Notes from the Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 21st Century Table

STRIKE GOLD-- SOUTH CAROLINA GOLD BBQ SAUCE, THAT IS

2012-05-21T20:51:00.002-07:00

If you want to try a differently delicious barbecue sauce for your vegan burger, seitan"ribz"and cutlets, or what-have-you, try this unique one:

South Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce

I'm re-posting this after pulling it because I thought it might be in my book World Vegan Feast, but it didn't make the cut. With barbecue and grilling season ahead, I thought it deserved a second reading, so to speak.

I hadn't heard of this sauce until I read a mystery novel by Kathy Reichs (I'm a longtime, avid mystery fiction fan), whose main character resides and works both in South Carolina and Montreal. In one book, her heroine, Temperance Brennan, brings the precious golden mustard-based BBQ sauce from South Carolina to Montreal with her. That intrigued me and the search was on. I found many recipes online-- all different. This is the one I worked out for myself. I have nothing to compare it with (no one's ever heard of it in my neck of the woods!), but everyone who tastes it goes crazy over it!

BTW, despite the fact that the main actress is a vegan, I really don't like the show "Bones", which is extremely loosely based on Ms. Reichs' novels. Read the novels-- they are far superior! And give this BBQ sauce a try-- it's one of the best I've ever made, takes very little effort to make, and it's so different from most BBQ sauces that it really makes an impression.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S SOUTH CAROLINA GOLD BBQ SAUCE

Servings: 10
Yield: about 2 1/2 cups

I'm fairly certain that most cooks in South Carolina don't use Dijon mustard, but, what the heck-- it's our favorite and it works!

1 Tbs dark sesame oil
1/2 cup minced onion
1 jar (8 oz./250 mg) smooth Dijon mustard (One favorite brand is Grey Poupon; another is Maille)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegan broth
1 1/2 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp Louisiana Hot Sauce (or more to taste)

(NOTE: A reader asked about subs...you can try any sort of hot sauce and see what you think. Louisiana hot sauce is pretty vinegary, but it's not as if the recipe uses that much of it. So go ahead and experiment!)

1 tsp liquid smoke
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried crumbled thyme
freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Heat the sesame oil in a small skillet and sauté the onions, stirring frequently, over medium heat until softened.

Combine all the other ingredients except the bay leaf in a medium saucepan with a whisk. Stir n the onions and add the bay leaf. Bring to boil. Turn down and simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaf. Pour into a jar, cover and refrigerate.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 1/4-cup serving): 108.3 calories; 20% calories from fat; 2.6g total fat; 0.1mg cholesterol; 481.6mg sodium; 146.8mg potassium; 21.3g carbohydrates; 1.0g fiber; 16.3g sugar; 20.2g net carbs; 1.6g protein; 2.2 points.

Enjoy!

BASQUE-STYLE RED BEAN STEW WITH VEGAN CHORIZO

2012-05-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a very brief post because I'm cleaning house and making food for some visitors. But I've been wanting to post this stew for a couple of weeks, but I got sidetracked with rhubarb and spoonbread.

I've been told that I have a bit of Basque on the Spanish side of the family, but I can't confirm that. Nonetheless, it gives me an interest in that particular cuisine. I've only scratched the surface so far, but have discovered that bean stews, or one-dish bean-pots are very popular in Basque cooking. They usually contain meat, but that's easily remedied with vegan sausages, seitan, tempeh, etc., as well as full-flavored vegan broths. I look forward to trying other variations on the theme.

We had a guest when I made this, and she was very enthusiastic in her praise!

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S BASQUE-STYLE RED BEAN STEW WITH VEGAN CHORIZO

Serves 4

Spicy comfort food! Very simple (quick and easy to make), but, oh, so good! Serve with crusty bread to sop up the remaining liquid, or with cornbread, which complements it well. You might also like to enjoy a glass of red wine with this dish.

2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

1 large onion,chopped or thinly sliced

2 medium green bell peppers, seeded and sliced

2 cans (19 oz.) (or 4 cups cooked) small red beans (or substitute pinto or Romano beans), rinsed and drained

2 cups rich vegetarian broth (preferably made with Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Vegan Broth Base)

3 Field Roast Chipotle Vegan Sausages or other vegan chorizo, in 1-inch pieces

OPTIONAL: liquid smoke

1 tsp Spanish smoked paprika (pimentón), hot or sweet (the Field Roast Sausages makes the stew quite spicy-hot, so you may want to use the sweet variety)

Heat the oil in a heavy pot over high heat. Add the onions and peppers and lower the heat to medium high. Stir-cook until the onions are soft. (Alternatively, you can microwave the onions and peppers in a covered microwave-safe casserole for about 6 minutes, or until soft.)

Mix the softened onions and peppers in the heavy pot ith the beans, broth, sausage pieces, a few shakes of liquid smoke, and the smoked paprika. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes or until the stew has thickened a bit. Serve with crusty bread, rice or cornbread.

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 482.6 calories; 27% calories from fat; 14.7g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 784.1mg sodium; 817.2mg potassium; 53.3g carbohydrates; 20.9g fiber; 4.7g sugar; 32.4g net carbs; 36.8g protein; 10.1 points.

Enjoy!

MY LATEST OBSESSION: VEGAN CORN SPOON BREAD, TWO WAYS

2012-05-08T12:35:00.001-07:00

Vegan Spoonbread-Style Corn Casserole

For some reason, I've been obsessed with spoon bread (or spoonbread-- they seem to be interchangeable) this last week or so. No, I didn't grow up in the American South (though some of my ancestors were from Virginia). But I do love corn in any form and making a good vegan spoon bread has been a goal of mine for quite a few years. Today I'm offering you two versions. Neither of them is the old-fashioned soufflé type (I haven't mastered a vegan version of that yet!). The old-fashioned spoonbread is made from cooked cornmeal mush, either yellow or white, eggs (often with the whites beaten separately), butter and milk (or cream). No wonder John Edgerton, author of Southern Food, wrote that it is "the lightest, richest, and most delicious of all cornmeal dishes, a veritable cornbread soufflé."

The spoonbread varieties made with un-separated eggs are heavier, more of an "everyday" spoonbread, I suppose. These are the types that are best suited to being made vegan, but I have plans to tackle the soufflé

version soon!

I tried a couple of vegan versions made with cooked mush, but, so far, they have been on the heavy side, so I'm going to have to do more work on that. For the moment, I decided to try a more modern version, and to re-visit a type of cornbread that I made for years, that I didn't know was also often referred to as a type of spoonbread. I was aiming for a reasonably light, very moist product (but not gooey) that could be scooped out of the pan. Unfortunately, the modern versions contain less corn than the original spoonbread, but I'm going to see if I can remedy that in future.

My first recipe is a moist, sumptuous "casserole bread" that utilizes a biscuit mix and canned cream-style corn (which actually IS vegan). It is definitely a modern version of this bread type, but a popular one, judging by the avalanche of related recipes that I found online! I make my own biscuit mix (recipe provided below) and my vegan recipe avoids not only the eggs, but the sour cream, excessive butter or margarine, cheese, and heavy cream that is called for in many similar recipes.

The second recipe is actually a cornbread that I made for years and never thought of as a spoonbread-- it's a cornbread that's made in such a way that it ends up with a creamy layer of "custard" on the bottom. It's made in the same way as a pudding cake, with liquid poured over the batter at the last minute before baking. But, in my research, I started to see this type of cornbread referred to as a spoonbread, so I decided to veganize that recipe, too. It's so comforting!

I happen to own 3 versions of Joy of Cooking, so I looked up this recipe in all of them to see if it had changed much over the years-- and, indeed, it has, as the ratio of cornmeal to flour has gradually changed. In my 1946 version, the recipe contained 6 tablespoons of cornmeal and 2 tablespoons of bread flour. In my 1973 version, the recipe contained 1/2 cup cornmeal and 1/4 cup flour. In the 1997 version, the recipe contains 6 tablespoons cornmeal to 1/2 cup flour (actually, they have doubled that to make a "fatter" bread).
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Spoonbread (particularly soufflé type) is often served with special meals and holiday meals, but any type makes a great breakfast food, drizzled with a bit of maple syrup. It's also delicious with spicy beans and stews, or with cooked greens.

NOTE ABOUT EGG REPLACERS: In these recipes, I used powdered commercial egg replacers because they are easily available and can be used by most people. However, if you happen to have a copy of the delightful book The Cornbread Gospels by Crescent Dragonwagon, you can use her inventive homemade egg sub that she calls "Eggsellence". I am going to play with use the new vegan egg yolk sub, The Vegg, in future as well.

Printable Recipe (includes Biscuit Mix recipe)

#1. ) BRYANNA'S VEGAN SPOONBREAD-STYLE CORN CASSEROLE

Serves 8

1 1/8 cups nondairy milk

1 tablespoon Ener-G or Orgran No-Egg egg replacer powder

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes

2 1/2 cups Bryanna's Homemade Lower-Fat Bisquick-Style Mix (see recipe below)

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 can (14 oz) cream-style corn (yes, it's vegan!)

1/4 cup melted vegan buttery spread (try my palm-oil-free "Buttah")

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 2-quart round or oval casserole and line the bottom with baking parchment cut to fit.

With an immersion blender or an electric mixer/beater, beat the milk with the egg replacer powder and nutritional yeast until very foamy.

In a large bowl, whisk together the biscuit mix and cornmeal. Add the frothy milk mixture and the can of cream-style corn. Mix briefly (like a muffin batter). Scoop into prepared pan and smooth the top evenly. Carefully pour the melted vegan buttery spread over the whole top surface.

Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Serve hot, plain, or with savory items such as stew or chili, or with maple syrup.

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 301.4 calories; 32% calories from fat; 11.3g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 427.2mg sodium; 337.3mg potassium; 46.0g carbohydrates; 2.4g fiber; 2.9g sugar; 43.6g net carbs; 6.5g protein; 6.5 points.

BRYANNA'S LOWER-FAT BISQUICK-SYLE BAKING MIX

Yield: 10 cups (I wonder if it would work using a GF flour mix?)

This is a white flour mix-- I'm going to try it with half white whole wheat pastry flour next time. There's another biscuit mix in my book World Vegan Feast, but this one seems to work better in a spoonbread.

9 cups unbleached white flour

1/4 cup baking powder

3 tablespoons unbleached light organic sugar

4 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup cooking oil of choice

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Drizzle in the oil and mix with your hands until it looks crumbly. Store airtight in a cool place.

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per cup): 574.5 calories; 26% calories from fat; 17.5g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 759.7mg sodium; 726.7mg potassium; 92.4g carbohydrates; 3.2g fiber; 4.1g sugar; 89.3g net carbs; 11.6g protein; 12.3 points.

Cooking Tips

If you want to use this in a recipe that calls for buttermilk, use soy, nut or hemp milk curdled with a little lemon juice, and add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda per cup of "buttermilk" used. Add it to the dry ingredients.

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Printable Recipe

#2) BRYANNA'S VEGAN CUSTARDY CORN SPOON BREAD

(can be soy-free and gluten-free)
Serves 4 to 6

This old-fashioned treat, which I consider real "comfort food", is also called "Crusty Soft-Center Spoon Bread" and was known as "spider bread" in pioneer days, because it was made before an open fire in a cast iron skillet with "legs" called a "spider".

