering for our friends Matt and Laura. It’s the first training session of many. And the results were kickin’. So kicking in fact that we’re humming that Warrant song. No wedding metaphor intended!

All night, swing it!

Cherry Tarts

1/2 lbs. dehydrated cherries
1 cup Ruby port
2 Tbs. raspberry jam
25 vegan baby tart shells
25 sprigs fresh mint
1 small cantaloupe, halved

1. First, whet your appetite with a swig of port. Pour the rest on top of your cherries in a medium saucepan, along with raspberry jam, and let cook uncovered for about 20 minutes. Stir well.

2. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.

3. Lay out tart shells on a baking sheet. Fill each about three-fourths full and stick in oven for 15-18 minutes.

4. Top each cup with a small melon bowl, by scooping a ripe melon with a teaspoon, like you are scooping ice cream. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Beverage: Unibrou Quelque Chose
Soundtrack: Warrant’s “Cherry Pie”

Sometimes kooky fusion combos are better, more soulful, when improvised on the spot rather than pre-meditated. This one was borne from us being too tired, lazy, brain-dead and starving on a weekday night to be pithy or political with our pairings.

Falatkas are, you guessed it, a cross between falafel and latkes. Shredded potato and zucchini are veggier than the dry-mouth grains and smushy garbanzos, but toasted cumin just happens to make anything taste like pure falafel. Rather than mess with a condiment that embodied the already weird pairing — like an apple-tsaziki sauce — we slopped together a red-pear mustard that surprised even us. We served these crispy critters on a bed of Israeli couscous and dry mixed greens with a drizzle of pomegranate molasses, but if you have the resources you could also pop ‘em in a pita. Or a bagel? See, we always go too far.

Falafel-ish Latkes

(Serves two)

2 small zucchini
2 small potatoes
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tbs. fresh cumin seeds
1/2 cup rye bread crumbs, fine (optional)
1/2 white onion
2 cups grapeseed oil (canola works)

1. Wash zucchini and potatoes. Shred both with the finest side of a grater to achieve matchstick pieces of each, but keep the two separate. Place grated zucchini in a colander and sprinkle with kosher salt. Let sit for about five minutes (this will bring out moisture and make the zuke super easy to compress).

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine potatoes and zucchini and cumin. Add bread crumbs if desired for extra bulk — it is not needed, however, as the zucchini makes it very workable patties as is.

3. Form mixture into small patties and set on a plate.

4. Heat frying oil in a small wok or medium sized frying pan. Once very hot (drop a cumin seed in, it should immediately sizzle) fry one or two patties at a time. Pat dry and cool on paper towels before serving.

Pear Mustard

(Makes 2/3 cup)

1 red pear, mostly ripe
2 shallots
1/4 cup Pedro Jiminez vinegar, or sherry vinegar
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. Dijon
sea salt and black pepper to taste

1.Partly peel your pear and slice into small chunks. Peel and dice your shallots. Add both to small saucepan and then place on medium heat.

2. Once they start to release liquids, about 5 or 6 minutes, add the vinegar and let reduce by half. Add sugar, salt and pepper and continue cooking on medium heat for another 5 minutes before tossing in mustard to finish. Stir and serve slightly chunky.

Beverage: Flying Dog’s Barley wine-style ale
Soundtrack: Kinski’s “Alpine Static”

Forget to make that reservation at the new organic small-plate izikaya cocktail raw food bistro for Valentine’s Day? Get stuck with a 4:45 seating time? You know, there’s no shame in cooking, for one another. Like Adam and Eve sharing the apple tarte tatin of knowledge, or whatever.

For this V-Day — and the two-year anniversary of this blog! — we wanted to dip our dirty fingers into a dessert menu by doing something both savory and sweet, romantic and rowdy, something indulgent enough that we would make it for sweeties as a St. V present (naked) but something simple enough that you could it eat by yourself, (also naked). We set upon a wacky take on “sticky rice”: sticky rice with sweet, tempura-fried baby beets. The recipe is a little time consuming, not a lot, so you can spend most of your time cuddling.

Sticky Sweet Baby Fried Beets

2-3 Red baby beets
1 cup tempura flour
3 dried vanilla beans (or 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, if you must)
1/2 cup white sushi rice
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp. cardamom
3 Tbs. sugar
2 pinches salt
2 cups vegetable oil

1. Bring a small saucepan of water to boil for the beets. Chop their leaves off at the stem and snip off any tails so that the beet as close to heart shaped as possible.

2. Once water is boiling, drop them in for about 8 minutes or until slightly tender to a fork jab. Remove and cool under water or in an ice bath.

