Blog

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen sweet corn kernels
• 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon roasted (Asian) sesame oil
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes – about 12 ounces, diced
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped, pitted kalamata olives
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• freshly-ground black pepper to taste
• 3/4 pound cooked Breast of Tofu slices , browned as for “crispy slices”

METHOD:
To make the salsa: Mix the corn on a cookie sheet with the two oils. Place about 3-4 inches under the broiler of your oven and broil until they start to brown. Toss with a spatula and add the tomatoes. Broil until the tomato begins to look a little charred in places. Scoop into a bowl and mix with the other salsa ingredients.

Divide the crisp, browned Breast of Tofu between 4 warmed plates and top evenly with the salsa. Serve immediately.

NOTES:
Serves 4.

Recipe provided by Bryanna Clark Grogan

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 1/2 ounces / 14 grams dried morels (10-12 mushrooms)
• 3 tablespoons margarine or oil
• 1 small onion, cut into fine half-rounds
• 1 teaspoon salt

METHOD:
Pick over rice and wash it in several changes of water. Drain. Put in a bowl. Add 6 cups fresh water and leave to soak for half an hour. Drain.

Rinse off the morels and soak them in 1 1/2 cups of boiling water for 15-20 minutes or until they are soft. Remove the mushrooms from their soaking liquid (reserve this liquid!) And rinse them again. Now cut each mushroom in half lengthwise.

Strain the soaking liquid and add enough water to it to make 2 2/3 cups.

Heat the margarine/oil in a heavy 2 liter / 2 quart pot over a medium flame. When hot, add the onion and saute until it turns translucent. Add the morels and saute them for 1 minute. Add the rice and salt and saute the rice for a couple of minutes. Lower the heat a little a bit if the rice starts to stick. Now add the morel soaking liquid and bring to the boil. Cover tightly, turn the heat to very, very low and cook undisturbed for 25 minutes.

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• Egg replacer, equivalent to 1 egg
• 3/4 cup soy milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• Powdered sugar (optional)

METHOD:
Sift together dry ingredients. Add egg replacer, soy milk and oil. Stir with fork until smooth.

Heat 2.5 centimeter / 1 inch deep oil to 180C/350F. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into hot oil. Turn after a few seconds until browned on both sides, turning once more. Drain on paper towel.

NOTES:
You can either eat them plain or coat them with powdered sugar. They’re really good like that. If you don’t know the temperature of your oil, make sure it’s not too hot, or the donut hole will still be raw inside and brown on the outside. Make sure you use the nutmeg, because it gives it a nice flavor.

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 leek stalks, sliced
• 1/2 head broccoli, sliced
• Packet of mushrooms, sliced
• Curry powder
• Couple T dark miso
• Splash of vinegar
• 1/2 L / 1 pint vegetable juice (bought in the store, made from different kinds of vegetables)
• 3 dl / 300 ml / 10 fl oz water
• 4 dl / 400 ml / 13.5 fl oz bulgur

METHOD:
I sliced the leek stalks, broccoli and a packet of a kind of
mushrooms, then I fried it with some curry, the dark
miso and just a little splash of vinegar. Having done that I added half the
vegetable juice (bought in the store, made from different kinds of vegetables),
water and bulgur (half as much bulgur as liquid) and let it simmer for 10 minutes or so.

NOTES:
This is not really a recipe, as much as a trick I just found
out which turned out so good that I thought I’d tell you about it.
I normally don’t make an improvised dish twice, but the basic idea
works great here. Bear with me – you know I like to preface these
things with a story ;0)

It seems that my mode of cooking comes and goes in fads and now
what I’m doing a lot is frying up some veggies with some sort of spice
or something, then add a sort of liquid and either rice or bulgur and
let it simmer until the rice or bulgur is done… fair and good, but today
I tried something interesting which was really good.

It may not sound like much, but it was actually very good, thought I’ll
try adding more curry next time, but the vegetable juice really gave
the bulgur something extra.

Just felt like sharing, in case someone finds the idea useful :0)

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups unbleached white flour
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup sucanat
• 1/4 cup date sugar
• 2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t sea salt
• 7 T cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 T maple syrup
• 2 T vinegar
• 10 T liquified shortening
• 2 cups cold water

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180C/350F.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well to break up the cocoa powder evenly.

Note: The three sugars listed are interchangeable in any amount as long as the total
sugar for the recipe equals two cups.

Pour maple syrup, vinegar, and melted shortening over the dry ingredients. Add cold water
immediately and stir vigorously until all lumps are gone.