This cornbread starts out very liquid-y, and ends up with a "custard" layer on the bottom. It's delicious with maple syrup. I didn't think I could make it work without eggs, but it does! The recipe can be doubled and made in a 9" square pan or 10" cast iron skillet. NOTE: I made this the first time in an 8-inch cast iron skillet, but I preferred it made in an 8-inch soufflé dish (straight-sided casserole) about 3 inches deep. The top was well-browned but more tender and it was a bit thicker.

1 Tbs oil (this replaces the traditional lard-- I use olive oil with a few drops of dark sesame oil)

DRY MIX:

2/3 cup cornmeal

3 Tbs flour (or GF flour mix)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

WET MIX:

1 Tbs vinegar or lemon juice PLUS

nondairy milk to make 1 cup

2 Tbs water

2 Tbs Ener-G or Orgran No-Egg egg replacer powder

1 Tbs unbleached organic sugar

FINISH:

1/2 cup nondairy milk (a richer one such as full-fat soymilk or nut milk is the tastiest)

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Place the oil in an 8-inch round, straight-sided casserole or soufflé dish (about 3 inches deep). Place in the oven while it heats up.

Mix the Dry Mix ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add the Wet Mix ingredients and blend well. Stir into the Dry Mix just until mixed. Scrape into the hot pan with the oil. Swirl the 1/2 cup milk over the batter-DON'T STIR IN! Bake for 35 minutes.

Before baking, with the milk poured over the top (this was the one I made in a skillet, but I preferred the one made in a soufflé dish)

Cut into 4 to 6 wedges and scoop out carefully. Turn each piece upside-down on a small plate, scraping out any residual "custard" left in the pan and spreading it over the top of the bread. Serve hot with maple syrup or with spicy beans or stews, or vegetables (you'll need a fork to eat this). It's very versatile as a side dish!

You can see the custard layer on the bottom in this picture. You may prefer to serve it flipped over, with the custard layer on top-- it's up to you.

Nutrition Facts for 4 servings:

Nutrition (per serving): 180.1 calories; 26% calories from fat; 5.5g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 447.3mg sodium; 117.5mg potassium; 29.7g carbohydrates; 2.4g fiber; 4.6g sugar; 27.3g net carbs; 4.6g protein; 3.6 points.

Nutritional Facts for 6 servings:

Nutrition Facts Nutrition (per serving): 120.1 calories; 26% calories from fat; 3.7g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 376.5mg sodium; 78.3mg potassium; 19.8g carbohydrates; 1.6g fiber; 3.1g sugar; 18.2g net carbs; 3.1g protein; 2.4 points.

Enjoy!

A DELICIOUS AND UNUSUAL STEW-- PERSIAN-STYLE WITH RHUBARB AND MINT

2012-05-03T15:44:00.002-07:00

The stew is pictured here with a vegan corn "spoonbread" because I was testing that recipe the same day and wanted to use it up! It should be served with rice-- though it was delicious with the "spoonbread", which I will blog about in a few days.

I've been meaning to "veganize" this type of stew for a long time, but finally having our own rhubarb plant and cutting the first stalks got me fired up to go for it. In addition, I'm on the look-out for savory rhubarb recipes, to avoid all that sugar that's in most rhubarb recipes.

Rhubarb, which can be traced back to 2700 BC in China (where it was used for medicinal purposes) is used in this type of stew in Persian (Iranian/Iraqi) cooking, and is also used in a few interesting Indian lentil and chickpea curries. It was also a favorite medicinal with early Arab and Persian physicians. "As early as 114 B.C., caravans carried the dried rhizomes eastward over the high mountains to Bokhara in central Asia, whence they found their way to Europe by way of the Black Sea. Dioscorides and Pliny wrote of rhubarb in the first century A.D. In later centuries, Arabs conducted a busy trade in rhubarb by way of Persia and other parts of the Mideast." Source: http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_rhubarb.htm

So far, I've only found this type of Persian stew using rhubarb-- if you know of any other Persian recipes using rhubarb, please share! I have found some Arabic sherbet recipes using rhubarb, and those shouldn't be too sweet, so stay tuned.

This recipe is a simple version of what can be a complicated dish. It sounds odd, but the rhubarb lends a fresh, almost lemony flavor and also thickens the stew, and the mint, though plentiful, does not overwhelm, but complements the other flavors. We were very taken with this dish! I hope you'll give it a try while rhubarb is abundant.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S VEGAN PERSIAN-STYLE STEW WITH RHUBARB AND MINT

Servings: 4

Because the soy protein or seitan is so low in calories and fat, you can get away with adding some olive oil and vegan buttery spread for richness and still have a very low-calorie meal. NOTE: To reconstitute textured soy/vegetable protein chunks, simmer them for about 15 minutes in a tasty (rather strong) vegan broth, using about 2 cups broth per 1 cup chunks. Drain well.

1 tablespoon olive oil

5 cups (loosely packed) reconstituted textured soy protein chunks (5.5 oz./156 g dry) (also called textured vegetable protein, TVP or TSP)

(Or you can use seitan chunks instead)

2 large onions, halved and sliced

4 cups vegetarian broth (I prefer a rich broth, such as Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Vegan Broth Base.)

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

2 tablespoons vegan buttery spread, divided (try my homemade palm-oil-free vegan buttery spread)

1 bunch fresh mint, stripped from stalks and chopped

1 bunch green onions (green only), chopped

5 medium stalks rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 3/4" lengths

2 tablespoons light agave nectar

freshly-ground black pepper

Note: Make sure that your textured soy protein or seitan chunks are well drained.

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick, cast iron or hard-anodized aluminum skillet, stir-fry pan or sauté pan over high heat. As soon as the oil is hot, swirl the pan to coat the bottom and add the drained soy protein or seitan chunks. Turn the heat to medium-high and stir-fry until the chunks have browned a bit. Remove them to a plate.

Add the onions to the same pan and steam-fry until softened. (To steam-fry, stir-cook over high to medium-high heat, adding a squirt of water as needed to keep the onions from sticking.) An alternative method is to place the onions in a microwave-safe casserole or pie plate sprayed with oil from a pump-sprayer and sprinkle with salt. Cover and microwave at full power for about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Melt 1 tablespoon of the vegan buttery spread in a medium nonstick, cast iron or hard-anodized aluminum skillet, stir-fry pan or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped mint and green onions and stir-fry for about 5 minutes, or until they have softened. Clean out the pan.

Combine the broth, browned soy protein or seitan chunks, softened onions and sautéed mint and green onion in a stewpot. Add the coriander and turmeric. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a high simmer and cook, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, checking often to make sure it doesn’t stick.

While the stew simmers, melt the 2nd tablespoon of buttery spread over medium-high heat in the same pan that you used for the mint. Add the rhubarb and sauté for a few minutes, just until it softens, but don’t let it get mushy.

After 30 minutes, the broth will have cooked down somewhat. Stir the rhubarb into the stew, along with the agave nectar and freshly-ground pepper to taste.

Serve the stew with steamed basmati rice.

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 259.4 calories; 29% calories from fat; 9.0g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 744.8mg sodium; 1247.8mg potassium; 30.7g carbohydrates; 5.8g fiber; 8.7g sugar; 24.9g net carbs; 23.6g protein; 5.1 points.

Enjoy!

A COUPLE OF EXPERIMENTS, THOUGHTS ON FOOD WASTE, AND SOMETHING FROM NOTHING

2012-04-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

Tofu and Vegg Fritatta

I must apologize for not posting much these days-- I'm trying very hard to finish up some experiments, to find the time to review and cook from some new books I've received and want to do justice to, but I have some writing to finish, as well as my job and all else that life entails, so it's slow going! In the meantime, here are pics of a couple of experiments I've been working on, plus a dinner I made the other night from what we had around-- a sort of lasagne casserole.

I've been wanting to really play around with The Vegg, an innovative new vegan egg yolk sub that comes in powder form. It makes fantastic French toast, but I have alot of other ideas for it. I tried their recipe for frittata (Italian omelet), but I found it too slimy for my taste. (I never liked undercooked eggs in my egg-eating days.) I decided to try using it half and half with tofu in the frittata recipe from my Italian vegan cookbook, Nonna's Italian Kitchen. (A few other minor adjustments needed to be made as well.)

It turned out quite well, but the frittatas were thinner and less substantial than my tofu version. They were tasty, though, and not slimy-- good hot or cold. The Vegg does add more of an egg-y flavor. However, I want to try it again with maybe 2/3 tofu and 1/3 Vegg and see if I like that better-- will report back, with more details, when I'm satisfied.

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As for that "something from nothing", I always feel good when I can use up food that might get thrown out if I don't think of some way to use it. No Impact Man writes that "...food leftovers are the single largest component of the waste stream by weight in the United States. Americans throw away more than 25 percent of the food we prepare. We throw away 96 billion pounds of food a year." And, besides being wasteful in this economically-stressful time, that adds to greenhouse gas emissions."

He goes on: “The decomposition of food and other waste under anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas (GHG) 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Landfills are the largest human-related source of methane in the United States, accounting for 34 percent of all methane emissions. Recovery (i.e. food donations) and recycling (i.e., composting) diverts organic materials from landfills and incinerators, thereby reducing GHG emissions from landfills and waste combustion.”

Meanwhile, food leftovers are the single largest component of the waste stream by weight in the United States. Americans throw away more than 25 percent of the food we prepare. We throw away 96 billion pounds of food a year.

The most important method of reducing food-scrap associated greenhouse gases, therefore, is to waste less food (see the diagram above for the EPA’s food waste recovery hierarchy). Here in No Impact land, we waste less food by cooking less, saving leftovers for later, and eating food before it goes bad (not particularly complicated or high tech). Scraps and rinds go to the worms."

James McWilliams explains why we should care more about food waste in this article.

Anyway, the "lasagne casserole" I made from leftovers was pretty good-- I think I'd add more mushrooms and more pesto next time, but it was quick and easy and used up various things that I had around...like a bit of DH's delicious spaghetti sauce.

To which I added a little red wine from an open bottle in the fridge, some leftover juice from canned tomatoes, and 1/2 a package of Yves veggie Ground Round (hamburger substitute). I ended up with about 2 cups of sauce.

I had some medium firm tofu that I had opened and used a bit of, so the remainder was in a container with water in the fridge. I also had some extra-firm silken tofu which I had opened and discovered that it had frozen when stored outside in the cold weather! So I decided to make a version of the Tofu Cottage Cheese recipe from my book Soyfoods Cooking for a Positive Menopause:

I put about 2/3 cup of the medium-firm tofu aside. I squeezed the frozen silken tofu until it was fairly dry and crumbly, and placed that in a bowl. I mashed in the remaining medium-firm tofu and added a bit of salt. I used an immersion blender to whip the 2/3 cup tofu with a couple of teaspoons lemon juice and a pinch of sugar. Then I folded that into the other tofu mixture in the bowl. It tasted quite nice and had a very "cottage cheese-y" texture.

Next, I sauteed some sliced cremini mushrooms that needed using-up, and then added some vegan pesto (only 1 tablespoon-- should have used more).

I cooked up about 6 ounces of farfalle (bowtie pasta) from an opened bag, drained and mixed that with the sauce. I layered half of that in a casserole, topped it with the "cottage cheese" and then the mushrooms...

I layered the rest of the pasta over that, and topped it with the little but of my Okara Parmesan that I had left. (I could have made a white sauce or a "cheese-y" vegan sauce, but I didn't want to get complicated, and, after all, my intention was to use up various items.)