3. Skin the beets by running the edge of a spoon gently along the rough skin. The beets will naturally look a little like hearts, embellish by cutting a “V” in the flat top. Then place beet down on cutting board and make 4 or 5 slices, about 1 centimeter thick. If needed, chip away to make top curved and heart-like.

4. Fix sticky rice. We used a super easy microwave method repped by a Thai convenience website. Start by soaking your rice in warm water for at least 10 minutes. Then simply cover bowl with a plate and nuke for 2 1/2 minutes. Remove, stir, and repeat. Rice should be translucent and, um, sticky. But fully cooked. Let sit while you prepare the coconut milk.

5. Bring c-milk to medium temp in a small sauté pan. Add cardamom and stir well. Once nearing a boil remove from heat and add sugar and salt. Stir. Mix 3/4 cup of the coconut milk into sticky rice and stir thoroughly, setting aside the rest for the tempura mixture and a sauce garnish.

6. Mix tempura batter: add tempura flour to large mixing bowl, and scoop out vanilla bean using a spoon. (If using vanilla extract wait until you add your liquid, then add extract.) Combine 1/2 cup of the coconut milk to make a thick slurry of a batter. Vanilla beans should be visible.

7. Bring about 2 cups of canola oil up to high, fryin’ temperature in a small or medium wok — high heat for close to ten minutes. Once dangerously hot, batter the baby beets, letting excess batter drip off, and quickly fry them, about 1-2 minutes each. Remove, blot gently and rest on paper towels. Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar while still hot.

8. Garnish using two sauces using the remainder of the coconut milk: mix half of the cream with finely diced beets to make a pink sauce and keep half plain white.

9. To garnish: Use a 1 or 2-inch biscuit or cookie cutter, or similarly shaped circular item and stuff it tightly with the sticky rice forming a rice cake; top with a Tbs. of pink sauce. Place 2 beet hearts on top of that. Add a splash of white coconut sauce with the remainder of diced beets for contrast.

10. Serve and kiss.

Beverage: De Proef’s Primitive Ale
Soundtrack: Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together”

A few years ago we witnessed a close friend be deeply moved by fresh cheese. We had recently visited one of our favorite sandwich stops, Mario’s in Glendale, and happened to have perused their deli case. Along with innumerable cured beef and pork products from and inspired by Italy, there were literally six kinds of feta in huge buckets of brine. We settled on the one from Bulgaria. When we got back to the giant and grimy communal kitchen of college years she took a bite, knowing immediately it was from where she was born. While our eyes rolled in the backs of our heads, tasting the seriousness of a cheese our minds equated with superficial salty crumbles in pre-packed salads, Yoanna cried.

Following on the heels of another bright bite from earlier this week, we present another stupefying hors d'oevre. We wanted to have something to play on the same high beam color-Field with our last post while utilizing the other end of the flavor spectrum. These little tidbits are piquant and snippy. At first your mouth feels slightly shocked, then all the sweet and sour of brined cheese, strong citrus and flowers make your feet move. Party food at its best: it just might make you tear up.

Ingrediants

8 oz ewe's milk feta (Bulgarian is best)
1 Tbs. Super Blue Lavender
1 Tbs. Extra Virgin olive oil
10-15 kumquats
1/2 Tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 Korean Cucumber

1. Cube the feta, as best you can. If the cheese allows it, cut it into 1/4" cubes.

2. In a mixing bowl, gently toss the cheese with the Lavender, the oil, and the Pepper, let stand for at least 45 mintes.

3. Slice the Kumquats along their horizontal axis; one of the fruit should yield around five slices. Add the fruit to the mixing bowl and gently toss to combine with the cheese.

4. Serve two to three slices of kumquat on 1/4" thick slice of cucumber.

Beverage: Koshihikari Echigo
Soundtrack: Al Campbell and Lone Ranger "Take a Ride/Automatic"

Quick preface: We bow low before the soup kitchen altar of our friend Astara, soup wizard-ess and ancient soul, who throws together far superior carrot creations than we by the mere flick of her pinky finger — her curry carrot soup and her herbed carrot puree are both criminally delicious. If we could join a white-robed,Nike-wearing cult to follow her soup into future worlds, we would. Instead, we attempted merging those two soups for a rosemary roasted carrot curry soup. It was great, an absolute success, but some how we doubt it will gain us any suicidal hippie followers any time soon.

