Thursday, January 22, 2009

First Gnocchi and a Little Late W.I.P.



I admit to not getting around to my well intended blog time last night. But - with good reason. I was given the go-ahead to go back to work last night around 4:30. I never thought I would be this excited over the release of an imposed holiday from work. Funny.

But, never late than never - I am sharing my first EVER gnocchi, which I will definitely make again, and again, and again. I want to change the recipe up a bit and play with the different flour options I might/might not have.

I apologize for the steamy picture, but I just couldn't wait for it to cool down - I needed to sink my teeth right into these little potato & pasta pillows. It was surprisingly simple, something you really could whip up on a busy evening. There are tons and tons of recipes out there for gnocchi, many not vegan. So I played around and came up with my own version.

Gotta Have Some Gnocchi

8 potatoes - I saw lots of variety out there: sweet potatoes, russets, yukon gold
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1/4 cup of chickpea flour

Any sauce that you want to make, have on hand or ask a person on the street to borrow - your choice.

Here is what I did:
I boiled some water for the potatoes (next time I might take veganyumyum's advice and roast them to see if I get a different result), and waited for them to get nice and fork friendly. I pulled them out and went over them with a peeler, and then passed them over a grater. Following some net-advice, I let them air dry for about 20 minutes. I added my flours in halves until I had a nice little ball of dough. I separated the ball into 3 smaller balls and rolled each one out into a little cylinder that was about 20 cms long. Next, I cut them all into little gnocchi sized shapes and then imprinted them with my fork prongs.

I added the gnocchi to some salted boiling water and to my surprise, they popped up after about two minutes. I pulled them out, covered them in a quick tomato sauce and made them look pretty with a little basil. K and I both agree that they were yum yum.

I also have to give another well deserved shout to happyveganface! Earlier this week I got up the courage to make my own tortilla shells using her wickedawesomeface recipe. I changed it only by using a 6-grain flour, and adding some chili pepper flakes to the dough (K likes it HOT!). I stuffed the shells with my Sweet Potato and Refried beans, and some guacamole that I did end up getting all over myself whilst blitzing. Who cares - it was num num.



My work in progress.....is my Mobile of World Dominators. Ok, well that is what K refers to it as. He came home while I was finishing off the cat and we both feel that the cat looks suspiciously like a certain tyrannical leader from the 1930-40s - I am not saying who. I am using a great template from a supergreat book that I found in England. Check out this post for more info. I just have to finish the duck and then put it all together....So far (in case you can't tell in the photo) I have a kitty, a whale and a bird. All done in felt with embroidery thread.


Does it count as a work in progress if I have printed off a template and instructions? I was so excited to read Vegan Noodle's post about the amazing, super, dynamic babyshower that she gave her friends. She posted a link to Chickpea Studios, where I found the pattern for a Birthing Quilt. I think this is a great project, and I have already saddled K into taking me to a Belgian quilting shop so that I can buy some material for this wonderful little project.

27 comments:

Lovlie said...

Wholewheat gnocchi sounds great! I've never made gnocchi but I've made tortellini which was good. So I guess I'm gonna have to try your recipe here for gnocchi!

Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said...

mmm, the gnocchi looks great to me! How industrious of you to make your own!

Anonymous said...

Nooooommmmmm! I've never tried gnocchi. Why have I never had gnocchi? I like taters, I like pasta so I bet I'll love gnocchi!
Your mobile is delightful! Super sweet!
I'm thinking of joining W.I.P Wednesday too now that I've got my sewing mojo back.
Enjoy your trip to the patchwork shop. And if you are ever in Hampshire on one of your U.K visits, and would like some quilting fabric, just give me a shout~ I have over 1000 metres of patchwork fabric, fresh off the bolt, in my cupboard (I used to have my own little patchwork business). I'd be more happy to share some with you, I need the space!!

Lauren said...

I LOVE GNOCCHI!! Your recipe sounds so delicious and healthy! Yum!! I've never had it homemade, I am going to have to try this out!

Vegan_Noodle said...