Baked in the oven for 30 minutes, it was nothing to be ashamed of, and provided a tasty, thrifty, nutritious lunch entree for each of us on our next workdays!

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About that second experiment, I'll be announcing the recipe (which will go up on vegan.com) as soon as I get do a few adjustments and get some photos done, but I've been working on a second version of my vegan palm oil-free buttery spread, Buttah, a softer "tub" version.

So stay tuned!

Have a great weekend!

CHEESY LOW-FAT BLACK BEAN DIP OR SPREAD

2012-04-20T14:29:00.002-07:00

I'm in the habit of making low-fat spreads to eat with raw veggies or rye crisp for snacks. DH is a snacker-- he feels the need to munch every couple of hours or so. He likes fruit, and soy yogurt, so those are snack staples, of course, but sometimes a savory, protein-rich snack is more satisfying. So that's what I concentrate on keeping in the refrigerator at all times (though leftover homemade soups and grainy/beany salads are good, too). My Cheddary Spread is a favorite. But, yesterday I was out of silken tofu (calamity!), so I looked around for what I had-- can of black beans, jar of salsa, could quickly make some Melty Chedda, since it doesn't require tofu. Here's the result, and it passed DH's taste-test with flying colors.

Printable Recipe (both spread and Melty Cheeze)

BRYANNA'S CHEESY LOW-FAT BLACK BEAN SPREAD OR DIP

Yield: about 3 cups

This could be used as a filling for tacos or quesadillas, too.

2 cups (19 oz. can) black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 small onion, minced

1 tsp dark sesame oil

3/4 cup chunky tomato salsa

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 cup Melty Chedda Cheeze (recipe below)—refrigerate the rest for other uses

2 tsp lemon juice (or 1 tablespoon lime juice)

Optional:

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or Italian parsley

In a medium shallow bowl, mash the black beans and garlic with the back of a fork.

In a heavy skillet (nonstick, cast iron or anodized aluminum) heat the sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until it softens. Add the black means, salsa, chili powder, and cumnin and combine well. Turn off the heat and add the Cheeze and lemon juice.

Stir well and scoop into a bowl. Serve warm or cold with crackers, baked tortilla chips, or crunch raw vegetables (zucchini slices, celery, and bell peppers would be good).

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per1/4 cup): 60.3 calories; 14% calories from fat; 1.0g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 111.2mg sodium; 140.5mg potassium; 10.0g carbohydrates; 3.1g fiber; 0.8g sugar; 6.9g net carbs; 3.4g protein; 0.7 points.

BRYANNA’S MELTY CHEDDA CHEEZE

Yield: 1 1/4 cups

This makes great grilled cheeze sandwiches and quesadillas , and can be used to make cheeze sauce (just add non-dairy milk to taste). The nutritional yeast adds protein and lots of B-complex vitamins, as well as flavor. This is adapted from a recipe in my book "20 Minutes to Dinner"-- but this time I used nutritious oat flour instead of a combination of flour and cornstarch.

1 cup water

1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes

3 3/4 tablespoons oat flour (you can grind rolled oats in a clean dry blender or electric coffee/spice grinder)

1 tablespoon light soy or chickpea miso

1 tablespoon tahini

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic granules

2 tablespoons water

Place the water, yeast, oat flour, tahini, miso, lemon juice, salt, and garlic granules in blender and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into a small saucepan or medium microwave-proof bowl or beaker.

Stir over medium heat until it starts to thicken, then let bubble 30 seconds and whisk vigorously, OR MICROWAVE on full power 2 minutes, whisk, then microwave at 50% power for 1 1/2 minutes, and whisk again. Whisk in the water until smooth.

Drizzle immediately on food and broil or bake until a skin forms on top; or refrigerate in a small rigid covered container (round, square, rectangular, or wedge-shaped in a storage container meant for a piece of pie) for up to a week. It will get quite firm upon chilling, but will still be spreadable. You can spread the firm cheeze on bread or quesadillas for grilling, or heat it to spread more thinly on casseroles, etc.

(Will add nutritional info tonight!)

Enjoy!

BUTTAH UPDATE; EASTER DINNER PICS

2012-04-12T18:30:00.001-07:00

People are paying attention to Buttah! I am so thrilled that Aaron Adams, chef at Portobello Vegan Trattoria in Portland, OR, wrote to me: "Bryanna! We're working on perfecting production of your buttah for our restaurant...once we're up and running on it, we're done with EB and the other palm oil stuffola. Thanks for your hard work and dedication. It makes a huge difference." OMG!

AND, again in Portland, Grant Butler, writer for The Oregonian, included my palm oil-free vegan butter in his list of "hot topics" this week!

The interest has exceeded my expectations, and we've had just about 5000 page hits on the recipe page at vegan.com! All of this makes me feel that the project was very worthwhile and I hope that it will not only give vegans and others an option to make a useful and delicious palm oil-free alternative to butter, low in saturated fat, in their own homes, but that vegan margarine producers will endeavor to change their formulas to exclude palm oil.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I just wanted to give you a heads-up that I will be adding some information to my Buttah recipe that I have just discovered. Forget measuring the melted cocoa butter! I, along with a few readers, have discovered that 109g/3.85 oz. does not always equal 1 cup when melted, for reasons that I have not yet discovered. This is confusing, but, in testing, I have found that it is the weight of the cocoa butter that matters, not the cup measure! I thought I would be giving people without a scale an option, but it's not that simple, obviously! (I recommend a digital kitchen scale for lots of kitchen uses anyway. Here's one for just over $15; here's one for under $10.) I will be revising the online recipe to reflect this.(THE PRINTABLE RECIPE IS ALREADY REVISED.)
All the best, Bryanna

I used Buttah in the cake I made for our Easter dessert-- in the cake itself and in the fluffy white frosting:

Butterfinger Cake (recipe here)

I have also made vegan "buttercream" frosting with Buttah, very successfully. It held up well even at room temperature:

Here is Buttah adorning the Colcannon (mashed potatoes with kale) served with our vegan Irish stew on St. Patrick's Day:

We've used it on vegan waffles:

and to brown vegan grilled cheese sandwiches and French toast (made with The Vegg, which I'll be experimenting with in various recipes soon!):

I've used buttah successfully also in scones, biscuits and pie dough, and I'm very happy with the taste and performance.

2012 EASTER DINNER

(For dessert, we had the Butterfinger Cake pictured above.)

Potato, Bulgur and Onion Kibbeh, Sweet Potato and Cranberry Mostarda (I didn't have squash, so I used sweet potatoes-- everyone loved it!)

My Seitan ham with the Mostarda

Rye crisp, raw veggies and dark Dutch pumpernickel bread with my hummous and a new smoked tofu spread that I developed for a recent article I wrote (it's be out in June)

Delicious Brussels Sprout Slaw with mustard dressing and candied pecans, recipe here.

Have a great week!

WHAT I'M MAKING FOR OUR EASTER DESSERT THIS YEAR: VEGAN "BUTTERFINGER" CAKE

2012-04-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that I did not come up with the idea for this recipe all on my own-- I got the idea from the March 05 of Bon Appétit magazine in an article by Emily Luchetti, pastry chef at the Farallon restaurant in San Francisco (my old stomping grounds). Since chocolate and peanut butter are two of my favorite things (especially together), I just had to veganize it for my now-defunct newsletter... which meant pretty much starting from scratch.

It turned out to be everything I imagined, but it's very rich-- much richer than the cakes I normally make, so cut small slices and save for very special occasions, like Easter. (Or eat it on a day when you only have low-fat soup and salad.) I think it's worth every luscious calorie! BTW, I can't find vegan peanut butter chips anywhere, but it's easy to make your own for this recipe-- recipe below.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S VEGAN "BUTTERFINGER" CAKE (Peanut Butter and Chocolate)

Servings: 16
For some reason, the cake benefits from being made a day ahead of time. The first day the cake layers seem a bit dry, but they moisten up after a night in the refrigerator!

NOTE: Stir the whole wheat pastry flour well before measuring and use the "scoop and level" method. You can sift the unbleached flour before measuring.

CAKE

1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth natural

1/2 cup vegan margarine (try my homemade palm oil-free vegan buttery spread)

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup light organic unbleached granulated sugar

1/2 cup medium-firm tofu, mashed

1 Tbs. egg replacer powder (Ener-G or Orgran)

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup nondairy milk

1 recipe Vegan Chocolate Ganache (minus 1/4 cup for topping) (see recipe below)

1/4 cup peanut butter, smooth natural

3 Tbs. brown sugar

1 recipe Bryanna's Fluffy White Vegan Frosting (use vanilla only) (see recipe below)

1 recipe Bryanna's Homemade Vegan Peanut Butter Chunks (see recipe below)

1/2 cup roasted peanuts

1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3/ 8" round cake pans and line them with baking parchment cut to fit.

2 TO MAKE THE CAKE LAYERS: Cream together the 1/2 cup peanut butter and margarine, using an electric hand mixer, a stand mixer or a food processor. When smooth, add the 1 cup brown sugar and light organic unbleached sugar and beat well again. Add the tofu, egg replacer and vanilla and beat again until very smooth.

3 If using a food processor, scoop the mixture into a mixing bowl.

4 Mix the flours, baking powder and salt well with a whisk in a smaller mixing bowl.

5 Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with the soy milk, starting and ending with the flour mixture, and beating just enough so that you don't see the flour or milk anymore between additions.

6 Pour the batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool on racks for 10 minutes, then remove from pans to racks, removing the cooking parchment. Cool thoroughly before icing. Wrap well in plastic wrap and ice the next day.

7 THE MORNING OF THE DAY YOU ARE TO SERVE THE CAKE, make the Chocolate Ganache. Set aside 1/4 of a cup to drizzle on top of the cake. Beat the 1/4 c. of peanut butter and 3 T. brown sugar into the remaining ganache. Refrigerate until firm.

8 Make the basic Fluffy White Frosting and refrigerate for several hours before icing the cake.

9 WHEN READY TO ICE THE CAKE, spread half of the peanut butter-ganache over one layer (top side down). Top with another cake layer (top side down) and spread with the remaining peanut-butter ganache. Top with the last cake layer (top side up). Frost the cake with the Fluffy White Icing.

10 Crumble the Peanut Butter Chunks over the top of the cake and sprinkle with the peanuts. Heat up the 1/4 c. of ganache that you held back (I do it in the microwave at 50 percent power for about 30 seconds). Drizzle it from a spoon over the topping. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve.

Nutrition Facts per serving (1/16th cake)

Calories 542.22; Calories From Fat 230.70; Total Fat 26.73g; Saturated Fat 8.43g; Cholesterol 0.00mg; Sodium 225.10mg; Potassium 401.72mg; Carbohydrates 69.35g; Dietary Fiber 4.01g; Sugar 40.69g;Sugar Alcohols 0.00g; Net Carbohydrates 65.34g; Protein 11.49g; MyPoints 13.9

BRYANNA'S VEGAN CHOCOLATE-SOY GANACHE

Yield: 1 and 1/2 c. Recipe from my book Soyfoods Cooking for a Positive Menopause.

A ganache is a rich, fudgey chocolate icing that firms up when cooled. It is usually made with heavy cream, but rich, full-fat soymilk blended with silken tofu makes a wonderful substitute. A firm ganache is also the basis for making chocolate truffles-- if you would like to try this, reduce the amount of milk to 1/3 c. to 1/4 cup.

6 oz dairy-free semi-sweet eating chocolate or chocolate chips (1 c.)