Oil and lightly flour muffin tins or add paper cups to the trays. Fill with chocolate cake batter to roughly 3/4 full
(batter will rise). Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick stuck through the middle of the
cake comes out clean.

Let cool completely and frost with your favorite vegan frosting.

Enjoy!!

Makes 18-24 cupcakes.

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• Red onions
• Lime juice
• Sea salt
  

METHOD:
Lime-pickled red onions are just the best garnish for about anything:

Cut red onion into very thin rings, place in a bowl and cover with lots of lime juice and a sprinkle of sea salt. Let them sit at room temp for at least a half hour? hour? until they’re a beautiful tangy pink.

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 small bananas
• 250 ml / 8.5 fl oz carton (1 cup) soya cream
• Squirt of soya milk
• Maple syrup and date syrup to taste
• A little vanilla essence
  

METHOD:
Liquidize everything, then pour into an ice cream maker.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, chop the banana into small chunks and freeze beforehand. When blending everything, do it really thoroughly to get lots of air in, then pour into a suitable container and freeze for about 2 hours.

Texture won’t be quite as good, but taste will be the same.

NOTES:
So sweet and creamy that it is hard to believe there is no dairy or refined sugar in it!

I’ve tried all sorts of flavours in me ice cream maker, but this is the best so far.

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• Sushi rice (short-grain brown rice is suggested, with vinegar/sugar/salt mixture)
• Umeboshi (salted and pickled plum)
• Nori
• Pickled ginger

  
  Suggested Fillings
  

• Vegetables (eg. spring onions, carrots, cucumber, greens, lettuce, bell peppers, jicama, daikon, beetroot, taro)
• Fruit (eg. avocado, apple, mango, peach)
• Mushrooms
• Scrambled tofu
  

METHOD:
I use short-grain brown rice for my sushi. It sticks together and adds
that slight nutty flavor (not to mention it’s healthier). I usually add
a thin layer of umeboshi (salted and pickled plum) paste over that, then
add my veggies and roll it.

All vegetables are fair game. The best are the most obvious, but odd
ones are interesting, too: green (spring) onion, carrots, cucumber,
greens and lettuces of all kinds, bell pepper (roasted or raw, whatever
colors are available), jicama, daikon or other radish, beetroot, taro,
or whatever you have lying about. Just make sure the veggies are thinly
julienned.

I’ve also made fruit sushi, which I have been told is taboo. Not sure
why that is since avocado is a fruit and is used in many rolls. It may
take most palates a bit of getting used to vinegared rice and seaweed
with fruit, but apples, mango, and peaches are my favorites.

All edible varieties of mushrooms are good additions. They, too, should
be thinly sliced; the exception is enoki which is too thin to cut.

One other traditional ingredient deserves mentioning. Rather than
rolling a scrambled egg in with my food, I use scrambled tofu.

NOTES:
Kake posted a recipe for vegetarian sushi. I happen to be addicted to
sushi, and have learned to roll just about everything vegan and healthy
into lovely little rice-nori wheels of joy. I also pickle my own ginger.

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon cardamom seeds
• 2.5 centimeter / 1 inch stick of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon whole black cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• About 1/3 of an average sized nutmeg

Northwest Pakistan Variation

• 1 1/2 teaspoon whole black cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons anardana (dried pomegranate seeds)
• 4 centimeters / 1 1/2 inch stick of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves

METHOD:
Mix all together and grind until powdery.

Store in a tightly lidded jar away from heat and sunlight.

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 15 grams / 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1 large onion, chopped finely
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 3 tomatoes chopped
• 1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped
• 1 centimeter fresh ginger, grated
• 450 grams / 1 pound okra trimmed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander
• 400 grams / 14 ounces tinned chickpeas, drained
• Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:
In a large frying pan or wok, heat oil with margarine. Saute the onion and garlic for 4-5 minutes until onion has softened. Add tomatoes, chilli, ginger and stir well, then add the okra, cumin and coriander. Cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently, then stir in the chickpeas and salt and pepper. Cook gently for a few minutes longer for chickpeas to heat through, then spoon into a bowl and serve.

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• Pastry
  • 350 grams / 3/4 pounds plain flour
  • 175 grams / 6 ounces hard margarine
• Filling
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 onions cut into wedges
  • 2 apples, peeled cored and cut into wedges
  • 240 grams / 1/2 pounds chestnuts, cooked, peeled and halved
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • Seasoning

METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 200C/390F. Sift the flour into a large bowl and rub in the margarine until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in 3-4 tablespoons water to form a firm dough. Wrap in plastic film and chill until ready to use.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions over a low heat for 15 minutes stirring occasionally until golden and softened. Stir in the apples, chestnuts, herbs and seasoning.