Mmmm, gnocchi. Thanks for sharing your recipe! I wouldn't have thought to add chickpea flour but it sounds genius!

So impressed that you made your own tortillas! I need to head over to jessy's blog and take note of that recipe.

The animals for your mobile of world dominators (hehe) is so cute! And I can't wait to see your progress on the birthing quilt!

Bianca said...

Those little mobile animals are just adorable...but I do see the tyrannical resemblance in the cat.

I've never made my own gnocchi, but I LOVE that stuff so I should get to it. I like that the recipe seems so open to using healthy whole grain flours.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the gnocchi success! And yay for felt animal world domination :D

jessy said...

sweet awesomeness, VeganCowGirl - you made your own gnocchi!?! mmmmmmmmmmmm! i think the photo looks great - and it's pushing me towards making my own gnocchi sometime soon! i've gotta be brave though because for some reason i'm a bit intimidated by it. totally going to give your recipe a try if i work up the nerve. i think i may make it with some pesto or a nice sauce like you've made! wowzers!

ahhhhhhhahahahaaaa - your mobile of felt world dominators is glorious! i love it! i think it's so cool - and super adorable! you're so crafty! :)

thanks for another shout-out. we're excitedfaced that you're having tasty successes with our recipes. sometimes the tortilla recipe turns out great for us and sometimes they seem a bit dry. i can't figure it out - but i think the longer i knead them & then let them rest, the better. we're working on it though... i'm gonna have to try some burritos stuffed with sweet potatoes, guacamole, and refried beans - it sounds like such a tasty combination!

Jen said...

my husband comes from a huge italian family and i still haven't made him some gnocci. shame on me. i'll have to get on that.
and that mobile is super gnawdorable, even if the kitty looks a little like you-know-who.

T said...

Woah, that looks heavenly! I've made gnocchi before I was vegan, and it always had a ton of eggs in it... good to see its not to tough to veganize.

Amy said...

Mmmm your gnocchi looks wonderful and I love your kitty for the mobile! (I want one!)

Anonymous said...

I love that mobile, but not seekers of world domination, just to be clear! And all projects - even if they are still being sorted out in your brain - are WIPS!
I have to make some gnocchi soon! It's so yummy, why do I wait?

alaina said...

i always think gnocchi looks so cute :P i've never tried it but yours looks quick and easy (aka perfect for me!)

Unknown said...

Congrats. with the gnocchi and the tortilla shelves. I like bought but find it a lot of work to make them. So usually I buy them in the supermarket. But I guess yours taste much better.
Cute little felt animals.

Katie said...

I've never made my own gnocchi before, but it is definitely on my list of to-do's!

jb said...

I've been thinking about making gnocchi for the past few weeks and I think this post just gave me the inspiration to finally do it. Looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

Looks incredibly yummy- glad to have found your blog!

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

Hey, we had gnocchi today! It didn't look as yummy as yours though.

The evil kitty is hilarious!

Anonymous said...

The animals are so cute.

Anonymous said...

I love the felt animals, so adorable!!

Anonymous said...

Hi! I'm new to your blog and I love it! I'm going to try some of your recipes soon and I'm sure they'll be delicious. I'm going to add you to my blogroll as well, I think my readers will like your site!

Anonymous said...

I've never had gnocchi before - it looks interesting and tasty.

I really like your tortilla bread (and your naan bread you posted earlier).

Thanks for sharing!

For the Love of Guava said...

teehee.. so I just found you through WIP!! I love your stuffed animals (and gnocchi... mine always come out so heavy a couple bites is enough)... have you ever seen this???
http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/cgi-bin/seigmiaow.pl

I almost lost my tea when you made that reference to your kitty... :)

edible forest said...

mmmm looks great!
greetings from belgium too!

Vegan_Noodle said...

Hey there! Just checking in to see how things are going. Have missed you in the blogosphere! Hope all is well :-)

Anonymous said...

This all looks amazing!!

Good-Dees said...

I'm definetly going to make your gnocchi version...my first attempt recently didn't work out too great- love the idea of the chick pea flour! Thank you!!