NOTE: Remember that the quality of your ganache depends upon the quality of the chocolate you use.

1/2 cup nondairy milk

1/3 cup extra-firm SILKEN tofu

1 tsp vanilla

1 Break the chocolate up and process it finely in a dry food processor. Leave the chocolate in the processor.

2 Whip the milk and silken tofu together in the blender or with an immersion blender until VERY smooth. This makes a soy “crème” Heat it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until almost to the boiling point, or microwave it in a microwave-safe bowl for about 1 minute at 50 percent power, or until very hot, but not boiling. (If the mixture seems to curdle at all, blend it again until smooth.)

3 With the motor running, pour the hot soy crème in through the food processor feed tube. Process until the mixture is smooth. Refrigerate until firm.

BRYANNA'S FLUFFY VEGAN WHITE FROSTING

Enough for a 2 layer/ 8" cake or a 9x13" sheet cake.

I like this icing because it's not too sweet.

1 cup nondairy milk

6 Tbs white unbleached all-purpose flour

6 Tbs vegan margarine (try my homemade palm oil-free vegan buttery spread)

1 cup light organic unbleached granulated sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

1 Whisk the milk into flour in small saucepan until smooth. Heat and stir until it boils and thickens. Cool thoroughly (place in a small bowl inside of a larger bowl of cold water).

2 With an electric hand mixer or stand mixer beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy-- several minutes. Beat in the cooled flour paste and beat until smooth and fluffy. Chill thoroughly before frosting. Frost the cooled cake. Keep the frosted cake refrigerated until serving time.

BRYANNA'S HOMEMADE VEGAN PEANUT BUTTER BAKING CHUNKS

Yield: 12 oz.

Easy and quick to make, and firm enough to cut into tiny squares and use in baking. They hold their shape during baking. Taste yummy, too!

NOTE: If you use the creamed coconut option, the easiest way to melt it without burning is to microwave at 30% power for 30-60 seconds.

A.)

2/3 cup light organic unbleached granulated sugar

1 1/2 Tbs. water

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

B.)

1/3 cup melted solid cocoa butter OR solid block creamed coconut (see notes below)
(See this page on my blog for sources of cocoa butter if you health food store does not carry it.)
1/3 cup soymilk powder or rice milk powder OR soy protein powder
7 Tbs. natural smooth natural peanut butter

Mix A ingredients with a whisk in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Off the heat, stir in the melted cocoa butter, then the milk or protein powder and, finally, the peanut butter. Mix until smooth.

Pat out onto a 7 x11" baking pan lined with baking parchment cut to fit.. Refrigerate. When firm, remove from pan and cut into tiny squares. Keep refrigerated in a covered container (or freeze) until you use them.

**CREAMED COCONUT-- WHAT IS IT?

"CREAMED COCONUT" is NOT the same thing as "coconut cream/crème", which is like a heavy cream in a can or asceptic box (often sweetened). The "creamed coconut" I'm talking about comes in a small cardboard box (6 or 7 ounces) and the product is a block of white semi-dehydrated coconut milk wrapped in waxed paper that you can break into chunks-- it's NOT a liquid. Let's Do Organic Creamed Coconut, in 7-ounce boxes, is sold in many health food stores and on amazon.com

You can buy other brands of this product in Asian, Thai, Caribbean (Grace brand), and Indian markets and in the Asian section of some large supermarkets. There are different brands, but they all look similar and are of similar size. Sometimes it is refrigerated, sometimes not; sometimes it is even frozen, though it does not need to be. It keeps just fine un-refrigerated. It can be stirred directly into sauces to thicken them or mixed with hot water to make coconut milk or cream. It will thicken up whipped toppings and icings, too.

It is high in fat, but a little goes a long way in terms of flavor and I think it has a fresher taste than canned coconut milk.

Have a Happy Easter!

INTRODUCING HOMEMADE PALM OIL-FREE VEGAN BUTTERY SPREAD—BUTTAH!

2012-03-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

You may wonder why a food writer like me, who advocates very moderate use of fat in the diet, would take the time to develop a full-fat homemade vegan buttery spread.

About 2 1/2 years ago (was it really that long ago?) a woman whom I have admired from afar for years wrote to me. Her name is Kay Bushnell and I have read her vegan cooking column, Cooking Green, in the Loma Prietan Sierra Club Newsletter for years. Kay asked me if there was an alternative to vegan margarines utilizing palm oil and outlined the reasons why she was asking.

I’m ashamed to admit that it took me so long to act on what Kay was telling me. However, I never forgot about what Kay told me, or her request. When 2012 arrived, with my new book finally launched, I decided that this would be my first project for the New Year, and I wrote to Kay to let her know that I was committing to developing an alternative product. She signed on as a tester, and I later recruited a few more.

I have been working on this recipe since the beginning of January 2012. I wanted it to look and taste and behave much like dairy butter. I wanted to be able to use it in baking. I wanted it to be easy and quick to make, with minimal equipment required. I wanted it to cost no more than the most popular vegan margarine. I wanted options to make it with organic and even fair trade ingredients. And I wanted—no, required-- it to have a healthy balance of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, with the monounsaturated fat playing the starring role—and that meant that my recipe would NOT be coconut oil-based.

I’m happy to say that I have succeeded on all counts! Organic fair trade cocoa butter mixed with oil high in monounsaturated fat proved to be the answer, along with a few other simple ingredients. (You can read about the qualities of cocoa butter in the material below.) I tested it in vegan icing, pie crust, cake, scones and biscuits, with no problems at all.

Buttah is really delicious and, besides proving itself in the baking department, it has passed the taste-test with two picky 12-year-old granddaughters (not vegan), a table-full of omni dinner guests who nearly finished off a whole batch, and a mixed bag of tasters at a cocktail party. So, I’m proud to put my name on a homemade product which, as Erik Marcus of vegan.com says, is “… a butter recipe capable of destroying your cravings for dairy products.”

YOU WON’T FIND THE ACTUAL RECIPE HERE ON THIS BLOG, THOUGH….

Erik Marcus of vegan.com has provided me with a platform larger than my own to introduce my recipe to the vegan community-- here is the recipe link. But, before you jump over to the recipe, please bear with me for a few minutes. Though the recipe itself is simple and quick to make, you’ll have greater success with it if you read the information I have compiled on a dedicated Buttah page on this blog concerning ingredients, molds and equipment, where to purchase them, nutrition, and fat breakdown. In addition, there is material on the palm oil question and the threat to orangutans at the end of that page.

So, good readers, before you jump over to vegan.com for the recipe and get started, please read the important information on my dedicated Buttah page... and then have fun making your own vegan Buttah!

Thank you for your patience in waiting for the recipe and in reading through all of my information. I sincerely hope that you enjoy making and using Buttah, and pass on the palm oil info to others, including food companies. In fact, let's write to our favorite food companies and let them know that we love their vegan product(s), but could they please find an alternative to palm oil, because....

Photo by Christina Hoheisel (PS: Christina not only did a fantastic job photographing the Buttah, but went out and found the ingredients, ordered the molds and tackled the recipe, mastering it on the first try! Thank you so much, Christina!)

PS: A BIG “THANK YOU”, BTW, to Mattie at veganbaking.net for his ground-breaking recipe for "Vegan Butter", which provided a launching pad for developing my own recipe. Mattie provides so many details about how butter works and how the ingredients in his recipe work. I was aiming for a product with much less saturated fat, but his work is invaluable.)

PPS: If you have any questions about the recipe, ingredients, etc., please don’t bother Erik-- contact me. You're welcome to link to Erik's page or this page--we encourage sharing-- but I prefer that you do not reproduce the recipe. The development of this recipe took me much time and effort, and 2+ months of testing, and I'm quite proud of it. I'm sharing it for no remuneration, so I hope that everyone will respect this simple request and send people to back this page if they like the recipe. Thank you very much!

VEGAN EASTER SEASON RECIPES AND DINNER PICS ON THIS BLOG

2012-03-25T20:03:00.001-07:00

Just in case you're out of ideas or want to make something out of the ordinary this year!

Mid-East-Influenced Easter Dinner with Crusty No-Knead Bread

Yeasted Easter Sweet Breads

See also the post "Baking Lesson", where I make Greek Easter Bread with my granddaughters.

Cinnamon Roll "Lamb"-- a family favorite

If you're in a hurry-- Bread Machine Cinnamon-Nut Monkey Bread

Pics from another fantastic Vegan Easter Dinner Party with our Vegan Dinner Group

2009 Family Easter Dinner + Vegan Dinner Party Group Feast+ My Favorite Spinach Salad

Herb-and-Nut Encrusted Vegan Cheese Log

MORE RECIPES FOR THE EASTER SEASON:

APPETIZERS

Lower-Fat, Fiber-Rich Guacamole
Smoked Almond-Mushroom Pâté
New & Improved Tofu Eggless Salad
Vegan Labeneh ("Yogurt Cheese") Spread
Vegan Low-fat, Creamy Artichoke and Spinach Dip
Vegan Whole Grain Pizzelle Crackers

Lower-Fat Purple Skordalia (Greek Potato and Garlic Dip)

Vegan "Ham" Gravy

Vegan Verdure Imbottiti (Italian-Style Stuffed Vegetables)

Torta Verde (Ligurian Savory Chard, Potato and vegan "Soft Cheese" Pie with Olive Oil Pastry)

Creamy Tofu/Cashew “Goat Cheese” Spread with Tofu/Tahini "Blue Cheese" Variation

Farinata (Savory Italian Chickpea “Pancake”)

New, Improved No-Oil Hummous
Quick Vegetable-Based Vegan Lemon or Lime Curd!

Syrian Bean Puree or Dip (with Yellow Split Peas and Onion)

Red Lentil and Bulgur Salad Balls with Dried Fruit in Butter Lettuce Cups

BEAN AND LENTIL (LEGUME) DISHES
Robin Asbell's Armenian Red-Lentil and Apricot Stew with Sesame Rice

Sundried-Tomato Polenta Rounds with Braised Kale, Caramelized Onions, and Cannellini Beans with Dried Mushrooms and Sage

Cajun Red Bean Breakfast Hash
Greek-Style White Beans with Peppers and Onions in Olive Oil

Orange-Rosemary White Bean Pot (Slow-Cooker recipe)

Giant Lima Beans, Peasant-Style

Potato, Roasted Corn, and Bean Salad

BEVERAGES
Rich South American-Style Hot Chocolate

Peruvian Hot Chocolate with Oats
Palestinian-Style Fresh Lemonade

Iced Chocolate Chai!

BREADS, MUFFINS, PIZZA
Chocolate/Cocoa Nib Scones

No-Knead Fluffy Hazelnut/Bran Dinner Rolls
Almond Crumb Cake Muffins
Chocolate-Orange-Pecan Muffins
No-Knead, Refrigerated, Sort-Of-Pot-Baked Ciabatta Buns

No-Knead Baguettes

3/4 Whole Wheat Simple No-Knead Crusty Bread (Baked in a Pot)

Giant Caramel Cinnamon Rolls with No-Knead Refrigerator Dough

Chocolate-Orange Blackberry-Pecan Scones

Homemade Pita Bread (with Zatar Bread variation)

BREAKFAST/BRUNCH DISHES
GF Crispy, Corny Cherry/Toasted Almond Delight Waffles
A link to my recipe for Vegan Seltzer Waffles with Crispy Sweet Potatoes and Light Chik'n Gravy
Spanish Potato Omelet and Romesco Sauce

Vegan Orange-Cranberry-Pecan Multigrain Pancakes

Crisp Vegan Okara Waffles

Traditional-Style Vegan “Buttermilk” Biscuits
Bryanna's New Tofu "Bacon"
Vegan Waffles Made with Seltzer Water!

