An evening with friends

My dinner plate.

Yesterday was the most gorgeous day - sunny and warm. I spent a lot of time in the late morning cooking food to take to our friends Claire and Alan's house in the country for a belated Seder. I made potato stuffing, cranberry-apple sauce, mock chopped liver (recipe coming soon), salad, golden macaroons and chocolate-covered matzo (recipe below). Because one of the guests avoids gluten, the stuffing, macaroons, cranberries and salad were all gf. (I made the macaroons with rice flour and coconut flour and the stuffing contained potatoes, onions and buckwheat.)

The hosts and other guests made sweet potato casserole, soup, fruit salad, roasted asparagus, amazing apple crisp and who knows what else. We had a Seder, then a feast of food and friendship.

Although when we left our house at 4:30 it was warm enough to wear only a sweater, by the time we left our hosts' home in the valley, the outdoor thermometer was registering 31˚ F. It's hard to believe how fickle Wisconsin weather can be.


Just look at these gorgeous organic roasted asparagus.


GF macaroons.


Potato stuffing


Chocolate covered matzo
Spread 4 sheets of whole wheat matzo with Earth Balance margarine and sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of evaporated cane juice. Place on a cookie sheet and place in a 325˚ F oven for 1 minute. (The margarine and sugar are optional. You really only need the chocolate in the next step.) Remove from the oven and cover the matzo with about 1-1/2 cups dark chocolate chips. Place back into the oven for a minute or until the chocolate chips are soft. (They won't lose their shape so poke one with a knife to see if they're soft.) Remove from the oven and use a knife to spread the softened chips to the edges of the matzo. Carefully place the matzo in the refrigerator until the chocolate hardens. This takes 5 to 10 minutes. Break the matzo into pieces.

Macaroons and movies

I usually prepare recipes and posts on the weekend, but we didn't do much cooking around here this past weekend because we were attending movies at the Wisconsin Film Festival, and anything beyond utilitarian cooking just didn't fit into the schedule. The festival lasted from last Thursday through Sunday, and this year I got tickets for 6 films, which is about as many as I can stand to see in 4 days, considering that two of the days include a full day of work. My goal this year was to try to pick films that didn't leave me feeling depressed and hopeless, in other words, uplifting films. This can be hard with independent films, but not impossible. The first night we saw "Anvil: The Story of Anvil," which was about a Canadian heavy-metal band that has been trying to find mainstream success for 30 years. The band members are now in their 50s and still hoping to make it big. I loved this film — it was funny and touching, and left me hoping the band really does find stardom with their new album. And I didn't fall asleep even though it started at 9 p.m.

The next night we saw 2 films. The first at 5 and the second at 9:30. The first one was "In a Dream" which was about an outsider artist in South Philly who creates amazing mosaic walls. Actually, he covers entire buildings, inside and out, including the floors, with gorgeous mosaics. One of his sons, a film writer, made the documentary, and there's quite a bit of mental anguish, but the film ends on a positive note. I grew up in Philadelphia and was amazed that I didn't know about this artist. Next time I visit, I'm making a beeline for South St. The second film on Friday night was "A Wink and a Smile" about the burlesque scene in Seattle. It profiled the progress of a diverse group of women learning to perform burlesque for reasons of personal growth. I didn't come away with new insights or fondness for the genre, but at least the film met my goal of not being depressing. Sorry to say I dozed off briefly and missed what my husband claims was the best part.



On Saturday we saw two films and they were both fascinating, but my run of "not depressing" took a high speed nose dive. We saw "Silent Light" and "Treeless Mountain." Both films were photographically beautiful and mesmerizing, and both were so slow if they were any slower they would have stopped. This is more of a warning to those who prefer lots of action, than a criticism. For my husband and me, both films were riveting. (But make no mistake, they were slow.) The first had an astonishing ending that I'm still trying to understand, and the second ended with a glimmer (a small glimmer) of happiness, (maybe) but was pretty heartbreaking for most of the film.

On Sunday we saw "Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight." The documentary showcases Milton Glaser's rich life as an iconic graphic designer, illustrator and humanitarian. He's elegant and eloquent.

In spite of the busy schedule, I did have time to make a little something for those celebrating Passover - vegan macaroons. They are made mostly from carrots and coconut (seems to be a theme lately) and are made acceptable for Passover by subbing matzoh meal and coconut flour for the regular flours. The recipe is an adaption of "golden macaroons" from the "Country Life Cookbook." These are fairly delicate but become sturdier as they cool. You have to really like coconut to like these chewy cookies. (non-Passover and gluten-free versions below)



Vegan Passover macaroons (3 dozen small macaroons)

• 1 packed cup finely grated carrots (2 medium to large carrots)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup agave syrup or maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon almond (or vanilla) extract
• 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup matzoh meal (not whole wheat)
  
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• scant 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In a bowl, mix together well, the carrots, water, agave, oil, extract and salt.
2. Add the coconut, matzoh meal, coconut flour. Mix well and let sit at least 10 minutes. After sitting, if the mixture seems too wet, add another tablespoon of coconut flour or matzoh meal.
3. Form the mixture into walnut sized balls and shape with your fingers. (The original recipe says to drop from a spoon but I always find it easier to make the balls.)
   
4. Bake at 325˚F on a lightly oiled baking sheet for about 30 minutes, or until nicely browned.

I usually grind the carrots in the food processor so they will be finely grated because my hand grater is too coarse.

By the way, these age really well. The coconut texture is very pronounced at first but as they age, the coconut softens and the cookies get very chewy. I left them out in the open (in the kitchen, of course) on the cooling rack, and they tasted even better and chewier 2 days later. So make a lot!

To make the non-Passover version use 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour for the matzoh meal, 1/4 cup garbanzo flour for the coconut flour and only 1/4 cup water.

To make gluten-free, use 1/4 cup rice flour for the wheat and 1/4 cup coconut flour. Use 1/2 cup water. Let sit at least 30 minutes before forming cookies.