Roll out two-thirds of the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to a line a 5 centimeter / 2 inch deep, 20 centimeter / 8 inch loose bottomed, fluted flan tin. Spoon in the chestnut mixture.

Roll out the remaining pastry and use to cover the pie filling, sealing the edges with a little water. Brush the surface with a little water and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Bake for 50-55 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot with a selection of vegetables and a red wine jus (fry finely chopped shallot in 25 grams / 2 tablespoons margarine for 2 minutes, add 300 milliliters / 1 1/4 cups red wine and boil until reduced by three quarters, add 300 milliliters / 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock and boil until reduced by half, whisk in 15 grams / 1 tablespoon margarine until glossy, season with freshly ground black pepper).

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 whole vanilla bean
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 t margarine (optional)
• 1 pinch salt (optional)
• 4 bananas
• 1/2 small pineapple
  

METHOD:
Slit vanilla bean lengthwise & scrape out sticky black seeds. Place seeds & pod in a small heavy bottomed pot along with remaining ingredients, except fruit. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat & simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. If glaze hardens, reheat before using.

Prepare grill. Peel bananas; peel & core pineapple. Cut into bite-sized pieces. Alternate bananas & pineapple on skewers. Place skewers on hot grill & cook 5 to 10 minutes, turning once. When hot, baste with glaze, two or three times. Turn & baste again.

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups (about 1 lb / 450 g) coarsely ground seitan or reconstituted textured vegetable
  protein or crumbled veggie burgers

• 16 oz / 455 g pastichio pasta or a broad flat pasta
• 3 T olive oil or sesame oil
• 1 1/2 t soy sauce
• 1 cup bread crumbs

  
  Sauce
  

• 1 1/2 T kuzu or arrowroot
• 1 – 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups plain soymilk or Rice Dream
• 1 T tahini
• 3/4 t sea salt
• 1/2 t cinnamon
  

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 400F/205C. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) baking dish and set aside.

While the oven is preheating, cook the pasta until al dente, then drain and place in a bowl.

In a large skillet, heat the oil, then add the seitan. Brown the seitan for 3-4 minutes, then add the soy sauce. Combine the browned seitan with the drained pasta, mix it together and set aside.

To prepare the sauce, dissolve the kuzu in 1/2 cup of the water and set it aside. In a saucepan, heat the soymilk, another 1/2 cup water, the tahini, salt and cinnamon over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is almost boiling. Add the dissolved kuzu to the pot and sir this sauce as it thickens. If the sauce gets too thick, add a little more water (no more than 1/2 cup). Adjust the seasonings.

To assemble the casserole, first layer half the pasta-seitan combination in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Pour half the sauce evenly over the top; add the rest of the pasta and cover with the remaining sauce. Top with a layer of breadcrumbs.

Cover the casserole with foil and bake 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 15 minutes to brown the crust. Serve hot.

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 lb / 225 g lasagne sheets
• 1 x 26 oz / 720 g jar pasta sauce
• 1 T oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound regular tofu
• 3/4 c. soy yogurt (optional)
• 1 t salt
• 1/4 c nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 c. grated dairy free mozerella and/or soy parmesan
  

METHOD:
Cook the lasagne sheets in boiling water to al dente, then drain and rinse.

Saute the oil, onion and garlic.

Blend in a food processor the tofu, yogurt, salt, nutritional yeast flakes, basil and parsley, until smooth and creamy.

Stir in the onion and garlic. Start making layers in 2 quart / 2 L baking dish, beginning with half of the pasta sauce on the bottom, and a layer of half the lasagne sheets. Next, spread the tofu filling evenly over the noodles, arrange the other half of the noodles, and then pour over the rest of the tomato sauce.

This can be topped with the mozzarella/parmesan. Bake for about 30 minutes or until bubbling and the cheese is melted.

NOTES:
Per serving: calories – 207, totel protein – 12g, soy protein – 8 g, fat – 7g, carbohydrates – 22g, fiber – 5g, calcium – 255mg, sodium – 477 mg.

Yet another recipe from “Tofu Quick & Easy”. My uncle, who is a meat eater, & one of the pickiest eaters on earth, loves this. He said if he didn’t already know the “ricotta” filling was tofu, he couldn’t tell it.