Julie Hasson’s Yummy Tofu Scramble

Coffee Coffee Cake

Multi-Grain, Hemp Protein Pancake Mix

Vegan Mini Dount Maker Doughnuts

Whole Grain Lowfat Crepes

Vegan All-American "Buttermilk" Pancake Mix

Blueberry-Oat Pancakes

Baked Vegan Orange French Toast with Bumbleberry Sauce

CAKES, CUPCAKES AND MUFFINS

Vegan White Coconut Cake with Coconut-Pecan Frosting
Vegan "Butterfinger" Cake (Chocolate and Peanut)

Vegan Lemon (or Lemon-Coconut) Pound Cake (fairly low-fat)
Rustic Apple/Pecan Crumb Cake with Gianduia (Chocolate Hazelnut Spread) Drizzle
Vegan Peanut Butter/Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes
New Lower-Fat Chocolate Mudpie Cake with Coffee/Coconut/Pecan Frosting

Vegan Coconut-Lime Cake

COOKIES, BARS, CANDIES
Pomegranate and Walnut Turkish Delight

New, Almost-Fat-Free, Streamlined version of Black Bean Brownies (and Okara Variation)

Crunchy Egg Replacer Meringues from Orgran
Lower Fat S’More Brownies (Vegan)

Vegan Coconut Macaroons
Lower-Fat Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (with Chocolate Peanut Blossom Cookie variation)

Vegan Cocoa-Pecan Meringues

Vegan Marshmallows

DESSERTS
Updated and Improved Verswhipped Creme
Almond Whipped Cream Topping

Sparkling Peach Sorbet
Quick and Easy, Creamy Berry Frozen "Soygurt"
Quick Vegetable-Based Vegan Lemon or Lime Curd!
Tofu "Shrikand" (Gujarati "Yogurt" Pudding)

Versawhip™ "Marshie Fluff" (Vegan Marshmallow Crème)

Green Tea and Kiwi Sorbetto

Vegan Chai Brownies with Ginger Gelato

Vegan Chocolate Gelato (Ice Cream)

GRAIN DISHES
Saffron-Edamame Risotto with Oyster Mushroom Saute

Peruvian Ensalada de Quinoa
Trigo Limena (Wheat, Lima-Style)

One of my all-time favorites-- Potato Kibbeh (bulgur)

Summer Bulgur and Green Bean Salad

Quinoa and Avocado Salad with Shelled Hemp Seed

Italian Rice Salad

Avocado, Tomato and Whole Grain Salad

Orange Bulgur Salad

MAIN DISHES

My Mom's "Chik'n" with White Wine and Rosemary, Veganized
Catalonian "Meatballs" in Saffron and Almond Sauce (Albóndigas en Salsa de Almendra)
Meatless Kibbeh

Gratin of Yukon Gold Potatoes and Kale

Cheesey Vegan Patty Pan Squash and Corn Casserole

Vegan Saniya-- A Delicious Levantine Casserole

Rustic Vegan Greek-Style “Cheese” and Summer Squash Savory Pie

Vegan, Low-Fat Mushroom and Asparagus Shepherd’s Pie

Lemon, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Jam and Crispy Vegan cutlets

Easy Tortilla Pie

Vegan "Chicken" Divan Casserole with Broccoli

Pomegranate Tofu

PASTA AND NOODLES

Pasta with Lemon, Asparagus, Peas, and Vegan “Ham”

Pasta ala Primavera

Two Creamy Pasta Dishes (Creamy Mushroom Fusilli and Alfredo Mushroom-"Chicken" Farfalle [bow-tie pasta] Casserole)

PIES AND PASTRIES

Flaky Lower-Fat Pie Crust

Rhubarb Tart with Almonds and Orange Blossom Water

Pastiera Napolitana Vegan (Neapolitan Easter Grain "Ricotta" Pie)

Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie

Crispy, Low-fat Olive Oil Pastry

Rustic Apple-Raisin Pie with Low-Fat Olive Oil Pastry

Bryanna’s Lowfat Oil Pastry

Ginger Apple Crumb Pie and Creamy Cashew/Pear Dessert Sauce

Quick Vegetable-Based Vegan Lemon or Lime Curd!

SALADS AND DRESSINGS; PRESERVES

Vegan "Fried Chickn" Salad with Agave-Mustard Dressing

Grilled Peach Salad with Almost-Blue-Cheese Dressing

Blueberry/Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Asparagus, Broccoli and Radish Salad with Hazelnuts
Pomegranate Molasses Salad Dressing
A List of my Low-Fat, Tasty Salad Dressing Links

BLT Salad
My Mother’s Lemon Salad Dressing

Fattoush (Levantine Tomato and Pita Bread Salad with Herbs)

Warm Zucchini Salad, Vegan garlic-Cucumber-"Yogurt" Salad

Snow pea, Romano Bean and Mushroom Salad with Radish and Tarragon

Low-Fat Vegan Mayonnaise

Lowfat Poppyseed Dressing

VEGETABLE DISHES

Mashed Potatoes with Sautéed Chard and Garlic

Patate en Tagame (Delicious Italian Baked Sliced Potato and Tomato Casserole w/ Garlic)

Vegan Persian-Style Potato Pancakes

Gratin of Yukon Gold Potatoes and Kale

Fluffy, "Buttery", No-Fat Vegan Mashed Potatoes

Artichoke, Fennel and Potato Stew

Happy Cooking and Happy Easter!

CRISPY TOFU "SCALLOPS" WITH CUCUMBER TARTAR SAUCE

2012-03-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

There aren't many vegan fish substitutes readily available in markets, but sometimes I crave something "seafoody". This is one of the recipes I've come up with over the years to satisfy that. Kids really enjoy these crunchy nuggets, and big kids, too! The bran flakes make a nutritious, crispy, and nicely-browned coating for the "scallops" and you don't need alot of oil, so, along with the cucumber sauce, it's a healthful and fairly low-fat meal, high-fiber and high in protein, too.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S CRISPY TOFU "SCALLOPS" WITH CUCUMBER TARTAR SAUCE

Serves 4

This is a fun recipe for a casual dinner. A salad and perhaps some oven-fries would complete this meal. The leftovers are good cold, too!

12 oz firm tofu, drained

whole wheat flour for dredging

1/2 cup soy milk or nut milk curdled with 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice

2 cups plain bran flakes cereal, ground in a dry blender or food processor to a crumb texture
(you can use an organic variety, such as this one)

1/4 cup oil for pan-frying

Marinade:

1 cup water

3 Tbs vegetarian mushroom-based "oyster sauce" (such as Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce)

(There is information about this type of sauce and a homemade recipe at this post)

1 Tbs lemon juice

1 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs dulse flakes or nori flakes

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 Tbs sugar

1 tsp salt

freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Cucumber Tartar Sauce:

1 cup Eggless Low-fat Mayonnaise or Tofu Mayonnaise (or use Reduced-Fat Vegenaise or Spectrum Eggless, Vegan Light Canola Mayo)

6 Tbs minced green onion

6 Tbs minced cucumber (I like the kind with the edible peel, which we call English cucumber in Canada)

1/2 Tbs dried dillweed

cider, rice or white wine vinegar to taste

Early in the day, slice the drained tofu about 1/2" thick and cut it into rounds with a a very small round biscuit cutter (about 1" across-- I use the removable center of a doughnut cutter). Then slice the rounds in half horizontally to make smaller "scallops" (see pictures).

Combine the Marinade ingredients in a container and add the "scallops". Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Combine the Tartar Sauce ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate until serving time.

Set up shallow bowls with the wholewheat flour, curdled soy or nut milk, and bran flake crumbs in a line on your counter. Dredge the marinated "scallops" in the flour, then the curdled soy or nut milk, and then coat all over with the bran flake crumbs. Place on a cookie sheet, not touching.

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet, such as cast iron or Calphalon Commercial hard anodized. When hot, add the coated scallops, turn the heat to medium-high, and fry until crispy on both sides. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with the Tartar Sauce.

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 345.7 calories; 55% calories from fat; 21.9g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 546.5mg sodium; 436.7mg potassium; 30.9g carbohydrates; 6.2g fiber; 5.9g sugar; 12.4g protein ; 7.9 points.

Enjoy!

BREAD MACHINE CINNAMON-NUT MONKEY BREAD

2012-03-14T12:42:00.003-07:00

A "monkey bread" is a sweet or savory loaf made by putting together small squares or balls of dough with melted "butter" and nuts plus cinnamon sugar OR herbs (and sometimes cheese with the herbs-- you could use vegan parmesan). The bread is pulled apart to eat-- kids love it! I don't use a bread machine very often, but I thought it would be fun to make a specialty bread IN the bread machine-- not just the dough, but the shaped bread as well. The result was great! It would even make an easy and yummy Easter breakfast bread.

BRYANNA'S VEGAN BREAD MACHINE CINNAMON-NUT MONKEY BREAD

Servings: 8; Yield: 1 small loaf

DOUGH:

1 cup nondairy milk

1 1/2 T. oil

2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

2 Tbs wheat germ

2 Tbs organic unbleached granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry active baking yeast (or 3/4 tsp. instant or bread machine yeast)

FILLING:

3 Tbs melted vegan buttery spread (stay tuned for my homemade version, which will be posted very soon, I promise!)

1/3 cup chopped nuts of choice

1/3 cup cinnamon sugar (mix 2 tsp cinnamon with 1/3 cup organic unbleached granulated sugar)

Mix the dough ingredients in your bread machine pan as instructed in the directions for your machine. Set on the Basic cycle with a light crust.

Check your manual to see when the last "punch-down" or "knock-down" is. Figure out how many minutes that is from when you start the machine and set your kitchen timer for that number of minutes. You want it to alert you when it is about 5 minutes BEFORE the "punch-down". Important: have your rolling surface ready and your ingredients at hand before the next step.

The last 5 minutes before "punch-down" PLUS the first 5 minutes of the final rise, combined, is your 10 minute "window" to remove the dough, roll it, cut it and layer it in the pan with the filling. It's plenty of time-- don't worry! (Or, if you have a "pause" feature, set the timer for when the last "punch-down" is due.)

When the timer "dings", remove the pan from the machine (and start the "pause" feature" if you have one), and then take out the dough (AND the paddle) and roll it out on a floured counter to a 12x9-inch rectangle. (DO NOT PRESS "STOP" ON THE MACHINE OR UNPLUG IT! You do not want to interrupt the cycle!)

Cut the dough as evenly as possible into 24 squares.

Layer 8 squares in the bottom of the pan around where the paddle usually sits. Brush with 1 Tablespoon of melted buttery spread and sprinkle with 1/3 of the nuts and 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar. Repeat with 8 more squares and 1/2 the remaining filling ingredients. Repeat with the remaining squares and filling ingredients.

Click the pan back into place in the machine. (Be sure that the last "punch-down" has occurred already before you do this.) Cover and let the machine proceed with the rising and baking (stop the "pause" function if you have activated it.)

When the bread is ready, loosen the sides and slide it out. Enjoy it warm or at room temperature!