Curry Carrot Soup

(Serves 6)

1 1/2 lbs. white carrots (with stems!)
1/2 white onion
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup fresh rosemary
4 cups vegetable stock
2 Tbs. curry powder of choice
kosher salt and fresh black pepper to taste
2 Tbs. fresh ginger
2-4 whole heirloom carrots for garnish

1. Pre-heat your oven on 350 degrees and get a large, shallow roasting pan. Cut your carrots into 2-inch pieces (save 4 stems for garnish) and your onion into rough half moons. Toss with oil in the pan. Add whole garlic cloves, rosemary and leftover carrot stems on top. Roast in the oven until crackly and slightly browning, about 30 minutes. Stir once halfway through.

2. While carrots are roasting bring 4 cups of stock to a gentle boil and keep on a simmer until you’re ready to use it. Take your four whole carrots you’ll use for garnish and stick them in stock for 1-2 minutes to slow blanche. Remove and rinse under cool water.

3. Once carrots are done, remove and let sit for a few minutes. Save the oil for drizzling later. Now add carrots, onion and garlic to stock and pulse with either a hand-held blender (get one!) or in a food processor by pulsing in two or three installments, as much as your blender will hold without scorching you. The consistency should be thoroughly smooth puree, with no chunks. Keep on a low heat.

4. Season with curry powder, salt and pepper. Rosemary should still be noticeable, which shouldn’t battle too strongly with the curry. Taste as you go.

5. In a small saute pan, toast the chopped ginger on high heat with little to no oil. Remove once brown and crunchy.

5. Serve in a shallow plate. To garnish, cut whole carrots in half lengthwise and again widthwise, place carrots of different color consecutively for contrast. Add stem tip for touch of green. Drizzle leftover olive oil and another kiss of curry powder on top. Lastly, a flick of toasted ginger.

Beverage: Avery’s Maharaja Double IPA
Soundtrack: Pavement’s “Carrot Rope”

Lately you’re favorite kitchen hood-rats have been slammed to the gills with the rigmarole of our non-hyperspace rat races. We’ve been slumping into beers and books a little too quickly in these first weeks of January, and our innate drive to spend three hours cooking after eight hours working has been a little stunted. We’ve been making lots of quick fix meals of late and this one was at the top of the list.

This recipe was inspired by the spoils of Lake’s recent conquest of a Korean market in Torrance, the dregs of a jar of Kimchee on the verge of spoilage, and an elemental desire for Umami. The dish requires little prep time and can be made a la minute for three or thirteen in less than 20. The two more obscure items, Shisho leaves and Simeji/beech mushrooms can be found in most Japanese and or Korean Grocers.

One Pan, Two Plates

8 oz Simeji Mushrooms
2 Leeks sliced
10 baby green or black tomatoes, quartered
4 cloves of garlic diced
½ Tsp. Sesame Oil
¼ cup Napa Cabbage Kimchee,
¼ cup Kimchee brine
2 Tbs. soy sauce
8 Shisho leaves

1. Heat a medium sauté pan on high heat while you clean your leek. Start by slicing off the roots at the end and the millimeter of white stalk they are attached to. Also, chop off the last 2-3" of the greens at the end of the stalk (if you make your own stock, keep these in your stockpile). Now slice the leek in half from top to bottom and rinse with cold water. When you've washed out all the dirt and sand, make one incision from top to bottom of each 1/2 stalk and then slice horizontally as thin as you can.

2. Throw the leeks in the pan.

3. Snip the ends off of your Shimejis using kitchen shears or a paring knife, and rinse them under cold water. Pat them dry with towels and throw them in the dry pan with the leeks. Dry sauté until the mushrooms are browning and releasing their juices.

4. Quarter all your little tomatoes, and slice your garlic. Add them to the mix, with the sesame oil and the minced kimchee and toss.

5. After all the contents of the pan are nice and hot, about three minutes, add the kimchee juice and cook until the juice is almost completely gone, about three more minutes.

6. Fan out the Shisho leaves on the plates you plan on using, and make a concise pile of the contents of your pan on each set of leaves. The heat from the sautéed veggies will cause the leaves to release some of their wonderful perfume.

7. Return the pan to the flame and keep cooking until the pan is virtually dry, then add the soy sauce and cook until a viscous sludge remains.

8. Garnish your meal with the aforementioned sludge.

Beverage: Hitachino's Red Rice Ale
Soundtrack: Boris' Vein

In Lieu of super traditional New Year dishes like Tamales or Posole we opted for nothing but booze this year. In the bleary eyed aftermath (the last two weeks) we've all been craving a little something from the solid southwestern repertoire of beans, squash and corn, known historically as the horticultural triumvirate of The Three Sisters. What to do with the top three vegan gifts from the ancients? Roasted chili rellenos.