In the filling, where the ingredients say “optional”, I highly recommend using them. It adds to the taste.

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 T vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, cut into small dice
• 250 g / 8 oz long grain rice
• Juice and finely grated rind of two oranges
• 450 ml / 3/4 pint vegetable stock
• 60 g / 2 oz frozen peas
• 60 g / 2 oz frozen sweetcorn
• 60 g / 2 oz salted peanuts (toast them first for extra flavour)
• 1 T chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

METHOD:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion and carrot for 5 minutes
until beginning to turn golden brown. Add the rice and cook for a further 1
minute.

Add the orange juice and vegetable stock. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in the peas and sweetcorn and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes
until rice and vegetables are tender.

Add the peanuts, parsley and orange rind. Add salt and pepper to taste and
serve.

After its most convincing display in the NCAA Tournament thus far, the No. 1 Stanford women’s soccer team is back in the College Cup for the second consecutive year.

The Card (24-0-0) swept aside a talented Boston College team — the two seed in the region — Friday night at Cagan Stadium, winning 3-1 with a controlled possession style that kept Stanford in the driver’s seat all match. It was a far cry from the team’s first three tournament matches, in which the Cardinal looked uncomfortable and off its game for large stretches.

“This was our best performance of the tournament,” said Stanford Head Coach Paul Ratcliffe. “We played great possession soccer and scored three great goals.”

You couldn’t have blamed the team for losing its composure when Boston College (18-4-2) got off to a dream start not even two minutes into the match. BC’s sophomore Julia Bouchelle received a pass near the top of the box before dribbling to her left and unleashing a low shot with her left foot. Stanford junior goalkeeper Kira Maker flung herself to the left, but could only watch as the ball caromed off the far post and into the net to give the Eagles a shock lead. Just one minute and 35 seconds had ticked off the clock.

Despite giving up its first goal in NCAA tournament play, however, Stanford was not rattled. The team went right back on the offensive and equalized play just 50 seconds later. Junior forward Christen Press saw her long range effort hit the crossbar, but senior Kelley O’Hara was in perfect position to tap in the rebound and make it 1-1 less than three minutes into the match. Surprisingly, it was the first goal of the postseason for the record-setting forward — but it would not be her last.

The teams were back at level pegging, but it was the Cardinal that looked likely to grab the lead. O’Hara nearly added another in the 23rd minute, but was narrowly beaten to a loose ball by Eagles’ sophomore keeper Jillian Mastroianni, and Press shot just wide after cutting between three defenders in the box two minutes later.

The pressure paid off in the 27th minute, though, when sophomore Lindsay Taylor flicked on a long ball and Press slipped it past the backline to O’Hara, who was making the run. The senior outraced the BC defenders and blasted a shot over the on-rushing Mastroianni to make the score 2-1. The goal pushed her single-season goals record to 25 and also gave Press the single-season mark for assists with 15 on the year.

Press came close to getting a goal of her own numerous times before the end of the half, but was unable to find the back of the net. Still, Stanford was dominating the match, outshooting BC 18-3 in the first half. The Eagles weren’t completely out of the game — Maker had to make a fine one-on-one stop on BC’s freshman Victoria DiMartino in the 43rd minute — but the Stanford backline kept the Eagles’ opportunities to a minimum.

Boston College fired another warning shot to begin the second half. In the 49th minute, Eagles freshman fullback Kristen Mewis swung in a cross from the left that found senior Gina DiMartino — Victoria’s sister — at the top of the box. The midfielder sent her shot toward the upper corner of the goal, but once again Maker was there for the save.

The remainder of the match was all Stanford, as the Card outshot BC 12-1 over the final 40 minutes. O’Hara came close to completing a hat trick multiple times, but it was Press who would finish off the scoring, providing the knockout punch in the 85th minute.

Senior defender Alicia Jenkins played a long ball out of the back and Press used a burst of speed to charge past the BC backline before calmly slotting low past Mastroianni. The goal — her 20th of the year — made it 3-1 and effectively punched Stanford’s ticket to College Station, Texas for next weekend’s College Cup.

Much of the attention afterward was on Stanford’s two goal scorers, but O’Hara was quick to credit the defensive effort as well.

“Boston College is an amazing team and our defense held them to five shots [for the entire match],” O’Hara said, who<\p>–<\p>along with the rest of the senior class<\p>–<\p>played her final match on the Farm. “Everyone did their jobs tonight.”

Ratcliffe echoed his star’s comments after the comprehensive victory.