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 297.1 calories; 32% calories from fat; 10.9g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 326.3mg sodium; 126.8mg potassium; 44.0g carbohydrates; 1.8g fiber; 12.4g sugar; 42.1g net carbs; 6.1g protein; 6.5 points.

NOTE: This was tested in an OsterExpressbake on the Basic Cycle. Use the light crust option, as this browns very easily with the sugar and Earth Balance.

Enjoy!

LOWER-FAT, FIBER-RICH VEGGIE "GUACAMOLE"

2012-03-06T22:04:00.004-08:00

This recipe is from my book World Vegan Feast. Born and raised in California, I love avocados, but their high fat and calorie content makes them only an occasional treat for me. But sometimes you just have to indulge in guacamole! I have tried many low-fat versions, but most I found disappointing and unsatisfying. Over the years, I have experimented with this recipe using baby peas and also with edamamé (green soybeans), but I didn't like it with either one-- too sweet. This combination is the best, in my opinion. Adding one ripe avocado and some silken tofu gives the mixture the requisite unctuous smoothness which belies the high fiber content. And, as a bonus-- this mixture does not turn brown on the surface!

In World Vegan Feast, the guacamole is a component in this recipe: Masa Crepes with Green Filling, Topped with Black Bean and Corn Salsa and Lower-Fat Guacamole

NOTE: You need a food processor for this recipe.

BRYANNA’S LOWER-FAT, FIBER-RICH VEGGIE "GUACAMOLE"

Servings: 8
Yield: 2 cups
5 oz whole small green beans (frozen are fine)
5 oz frozen baby lima beans (do not use cooked, dried lima beans!)
1/2 cup (4 ounces) extra-firm SILKEN tofu
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh (or bottled organic) lemon or lime juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small ripe avocado
1/4 cup chunky, spicy tomato salsa (no sugar!)

Cook the beans (both kinds) in water just to cover for about 5 minutes, or just until completely tender but not mushy.

Drain the beans and place in the food processor, along with the tofu, lemon juice, garlic, salt and cumin. Cut the avocado open, discard the seed and scoop all of the avocado flesh out with a spoon and into the food processor bowl.

Process until smooth, stopping the machine a couple of times, to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Add the salsa and pulse the mixture until it is all mixed in. Taste for seasoning (add more citrus juice, or salsa, or even hot sauce, to your taste, if you like). Place in a covered bowl and refrigerate.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 1/4 cup serving): 71.8 calories; 37% calories from fat; 3.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 288.6mg sodium; 236.1mg potassium; 8.7g carbohydrates; 2.9g fiber; 0.6g sugar; 5.8g net carbs; 3.3g protein; 1.1 points.

Enjoy!

HERB-AND-NUT-ENCRUSTED VEGAN CHEESE LOG

2012-02-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

Sorry I don't have time for much more than this recipe that I've been meaning to post for a long time-- many deadlines last week and this week! I hope you enjoy this-- it's great for Easter (or any) entertaining, or potlucks, or just general snacking.

PS: The vegan butter recipe will be unveiled very soon!

BRYANNA'S HERB-AND-NUT-ENCRUSTED VEGAN CHEESE LOG

This makes a delicious and elegant appetizer. You can play with the flavourings for this—for instance using olives instead of sundried tomatoes. NOTE: To easily measure the tofu, slice 3 inches from one end of the box. Use the 3-inch block for this recipe and save that last inch for another recipe.

9 oz extra-firm silken tofu, crumbled

1/2 Tbs. agar powder

2 Tbs. raw tahini

2 Tbs. water

3/4 Tbs. nutritional yeast flakes

1/2 tsp organic sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbs. light miso

4 tsp fresh (or organic bottled) lemon juice

1 large clove garlic, crushed

3 large sundried tomatoes, chopped (either soak plain sundried tomatoes in boiling water to reconstitute, or rinse oil-packed sundried tomatoes under hot water to rinse off the oil and pat dry)

2 Tbs. chopped green onion ends or chives

Coating:

4 Tbs. chopped toasted nuts of choice (hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, etc.)

3 Tbs. chopped fresh herbs

Optional: 1/4 cup minced parsley

Blend the crumbled tofu, agar, water, tahini, nutritional yeast, sugar, and salt in a food processor until very smooth. Place the mixture in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir over medium heat until it bubbles for a few minutes and thickens. Microwave Option: Place the mixture in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on High for 2 minutes. Whisk briefly. Cook 11/2 minutes more. Scrape the cooked mixture back into the food processor.

Add miso, lemon juice, and crushed garlic to the cooked mixture. (Add these last because the lemon juice the acid may with the gelling of the agar if cooked with it.) Blend briefly, then add the sundried tomatoes and green onions. Pulse briefly.

Have ready a 1 1/2-cup-capacity storage container, preferably one 2 or 3 times longer than it is wide, lined with plastic wrap which extends over all sides. You could also use a 5 x 2 1/2” small loaf pan (called a fruitcake pan), or even a sturdy little box that’s the right shape. If the container is too long or too wide, you can stuff some rolled-up aluminum foil into the appropriate space(s). The goal is to have it firm up in as close the the dimensions of a small "log" as possible.

Scrape the hot mixture into the prepared container. Refrigerate for about 15-30 minutes, or until it starts to firm up. Meanwhile, mix your coating ingredients in a clean food processor or mini-chopper and spread them on a piece of plastic wrap on your work surface.

Working quickly and using the plastic wrap to help, unmold the cheese onto another piece of plastic wrap, roll it up in the wrap and press and shape in a "log". Unwrap the log and gently roll the log in the coating mixture, coating all over (press the coating on with your fingers if some spots are missed), then roll up again in the plastic wrap, twist-tie the ends and place back in your container. Your "log" can be a roll, or you can square up the sides as in my photo.

Refrigerate several hours until firm. Unwrap carefully from the plastic wrap onto a serving plate. Slice and serve with whole grain crackers, crusty bread, pumpernickel slices, etc.

Serves 12

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 53.5 calories; 50% calories from fat; 3.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 182.3mg sodium; 95.5mg potassium; 4.0g carbohydrates; 1.0g fiber; 0.8g sugar; 3.1g protein.

Enjoy!

A CHILDHOOD FAVORITE VEGAN-IZED-- DO YOU HAVE ONE YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE VEGAN?

2012-02-20T15:27:00.000-08:00

My Mom's (Vegan-ized) Chik'n with White Wine and Rosemary

This last weekend on the CBC Radio One program "North by Northwest" they were asking for readers' stories and experiences looking for lost childhood favorite recipes or foods. That got me thinking about my own childhood favorites. Of course, like most of us, I was not raised vegan, so some of my old favorites were "meaty". My late mother, Eve Urbina, was a great cook, but not a baker, so not many homemade desserts came to mind (we mostly had yogurt and fruit for dessert). But one of my real favorite from my Mom's repertoire was chicken sauteed in olive oil with white wine and rosemary, which resulted in a sticky, flavorful "goo" at the bottom of the pan, which she would mix with steamed long-grain rice to serve with the chicken.

So, I attempted a vegan version for our Saturday night dinner, using some Gardein-made meatless "chicken breasts" we can buy frozen in our local Great Canadian Superstore. The most difficult part is getting the "goo" at the bottom of the pan. I tried a trick from my Italian cookbook "Nonna's Italian Kitchen", agar-jelled broth, but made with Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Vegan Broth Paste instead of my homemade broth from the book. However, despite my jelled broth addition and cooking it down, the residue in the pan refused to get as “sticky-gooey” as the original. That’s probably because there was much more fat in my childhood version. But no worries— the resulting sauce was absolutely delish!

Do you have a "lost childhood recipe” or a commercial or bakery/restaurant childhood treat or favorite ", that you are looking for, or have found and want to vegan-ize, or that you have already succeeded in making vegan? I'd like to hear about it and, though I can't guarantee that I can do the vegan-izing for you, I'm happy to give you my two cents.

MY MOM’S "CHIKN BRESTS" WITH ROSEMARY AND WHITE WINE, VEGANIZED Servings: 4

This dish is extremely quick and easy to make, but one of my all-time favorites for flavor. I was trying to more-or-less replicate the chicken with white wine dish that my mother often made when I was a child growing up in a California winery. She would mix steamed long-grain rice in the pan in which the chicken and herbs had been cooked and scrape up the delicious, sticky residue to mix with the rice. You could do the same with this dish, if you like.

4 PC Blue Menu Meatless “Chicken Breasts” (117g each) (in Canada); or use 8 pieces Gardein Turk’y Cutlets or Chick’nScalloppini, or Gardein Chick’n Filets in the US; or equivalents poultry sub available in your area

1/4 cup Seasoned Flour (see below)

1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil

3 cups sliced mushrooms, white, cremini, or chantarelle

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup jelled "chicken-style" vegetarian broth (see below)

3/4 cup white wine, such as a Riesling (can be non-alcoholic) or a dry white wine with a little medium sherry mixed in

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, stripped off the stalk and chopped

freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Dredge the “Breasts” or Filets” or “Cutlets” in Seasoned Flour. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, arrange coated pieces in the pan. Cook until one side is golden, then turn them over and cook until the other side is golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the mushrooms and garlic to the pan and sprinkle with a little salt. Stir-fry them over high heat, adding a tiny bit of water if they seem to be sticking (the mushrooms will exude a little liquid), until they start to wilt. Add the browned pieces back to the pan, along with the wine, jelled broth and rosemary. Cook over high heat, stirring gently now and then, until it cooks down and forms a thick sauce. Quickly remove from heat and grind pepper over the dish. Serve immediately over steamed rice or mashed potatoes (or mix the rice with any sauce left in the pan and serve the dish over that.)

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 251.4 calories; 23% calories from fat; 6.7g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 794.0mg sodium; 842.7mg potassium; 14.9g carbohydrates; 2.6g fiber; 2.4g sugar; 12.3g net carbs; 27.3g protein; 5.1 points.

Cooking Tips

JELLED BROTH: Adding agar to vegan broth gives it even more body, enabling it to coat foods the way melted fat does. Mix 1 3/4 cups hot water in a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Vegan broth paste. Add 3/4 tsp. agar powder with 1/4 cup cold water and stir into the pot. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes. Keep any leftovers refrigerated in a tightly-covered container. The jelled broth will melt when heated.

BRYANNA’S SEASONED FLOUR

Keep some of this in a tightly-covered container in the refrigerator-- you'll find many uses for it.

Mix together 2 cups whole wheat, or other wholegrain, flour, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes, 1 tsp. salt, and, optional, 1 tsp. onion powder and freshly-ground black pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

GLUTEN-FREE CRISPY, CORNY TOASTED ALMOND CHERRY DELIGHT WAFFLES

2012-02-15T13:53:00.000-08:00

I meant to post this recipe for Valentine's Day, but it didn't happen! But, better late than never-- these beauties would be delicious any time of the year. I based them on the white bean/oat waffles that I developed for Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes-- low in fat; high in protein, fiber and other nutrients. They also just happen to be gluten-free.

My two 12-year-old granddaughters ate quite a few of these for brunch this last Sunday after a sleep-over at our house. They were quite surprised when I revealed the "secret ingredient", white beans, but that didn't deter them from eating more!

Don't be put off by having to put the beans in water to soak the night before. This takes just minutes before you retire for the night and then, in the morning, the batter is quickly made in the blender while the waffle iron heats up. They can be reheated quickly in a very hot oven for a short time (you just want to crisp and heat them, not dry them out), or in a toaster. Keep some ready-made in the freezer for quick toaster snacks-- they are great eaten out of hand with a little low-sugar jam.