Out of regional necessity, and in hopes of stoking the inherent human inclination towards the miniature and cute, we subbed the glorious New Mexican green chili for the lesser known White Chili, known in L.A. as Gueritos (little whities). Vibe with these little guys the next time you have taco night with your roommates and step up the revelry.

Roasted Gueros

9 Guero Chilies

1. Crank your over to 450 degrees.

2. Roast the whities for about 15 minutes, or until they have browned considerably. Remove them with tongs, brush them with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and wait for your fillings to be completed. Stab each pepper at the base of its stem with a sharp knife while they are still hot to keep them from deflating. (Leave one unpoked and watch...its kinda cool)

Anasazi Beans

1 cup Anasazi beans, soaked overnight
1 yellow onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Cups vegetable stock
2 Cups water
2 Bay leaves
2 Tsp. smoked salt

3. Saute the garlic and onion in the olive oil in a larger pot until both begin to brown. Strain the soaked beans and add to the pot; stir until the beans are at the same temperature as the aromatics (three minutes.)

4. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil, then add the water, the bay leaves and the smoked salt. Continue to cook until the beans are tender, around 45 minutes.

Maize Misto

2 ears of corn, shucked and kerneled
...or, 1 can of corn that you like
1 cup picked and chopped cilantro
2 cups grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 Tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbs. rice vinegar
The juice of two limes

5. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and let sit to marry until you are done with everything else. Easy right?

Chimayo Chayote

1 Chayote squash, diced
4 scallions, sliced
1 Tbs. of olive oil
1 Tsp. of salt
2 Tsp. Chimayo red chile flakes
2 Tsp. diced fresh sage

6. Heat a large cast iron skillet or non stick pan on medium heat and add the Chayote. Cook it dry for ten to fifteen minutes, its liquid will steam the vegetable.

7. Add all other ingredients and continue to saute for another five minutes. Hit the squash with some balsamic vinegar to briefly deglaze.

To Serve

Carefully cut around the base of each Guero's stem with a sharp knife and gently remove the stem and the seeds. Stuff one chili per person with each of the fillings and serve with veganaise, herbs, and your favorite hot sauces.

Beverage: Stone's Ruination IPA
Soundtrack: The Byrd's Sweetheart of the Rodeo

Though we’re more than happy to sling out menu ideas to restaurateur friends when asked, we also have a secret game we play whereby every dish we cook up gets graded for whether it could one day occupy the menu of a Hot Knives restaurant. This is one of those dishes: a winter harvest hash that dresses up potatoes like a hot salad.

Obviously, hash browns are the undisputed make-or-break side of any brekky or brunch. But a good hash can be the main attraction, especially if it’s not brown at all, but rather colored with other veggies and speckled with garnishes that elevate it from cheap filler to decorative entrée. Here, we worked with what’s in season, strong green leafies, blanched to retain color, and slow cooked with awesome pee wee banana fingerlings. Plus, it's a seasonal special that could change weekly or monthly" in spring, try pea shoots and asparagus, etc. With some artful squirts of catsup, this breakfast even looks more like an expensive dinner plate.

Winter Harvest Hash

4 cups water
4 Tbs. kosher salt
1 cup kale
1 cup rainbow Swiss chard
4 medium fingerling potatoes
3 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. vegan margarine
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 medium-sized carrots, chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. fresh black pepper

1. Bring 4 cups of heavily salted water to boil in a medium-sized pot. Meanwhile prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and have ready a pair of tongs or salad spoons. Roughly chop the kale and chard, saving the colorful stems for later. Dunk the greens in the boiling water for no longer than 10 seconds and swiftly plop in ice bath to cool immediately. This’ll make your greens… green. Set them aside as well.

2. Get the water back to a hearty boil and drop in the potatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes and remove from water.

3. In a cast iron skillet with a lid, or similar large pan, heat oil and margarine on high heat. Add onions and garlic, followed by celery and carrots. Cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile slice your hot potatoes into scalloped spheres and add to the pan. Stir thoroughly and season with salt and pepper.

4. Cook for another five minutes and then add greens to the top. Dice the colorful chard stems and add half of them as well, saving the last for garnish. Cover and cook for 10-20 minutes.

5. Once the greens are wilty and potatoes and thoroughly cooked, stir thoroughly, cook off any excess liquid from greens and plate.

Garnish

ketchup (generous amount)
hot sauce
veganaise
diced purple onion
diced chard stems

6. To garnish: squirt decorative ketchup and hot sauce on plate, add dollop of veganaise and dice the chard stems for a sprinkling on the plate. Then put hash in the middle of the plate and serve.

Beverage: Lagunita’s Sirius Cream Ale
Soundtrack: Beta Band’s “Push It Out”