“This was a really strong performance against a good BC team,” he said. “I’m very proud.”

The Cardinal will now face conference rival UCLA on Friday, since the Bruins (21-2-1) defeated Portland 2-1 to claim their seventh consecutive College Cup berth. The game will be a rematch of the Oct. 18 conference match, which Stanford won 2-0 at home. That match was the key as the Card ended UCLA’s run of six straight Pacific-10 Conference championships and the Bruins are sure to be out for revenge.

UCLA and Stanford will be joined in Texas by defending national champions North Carolina (21-3-1) and last year’s runners up Notre Dame (21-3-1), which makes this year’s final four the exact same as last year’s. Last year’s Cardinal team — Stanford’s first to make the College Cup since 1993 — lost 1-0 to Notre Dame in the semifinals, but the 2009 version is confident that this year will be different.

“We’ve been there before — we have experience,” O’Hara said. “Hopefully [that experience] will lead us to two wins next weekend.”

Friday’s semifinal match will kick off at 2:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast by ESPN2 and ESPNU. The national championship match will be played at 10 a.m. on Sunday and will be shown on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com.

United Front Games has been very busy lately perfecting their upcoming PS3 exclusive kart racing title that we only got a couple updates since the gam…

The Stanford women’s volleyball team is on roll and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Heading into the NCAA tournament, where it is the No. 4 overall seed, Stanford (21-7, 14-4 Pacific-10) has won its last six matches, including a thrilling five-set win over Cal on Friday in the “Big Spike.”

Playing in front of a home crowd of more than 5,000 people on Friday in Maples Pavilion, the Card engineered an amazing come-from-behind victory to beat the Golden Bears (18-10, 11-7 Pac-10) in five sets, 23-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-4. The win gave Stanford its fourth consecutive Pac-10 championship and boosted the team’s momentum heading into the NCAA tournament.

“I think it was extra special winning it this year just because nobody expected it from us,” said junior outside hitter Alix Klineman. “However, making it to the Final Four and winning a national championship is our ultimate goal and we knew that, to be really feeling confident going into the playoffs, we needed to win this match.”

Klineman led the team in kills in the match, setting a new career high with 33. The team also got strong contributions from junior Cassidy Lichtman, who recorded her ninth triple double of the year with 13 kills, 18 assists and 10 digs and senior Janet Okogbaa, who had 12 kills on Senior Night.

“Winning the Pac-10 for the fourth time in a row was huge for us,” said senior outside hitter Alex Fisher. “In the beginning of the preseason, we made a list of team goals. It’s nice to be able to check this one off the list.” Fisher also added that she was voting “Klineman for Heisman” after her performance on Friday.

Although the Cardinal got the final result it wanted, the start of the match was a different story. Stanford came out on top backed by the raucous Maples crowd and took a 4-1 lead. Cal cut the lead to one with a quick run, but the Card responded and stayed on top, 9-5. Stanford continued to maintain its lead before a 4-0 run by the Bears cut the Stanford lead to one, 19-18 and resulted in a timeout by Stanford head coach John Dunning. Another 4-0 run by Cal would give the Bears the set, 23-25 and put a damper on the excitement of the Cardinal fans.

In the second set, Cal used its momentum to take an early 4-1 lead. The Card went on a run, including a kill by Fisher, which tied the score at eight all, but found itself down again after a 6-1 run by the Bears. After Stanford cut the lead to one on a kill by Lichtman and an ace by freshman Karissa Cook, Cal posted seven straight points to take a 21-13 lead. The Bears took the second set 18-25, leaving the Card in a tough position in its last game of the season.

“Coming back into the locker room after losing the first two sets was tough,” Fisher said. “Rather than talking about technical elements of the fix, we talked about what this match meant to us. [Sophomore] Katherine Sebastian said it best: ‘We are not going to let Cal stop us from winning the Pac-10. Not Cal. And not in three [games].’”

Additionally, the Card shifted its lineup slightly heading into the third set, putting sophomore Stephanie Browne in as a middle. The third set started with back and forth play, as the teams traded points on the way to a seven all tie. The Bears pulled ahead on a 4-0 run, but two kills by Okogbaa and a block by Klineman and Browne reduced Cal’s lead to two. Following a run by the Bears, which put them up 16-21, the match was almost out of reach. However, feeding off the energy of the crowd, the Card went on a 5-1 run, including a kill by Browne, cutting the lead to one and forcing Cal to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, a kill by Klineman led to a set point for Stanford and Cook served another ace to give the Card the set, 25-23, to avoid the sweep.