BRYANNA'S CRISPY, CORNY TOASTED ALMOND AND CHERRY DELIGHT WAFFLES (GLUTEN-FREE)

Servings: 5

Yield: makes about 10/ 4" waffles or 5/ 7” round waffles

These are crispy, ultra-nutritious homemade waffles, delicious and far superior to any frozen waffle available. These waffles are super-easy to mix up, but take a little longer to bake than ordinary waffles (about 8 minutes), so you might want to make them ahead of serving time, or have two waffle irons going at the same time. They can be reheated quickly in a very hot oven for a short time (you just want to crisp and heat them, not dry them out), or in a toaster. Note: Don't worry, no one will suspect that there are beans in these waffles!

1/2 cup dried white beans (any kind except Lima beans)

2 1/4 cups fresh water

1 cup yellow cornmeal

3/4 cup rolled oats (use GF rolled oats if necessary)

2 Tbs organic light granulated sugar

1 Tbs whole golden flax seed

1 Tbs baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp pure almond extract

1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

1/2 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped

The night before:

Soak the beans in plenty of water. The beans can soak in water in the refrigerator for up to a week with no fermentation, if you aren't sure when you'll make the waffles.

In the morning:

Drain the beans. Place them in a sturdy blender along with all of the other ingredients, in the order given. Blend until smooth and light and foamy. This may take several minutes. NOTE: Some blenders are too cheaply-made to grind properly, although beans soaked all night should be no problem. Cook's Illustrated magazine recommends the Kalorik BL Blender which is amazingly affordable compared to the KitchenAid that they also recommended!

Let the batter stand while you heat up your waffle iron on medium setting.

It's best to use a newer nonstick model in order for this no-added-oil recipe to be successful. I use either a Cuisinart Classic Round waffle maker that makes 7" waffles, or a model that makes two 4" square waffles at a time. Do not use a Belgian waffle iron (one with deep depressions that makes thick waffles), or one with very tiny depressions. Just an ordinary "classic" or "traditional" waffle iron!

When the iron is hot, spray with oil and pour on about a heaping 1/3 cup batter for each 4" square waffle or 2/3 cup for each 7" round waffle. Close the iron and set the timer for 8 minutes. Don't attempt to remove the waffle before 8 minutes is up. If the iron is hard to open, don't force it-- let it cook for a couple of more minutes. You can usually tell when a waffle is done when there is no steam coming out of the iron anymore. The waffle should be golden-brown and crispy. Remove the waffle from the iron with a fork.

Stir the batter again briefly before pouring out each waffle. If the batter gets thicker on standing, add a little water, just until it's the consistency you started out with. Spray the waffle maker with oil before making each waffle.

Serve the waffles immediately, or let them cool on cake racks before re-heating or storing. When they are cool, they can be frozen in plastic bags or rigid containers. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 312.9 calories; 14% calories from fat; 5.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 396.0mg sodium; 828.8mg potassium; 59.3g carbohydrates; 8.1g fiber; 5.7g sugar; 51.2g net carbs; 10.5g protein; 5.9 points.

Enjoy!

LET'S HEAR IT FOR GREAT HOMEMADE ESPRESSO-CAFE-STYLE COFFEE MADE WITH MANUAL EQUIPMENT; & HOW NOT TO CURDLE YOUR SOYMILK

2012-02-09T16:29:00.000-08:00

Cappuccino with homemade soy milk

I was just reading about the recall of some 900,000 Tassimo coffee makers in Canada, and about 850,000 in the USA. This article goes on: "The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says there have been 140 reports of problems with the Tassimo single-cup brewers dousing people, including 37 cases involving second-degree burns.

In one incident, a 10-year-old girl from Minnesota was hospitalized with second-degree burns to her face and neck. The commission also says the coffee maker's "T-disc" — the plastic disc that holds the coffee or tea — can burst while brewing and spray hot liquid. It says a 2-year-old girl in Canada suffered second-degree burns to her face.

Some four million packages of Tassimo espresso T-discs are also being recalled, and about half of those were sold in Canada. They were manufactured by Kraft Foods Global Inc., in Illinois, and were recalled after 21 reports of problems."

Now, far be it from me to say that electric coffee devices are no good. However, my husband has been making wonderful espresso-style coffee for years with no electric equipment, with stove-top espresso makers that last for many, many years if you treat them right. I'd just like to make the case for not bothering with another electric device which only has one use, takes up counter space, and has a tendency to break down after a very few years (never mind the possible dangers).

Another reason to consider switching to a stove-top version (maybe when your electric one kicks the bucket) is the fact that these are sturdily-made from stainless steel, no plastic to throw away. And the Tassimo-- and perhaps other makes-- requires a plastic "T-disc" to hold little separately-packaged one-serving amounts of coffee-- more plastic to throw away. It's easy to grind your own coffee beans (organic, fair trade, preferably)-- it takes only a minute, even in a hand grinder-- and the coffee is fresh.

We use the big one when we have company, and the small ones when it's just one of two of us.

You fill the bottom part of the pot with water just to the bottom of the little valve, add freshly-ground coffee (don't pack it down too much), screw on the top part and set it on high on the burner. When it starts to make noise it means that the water is turning to steam and being forced up through the coffee. If your stove is electric, just leave it on the burner, but turn it off. The residual heat is enough to finish the process. If you have gas, turn it down a bit and keep an eye on it. Open the lid to see if the coffee has all come up, and enjoy!

I don't drink much of coffee, but, when I do, only the best will do (my husband's), and I usually make a soy latte or cappuccino. To foam the milk for a cappuccino, I use a manual milk frother:

You add heated milk (or heat it right in the container in the microwave)-- just 1/3 to 1/2 cup...

This turns into...

...this!

Any store with cookware will have something similar-- this one was only $12.

Blue-striped cup, rear left: homemade soymilk; white cup, rear right: Almond Breeze; front in blue cup: Soy Dream (They all foam, but homemade soymilk or Soy Dream or Vitasoy are best; hemp milk foams, but is rather weak.)

Vitasoy Foam

Almond Breeze foam

Hemp milk foam

Some folks have told me that their coffee curdles with soy milk. Ours never does. We use dark roast, but not so dark that it tastes burnt (Starbucks tastes like that to me). Brown (lighter roast) beans are actually more acidic than dark roast beans (and acid is what makes it curdle usually-- even some teas are a bit acidic. Warming the milk before adding to coffee also tends to prevent curdling. I found this on, of all things, the National Dairy Council site (!): "...The acid in coffee, along with coffee's heat, favor curdling of cream." From Oregon State U. site; "The phenolics and acids in coffee may curdle the cream. This is especially true if the coffee is hot ..."

Now, about the coffee: "The acid content in a brew is also greatly dependent upon the roast degree, type of roaster, and brewing method." (from http://www.coffeeresearch.org/) They show the types of acids in coffee and point out that there is a maximum concentration of acetic, malic, and citric acids in light roasted coffee. And: "In regards to the concentration of citric, malic, lactic, pyruvic and acetic acid, Blank found that a typical medium roast coffee consisted of 0.30%, 0.22%, 0.13%, 0.07%, and 0.27% of each acid, respectively (Clarke, 25). At very light roasts, Blank found that the total concentration of these acids was around 1.58%, while at dark roasts these acids could drop down to 0.71%."

They also showed that a quick-brewing method (such as the steam method of espresso, or the European plunger or French press method) results in less acid in the brew. Also, oddly, less caffeine, even with the darker bean.

Here is the approximate caffeine content of a variety of coffee products. Keep in mind that the numbers provided are not exact:

Brewed (8 oz./250mL) = 85mg of caffeine

Instant (8 oz./250mL) = 75mg of caffeine

Decaffeinated, brewed (8 oz./250mL) = 3mg of caffeine

Decaffeinated, instant (8 oz./250mL) = 3mg of caffeine

Espresso (1 oz./30mL) = 40mg of caffeine

Cappuccino and Latte (1 oz./30mL) = 40mg of caffeine
http://www.truestarhealth.com/Notes/1718008.html

More advice from http://www.coffeereview.com/reference.cfm?ID=120: "Buy a moderately-dark- to dark-roasted coffee. Dark roasting reduces the acid sensation in coffee.

Buy a lower-altitude, naturally low-acid coffee brought to a moderately dark roast (full-city, Viennese, light espresso). To me, this is by far the best solution for acid-shy coffee drinkers. Naturally low-acid coffees include Brazils, most India and Pacific (Sumatra, Timor, Hawaii) coffees, and most Caribbean coffees.
It also helps to buy very good coffee, because the best coffee has been processed from ripe coffee fruit, and coffee from ripe fruit is naturally sweet and lacks the sharp, astringent sensation of cheaper coffee processed from less-than-ripe fruit."

http://www.coffeeresearch.org/ adds: "Acidity is typically a highly valued quality especially in Central American and some East African coffees." So you might want to avoid those.

And "Acidity has been correlated with coffees grown at very high altitudes and in mineral rich volcanic soils. The perceived acidity of washed coffees is also significantly higher than the acidity found in naturally (dry) processed coffees. This is likely due to an increase in the body of naturally processed coffees relative to wet processed coffees since body masks a coffee's acidity."

Enjoy!

SUPER BOWL DIPS AND DINNER

2012-02-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

Our (vegan) friends Mike and Fireweed have joined us for Super Bowl Sunday for the last few years. Mike and DH Brian watch the game, with munchies supplied by me. Fireweed comes a little later and we have a visit together, then the four of us have dinner. I kept it pretty simple this year because Fireweed, DH and I are all trying to eat low fat and moderately. (Mike can eat like there's no tomorrow and not gain an ounce!)

I decided to serve two hearty dips with vegetables and Ryvita crackers, one a recipe from Betsy DiJulio's blog and one my own recipe, with a little tweak inspired also by Betsy. Betsy, author of The Blooming Platter Cookbook, is one of my favorite vegan cookbook authors (see my review here to find out why!).

Betsy's dip is a clever take on the old spinach dip-- Vegan Spinach-Three Bean Dip (fat-free if you use tofu instead of vegan mayonnaise). I loved the idea of sneaking three kinds of beans into a dip! Here's Betsy's recipe, but I changed it a wee bit according to the ingredients I had on hand. I didn't have the dry vegetable soup mix, so I added 2 tablespoons of vegan bouillon powder instead, plus a little dried thyme, basil and oregano. I used my quickly-made silken tofu mayonnaise (with no added fat) because I didn't have any of my usual homemade low-fat mayo on hand. The guys ate about half of it at one sitting!

The second dip was an old favorite of ours that I've posted on this blog-- Cheddary Spread.-- except that I added a twist from Betsy's book, which she uses in her homemade vegan cheeses-- I added some beer to the recipe! This ingredient is genius! It adds just the right amount of tangy fermented taste, which really adds to the over-all flavor of the spread, or dip. Thank you, Betsy! But, in order to do this and not have it turn out too liquid-y, you have to crumble the silken tofu into a nut bag or a large square of white cotton sheeting-sort of material and twist and squeeze the bag until you have 1/4 cup of liquid from the tofu squeezed out. Then proceed with the recipe, but add 1/4 cup of beer to the mixture. Simple!