“I think the comeback at the end of the third game is what turned it around for us,” Lichtman said. “We just kept fighting in that game and the adrenaline and momentum from it carried over into the rest of the match.”

Using the third set win as the turning point, the Card took a 7-4 lead to open the fourth set. Following a Cal run, the lead switched back and forth until a 6-3 Bears run gave them a 16-19 lead. However, three kills by Klineman and one apiece by Lichtman and freshman Hayley Spelman, put Stanford back on top 21-19. Behind two more Lichtman kills, the Cardinal would even the match at two sets apiece, taking the fourth 25-20.

In the fifth set, Stanford carried its momentum to an early 5-2 lead and never relinquished it. Klineman recorded seven kills in the set and Stanford won the set, 15-4 and the match, capturing its fourth Pac-10 championship.

“I think each of our last six wins are really important because we got them in different ways,” Klineman said. “Some matches we dominated, others we struggled and in all of them we won. We really learned to fight no matter what the circumstances were and find a way to win, which will be really important come tournament time.”

Now the Cardinal heads into the NCAA tournament where the team will be playing at home for the first and second rounds as the No. 1 seed in the Stanford regional. Stanford will head to the tournament for the 29th straight time, joining Penn State as the only two teams to have made it to all 29 NCAA Women’s Volleyball tournaments.

“The NCAA tournament is do or die so we just want to keep winning,” Lichtman said. “I think we are hitting our stride at the right time and we just need to play each match as it comes. At this point there are not many easy wins so we are going to have to fight for everyone.”

The Cardinal will face Long Island (21-13) on Friday at 7 p.m. in Maples Pavilion, with the winner of that match facing the winner of a match between Saint Mary’s (22-4) and UC Santa Barbara (22-7) on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Maples Pavilion. Stanford will be looking to claim its seventh NCAA title and 15th appearance in the national title match when play begins on Friday.

As the referee threw the ball up into the air at tip-off, all the statistics looked to be in favor of a dominant Cardinal weekend. While there were rough spots on the way, that is exactly what Stanford fans got as the Cardinal battled its way to a 60-41 win against Utah last Friday and a 105-74 victory over Gonzaga on Sunday.

Stanford came into the Utah game riding its best start in five years, with four straight wins to open the regular season (plus two wins in preseason) and with an unbeaten record (then 10-0) against the Utes. The Cardinal is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation in both the Associated Press Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Poll. Stanford has at least shared the Pacific-10 Conference title for nine straight years and consistently performed well in the postseason, leading the team to have high hopes of challenging for another NCAA trophy in March.

But a closer look at the Cardinal’s last meeting with the Utes, in 2007, tells a different story; that day, it took double overtime to separate the two teams. Stanford eventually eked it out 81-77 after junior Melanie Murphy kept the game alive with a three-pointer to tie the game in the last seconds of regulation.

This time around the Cardinal finished slightly more comfortably with a 19-point win, but it was still a tough, hard-fought game.

Early on, both teams struggled with shot accuracy, but as the game progressed, Stanford (6-0) pulled in front, ending the first half up 24-11. It might not have been pretty, but the No. 2 Cardinal showed its strength in the first half, playing swarming defense and effectively stifling the Utah offense.

Undeterred, the Utes (2-3) came out much stronger after the break, doubling their first half score in the first five minutes to close within seven points. With the momentum firmly in Utah’s court, someone needed to step up for the Card to put the game away.

Several players answered the call. Junior forward Kayla Pedersen scored three baskets in just two minutes to turn the game back in the Cardinal’s favor, eventually achieving her second consecutive double-double. Sophomore forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike and junior guard Jeanette Pohlen both made crucial steals, rebounds and buckets.

Despite seeing her team take command again as time wound down, Stanford Head Coach Tara VanDerveer was somewhat underwhelmed with her team’s performance.

“That wasn’t a game that I’m really excited about,” VanDerveer said. “I don’t think we played real inspired, but we got some really good effort from some of our team.”

Any team can beat any other on its day, but only the very best, the championship contenders, can have a bad day and still come away with a win.

“I just think that we just had a rough day and I think every team is going to have one of those days,” Pedersen said. “As long as we stay and encourage each other and know that we have a lot more that we can give, I think that that’s the main thing that we take away from this game.”

“We just stuck after it and I’m proud of our team for doing that,” she added.

Highly rated senior center Jayne Appel exemplified this attitude, as she recovered from a bad flu enough to play 21 minutes, grabbing six rebounds in the process.

Where last Friday’s game left the Cardinal feeling a little disappointed with a less than perfect performance, the game against Gonzaga two days later was a chance to get back on top.

In the first few seconds, it was clear this would be a whole different affair. Shots that had bounced off the rim before were dropping in for both sides and the early goings went back and forth. A traveling call against the Zags (4-2) in the first few minutes gave possession to Stanford, allowing the Cardinal to take a four-point lead<\p>–<\p>one it would never surrender.

“I thought our team really stepped up,” VanDerveer said. “[I thought we] really made a statement that we’re going to go inside and they really finished well. We shot the ball very well.”

The Cardinal powered forward to take a 59-38 lead at halftime and went on to a 105-74 win. Every player in the starting lineup played a crucial role, making it hard to separate out one strong performance from the next.

Although Pedersen just missed her third consecutive double-double, she led Stanford in points with a career-high 30, breaking the 1,000-point mark for her career in the process.

Not wishing to be outdone, Ogwumike scored just one point less than Pedersen, a career-high 29 and registered 13 rebounds to come out as the top performer of the game.

“It’s a good night to get a career high. Gonzaga is really a top team,” VanDerveer said.

Adding to the good news for Stanford, Appel was back in form after her illness, posting a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, bringing her career rebounding total to 999.

Stanford hits the court again on Dec. 13, when it will play the No. 21 DePaul Blue Demons (5-1). That game marks the beginning of an interesting winter campaign for the Cardinal, which will play several talented teams. Stanford plays host to No. 11 Duke on the Dec. 15 and No. 6 Tennessee on the Dec. 19, then heads east for a big rematch of last year’s national semifinal against the unanimously top-ranked Connecticut Huskies. The game is scheduled for the Dec. 23 and will be broadcast from Hartford on ESPN2 at 2:30 p.m. PT.

The Card’s last game of the 2009 calendar year will be on Dec. 30 at Fresno State. Stanford will kick off the Pac-10 season against rival California on Jan. 2 at home. The game is set for 12 p.m. and will be televised on CSN Bay Area.

After falling at the buzzer to Oral Roberts on Nov. 18, Stanford men’s basketball knew that Thanksgiving would bring anything but a “break” for the team. In fact, the Cardinal was in for a series of battles — not the least of which was against the football team for fan turnout on the day of Big Game, plus the battles on the court with Florida A&M, Virginia, No. 5 Kentucky and Portland State — before classes resumed.

So, Stanford (4-3) went to work, notching a 30-point win over the Rattlers of Florida A&M (0-7) on Nov. 21, despite losing fans at the half to a less successful appearance by the football team at Big Game. Sophomore guard Jeremy Green led all scorers with a season-high 21 points, while senior Landry Fields earned his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds along with a season-high six assists.

Sophomore forward Jack Trotter and guards Drew Shiller, Jarrett Mann and Emmanuel Igbinosa all reached double figures in scoring as well, helping the Cardinal to lead by as much as 34 partway through the second half and to earn an eventual 99-69 victory.

Fields believes that the shared scoring in the Card’s most dominant win to date is a sign of Stanford’s continued improvement as individual players and as a group.

“Playing with each guy, I think the rotation is starting to really set in,” Fields, Stanford’s team captain, said. “A lot of guys are really starting to find their identity out there — I feel like everyone’s getting comfortable with their roles.”

Coach Johnny Dawkins agreed, noting that he’s seen the most improvement this season in Stanford’s young players.

“Some guys ducked into the lineup when they probably weren’t expecting it with Josh [Owens] around,” Dawkins said. “To see those guys really step up and compete for us at a really good level and to see those guys continuing to get better — when I’m speaking of those guys I’m speaking of the Zimmermanns, the Trotters, the Matei Daians — those guys at every practice have really come and battled, you can see the improvement in them.”

Stanford rode the momentum from the win all the way to Cancun, Mexico, where it met the University of Virginia (4-2) in the Cancun Challenge on Nov. 24. The matchup was fairly even, with six ties and 13 lead changes over the course of the contest. Both teams struggled in shooting — the Cardinal shot 38.9 percent from the floor to UVA’s 37.8 — but Fields lifted the Stanford offense with 25 points and 13 boards and found some help from Green, the only other Cardinal player to contribute in double digits, who added 10 points. Half of Green’s points came in the final 5 minutes of play, helping Stanford to pull away from the Cavaliers after being down 47-46 with 4:52 remaining.

At 4:42, Mann scored on a lay-up and Green followed with a lay-up of his own and then a long ball, along with a lay-up and two made foul shots by Fields to finish the 11-5 run by the Cardinal to win the game by the score of 57-52.

The win against Virginia placed Stanford in the tournament’s championship game against the fifth-ranked University of Kentucky (5-0). The Wildcats jumped out to what would be their largest lead of the meeting, holding a 19-11 advantage eight and a half minutes into the game. However, the second of Green’s five three-pointers at 12:21 jumpstarted an 11-0 run by the Card to give Stanford a three-point edge.

By the half, the teams had already seen six ties, but a final burst by the Cardinal earned the team a 38-32 buffer at halftime.

With Kentucky expected to dominate Stanford, Dawkins said that his team’s confidence in itself allowed Stanford to hang with one of the nation’s top teams.

“I think our kids believe that we can be competitive and that’s the first step — believing,” he said.

Throughout the second half, that belief and the Cardinal’s play, hung tough. Despite shooting only 31.8 percent, Stanford maintained a slight lead until 6:42, when a lay-up by Kentucky forward Patrick Patterson put the Wildcats up by one.

In the final three minutes, the teams tied four more times, but with nine seconds left, the Cardinal held a two-point lead. A pair of missed free throws by Mann failed to clinch the victory for Stanford and a foul by sophomore Andrew Zimmermann gave Kentucky the chance to make everything even. Clutch conversions by guard John Wall — he went eight-for-eight from the stripe on the night to help earn his game-high 26 points — made it 63-all and the teams went to overtime.

In the extra period, however, the young Stanford team crumbled under a combination of inexperience and fatigue. The Cardinal did not score a single field goal in the remaining five minutes and the team was outscored 10-2 in overtime, falling 73-65.

Stanford was led by Fields’s third consecutive double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds and Green added another 18 in the loss. No other Stanford players reached double digits.

Dawkins blames some of Stanford’s shortcomings thus far on youth. But he also acknowledges that this team has more potential than it has yet reached.

“We’re not exactly an old team,” Dawkins said. “There are a few things that we’re still trying to see with our guys. We do have an idea of what our guys can do. That’s what this time of the season is about for us — it’s a growth period. I think we’re learning more — and there are a few things that we need to clean up, but I think we’re moving in the right direction.”

Back on campus, Stanford looked to rebound against Portland State (1-4) on Nov. 29. Again, play stayed relatively close throughout the first half and the Vikings’ eight-of-13 threes — and 65 percent overall shooting — certainly helped keep it that way. In fact, Stanford only had a two-point lead until Fields stepped up and hit a three of his own with one second left to close the period, 43-38.

Dawkins was less-than-thrilled with the Cardinal’s performance, though he gave credit to Portland State for its offensive success in the first half.

“They made us play the way they wanted to play,” he said. “We didn’t play as well as I would’ve liked to see us play in the first half. I thought our second half defense was better — and that’s a credit to our guys in making some adjustments and being really focused. [But] this is one of the best shooting teams that I’ve seen in the last couple years. They really shot the ball well.”

Luckily for the Card, the Vikings’ shooting fell to 37.9 percent after the break and the team went only 2-for-11 from long range. Meanwhile, Stanford’s shooting jumped to 69.6 percent and the game became increasingly one-sided.

The Cardinal finished with an 83-64 victory and was again led in scoring by Fields with 25 points. Green, Shiller and Trotter added 19, 11 and 10 points, respectively. Despite the improved scoring, though, Dawkins saw room for improvement and he hopes that the next two weeks — when the team breaks for finals — will give Stanford some time to prepare.

“I think we have to continue to get better defensively,” he said. “We have to get better on the boards — we battle pretty good, but I think we can battle even better there, so those are areas I think that need to be cleaned up the most. Offensively, we’re still working on our spacing and some timing issues and you know we’ve got to clean that up. So, I’m definitely not satisfied with where we are. I think there’s a lot of room for us to improve some of the intangibles of the game really. And I think if we make those improvements, we can be a better ball club.”

“Like coach said, there’s a lot to improve on,” Fields agreed. “I think we are improving and I feel like these next two weeks we’ll get better in a lot of aspects of the game, in a lot of our deficiencies. But I’m liking how it’s going right now, but we can’t be satisfied with anything, especially with this team because our margin for error is so small. We just have to keep getting better.”

Stanford will have a chance to test these improvements when it returns on Dec. 13 to take on UC-Davis at Maples Pavilion at 7 p.m.