For dinner, we had a lovely salad with an avocado dressing that Fireweed brought, and lasagna made with DH's leftover homemade spaghetti sauce (with some red wine and Yves Ground Round hamburger substitute added), Okara/Cashew Ricotta, my vegan Bechamel Sauce, and some Daiya Cheese on top. For dessert we each had an espresso cup of organic drinking chocolate. A great evening with good food and good friends!

Enjoy!

SAFFRON EDAMAMÉ RISOTTO WITH OYSTER MUSHROOM SAUTÉ

2012-01-30T17:02:00.000-08:00

Sometimes on our walks on Denman Island we are lucky enough to discover wild edible mushrooms (ones that we are familiar with, I hasten to add). That’s what inspired this particular recipe— one spring morning we discovered oyster mushrooms growing on a fallen log. We picked quite a few on our way back to the house. I love finding gourmet ingredients in the wild!

For lunch that day, I sautéed them (but you can use any favourite mushroom instead of the oyster mushrooms) with some Soy Curls® (about 2 cups), already reconstituted with veggie "chicken" broth, lots of garlic, and some chopped fresh rosemary in a little olive oil. (You can substitute veggie "chicken" strips or tofu, instead.) After the mushrooms have wilted a bit, I added 1/2 cup of veggie "chicken broth", 1/4 cup of dry sherry, salt and pepper, and let it cook down (all this at high heat, stirring frequently).

I served the sauté on top of the following colorful saffron risotto studded edamamé (green soybeans), and creamy with vegan cheese.

I cook risotto in a microwave oven. We love risotto, but I must admit that we would hardly ever have it if I had to stir it for half an hour. Barbara Kafka, one of America's most renowned food writers and for many years a columnist for Gourmet magazine, writes in her book “Microwave Gourmet”: "If anything could convince the true cook, or even the ardent eater, that the microwave oven is a tool worth having, it would be that it makes risotto divinely, effortlessly, and relatively rapidly while the cook talks to the guests. From being a once-a-year treat, it can go to being an everyday delight." And: "The very idiosyncrasy of cooking that makes the microwave oven generally unacceptable for the cooking of floury dishes makes risotto work well. Starch absorbs liquid slowly in the microwave oven, and it also absorbs too much. That is exactly what you want the rice to do in a risotto."

BRYANNA’S MICROWAVE SAFFRON EDAMAMÉ RISOTTO WITH OYSTER MUSHROOM SAUTÉ

Serves 4 as a side dish or starter, 2 or 3 as a main dish

Afraid of microwave ovens?

This is the exception to the rule that it isn't really a time-saver to cook rice in a microwave oven. With this method, you can have creamy, savory risotto in under 20 minutes, with no stirring. Another advantage is that you can cook it right in the serving dish, so you have no dirty pot.

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup arborio rice (or other Italian superfino rice)

2 3/4 cups hot chicken-style vegetarian broth

pinch Spanish saffron

1/4 cup dry sherry (or more broth-- 3 use cups liquid in total)

Additions:

1 cup thawed frozen (shelled) edamamé (green soybeans)

a large handful of Daiya mozzarella-style vegan cheese

Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Add the olive oil to a medium-to-large-sized microwave-safe casserole. Cook on High power for about 30 seconds. Add the onion, cover and cook on High power for 1 1/2 minutes. Add the rice, and stir well. Cook UN-covered on High power for 1 1/2 minutes, then add the liquids and saffron and stir well.

Cook uncovered on High power for 7 minutes. While the risotto cooks, you can make your sauté to top off the risotto. It doesn't have to be what I described above; it can be your own invention.

After 7 minutes, add the edamamé to the risotto and microwave on High power about 7 minutes longer. Stir the "cheese", stirring well but carefully, until it melts.

The rice should slightly sauce-y. I don’t like it too “soupy”, but that’s up to you. Taste the rice for doneness-- you may need to cook it for another minute or so— this will depend on the power of your microwave.

Serve very hot on a heated soup or pasta plates, with the sautéed mixture placed decoratively on top. Add a sprig of fresh herb, if you have some in your garden.

Enjoy!

A VEGAN ROBBIE BURNS' DAY SUPPER

2012-01-24T21:35:00.000-08:00

I've attended only one formal Burns' Supper, in honor of the immortal Scots bard, oh, about 40 years ago (I remember because I was pregnant with my youngest daughter, Justine). My late husband, Wayne Clark, was working with a bunch of "Geordies" from northern England and they invited us to the dinner. These folks were so much fun, kept me in stitches all night. I wasn't drinking (can't handle hard liquor anyway, even when NOT pregnant!) but, boy, could they drink! It was a really enjoyable evening, despite the elderly band .(I was all of about 23, but they were really pretty elderly.) There was the ceremony of piping in the haggis, which I actually didn't think it tasted too bad--kind of like a bland meat loaf (this was pre-vegan or even vegetarian days.).

Years later, here on Denman, I tasted haggis again at a friend's house. There was memorable for the moment when one young lady of about 7 put some haggis in her mouth, promptly spit it out and deposited it on the first available receptacle, which happened to be my husband's plate!

In England and Scotland you can actually buy vegan haggis at butcher shops, but here in North America we have to make our own, as far as I know. With my, albeit limited, taste memories, and some knowledge of the ingredients, a few years ago I headed into the kitchen to develop a vegan haggis recipe (I do have some Scots blood on my maternal grandmother's side), for vegans of the Scots persuasion, or Scots of the vegan persuasion. The recipe is in my new book World Vegan Feast. (BTW, if you don't know what a haggis is or how it is made or what it is made from, see this page but, be warned, it isn't pretty!)

I use some oatmeal, of course--it's traditional-- but also potato, which is not, but it is common in Scottish cooking. I tried it originally with ground seitan, then with textured soy protein, then with vegan "hamburger crumbles". It works with all of them. You don't want it too spicy, but I find that vegan foods often need more seasoning, so I use plenty of onion and some traditional spices. I make it in an authentic way called “pot haggis”, which means that it is formed in a bowl or pudding basin, packed into a bowl and steamed. You can wrap it in a cloth first, like a real savory pudding, if you like. It's actually very tasty, especially with some vegan gravy. Here are some photos from various times I've made haggis:

Using a traditional British pudding basin

Steaming it wrapped in cloth

We like to celebrate Robbie Burns' Day every year on January 25th-- my husband is only half Irish, after all-- his mother was the only one of her siblings not born in Scotland. We have the vegan haggis, of course, with gravy. For the rest of the meal, it's traditional to have Scotch whiskey, of course (I don't like Scotch, but DH enjoys it now and then) and Cock-a-Leekie Soup (a chicken and leek soup) to start, but a potato and leek soup is a great vegan alternative.

Tatties'n'neeps (mashed potatoes combined with mashed turnips) are the traditional accompanying dish. I like to roast the turnips in the oven first and then mash them into the potatoes-- the turnips have so much more flavor that way-- or even just serve mashed potatoes accompanied by roasted turnips, usually roasted with parsnips, carrots and onions.

For dessert, a gorgeous sherry trifle called "Typsy Laird" is traditional and there is also a recipe for this in World Vegan Feast, including the vegan sponge cake used in this delectable dessert

Vegan Sponge Cake baked in a tube pan

Vegan Sponge Cake baked in layer cake pans

THE FORMAT FOR A BURNS SUPPER

Chairperson's opening address

A few welcoming words start the evening and the meal commences with the Selkirk Grace

(Vegans can adopt another traditional Scottish Grace without all the references to meat, such as this one:
"Grace be here, and grace be there,
And grace be round the table;
Let ilka ane take up their spoon
And eat as muckle’s they’re able.")

The company are asked to stand to receive the haggis. A piper then leads the chef, carrying the haggis to the top table, while the guests accompany them with a slow handclap. The chairman or invited guest then recites Burns' famous poem To A Haggis (translation included), with great enthusiasm. (My friend Fireweed can read Burns' To a Haggis in its original form (quite a feat and she does it beautifully!), in translation, and also in a veganized translation, clever girl. I'll have to ask her transcribe that for next year's post.

When the person reciting reaches the line 'an cut you up wi' ready slight', he cuts open the haggis with a sharp knife. It's customary for the company to applaud the speaker then stand and toast the haggis with a glass of whisky.

(An aside: Reading To a Haggis reminds me of an incident when my stepson Sean stopped in Aberdeen, Scotland after serving for a few weeks on a Dutch tall ship where no one would speak English to him. He thought, "Finally, they speak Englush here!" No such luck-- he couldn't understand a word they said! The Aberdeen brogue was like another foreign language.)

I hope this inspires you to celebrate with a Burns' Supper, if not tomorrow, then next year on January 25th.

PS: Another day when haggis is often served is St. Andrew's Day (patron saint of Scotland), November 30th. I have even read of "Haggis Puffs" being served-- I assume that refers to the haggis mixture being baked in puff pastry.

Cheers!

MY FIRST PIZZA FROM "ARTISAN PIZZA AND FLATBREAD IN FIVE MINUTES A DAY"

2012-01-16T20:57:00.000-08:00

I have the first two "5 Minute" bread books ("Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" and "Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day") by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois in my growing collection of no-knead bread books, but I've been looking forward to getting my hands on their newest, "Artisan Pizza and Flatbreads in Five Minutes a Day". I'm always on the lookout for a new, fabulous pizza dough recipe, and I hadn't had much success so far with my own experiments in making a no-knead pizza dough.

Note: The books are not vegan, or even vegetarian, but most of the dough recipes are or can be vegan and, well, we vegans are good at adapting!

The book arrived last week and yesterday (Sunday), three of my granddaughters were coming over for lunch. Pizza seemed like the perfect thing to serve. So, on Saturday, I stirred up up a batch of "Crisp-Yet-Tender Pizza Dough Even Closer to the Style of Naples"-- literally stirred; no kneading. It probably took 5 minutes or under. After letting it rise for a few hours, I stashed it in the refrigerator in a snap-lid bowl with room to rise overnight.

That odd-looking implement is a Danish dough whisk, perfect for stirring thick batters and soft doughs.

This particular (fat-free) dough is supposed to be made with Italian "00" flour, which is lower in protein (gluten) than North American flour. "00" flour is available in North America now, at amazon.com and King Arthur Flour. Both contain about 8% protein ( as a comparison, ordinary all-purpose flour contains about 11%). I didn't have any of this, but, fortunately, the book contains a formula for making your own Italian-style flour blend using unbleached flour and pastry flour. I couldn't resist using half whole wheat pastry flour in place of some of the white pastry flour called for, and that worked well, so next time I'll take a chance and use more. I also used a bit more salt than they called for (the book contains a great section on ingredients and how to change some things to your own taste).

The dough after about 18 hours in the refrigerator.

I should have made the dough a few days earlier, I realize, because, being familiar with no-knead dough by now, I could see that another day in the fridge would have ripened the dough more thoroughly. But it was still no trouble to roll out and stretch 6 pizzas in a short amount of time. (I roll it out on baking parchment and also bake it on the parchment-- no sticking to the peel that way!)

(BTW, If you want to learn how to throw pizza dough, see the videos and instructions here: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2012/01/03/how-to-throw-pizza-dough-new-video )

I baked one pizza at a time in a 14" cast iron skillet (you could also use a cast iron pizza pan), which is my new favorite way to bake pizza (cast iron pans heat up twice as fast as a pizza stone, and the pizza cooks in about 7 minutes with a nice speckled crust). I was happy to see that the authors of this book gave this as an option.

I used my pizza sauce from my book World Vegan Feast and what I had around for toppings-- Daiya vegan mozzarella, green pepper, kalamata olives and Yves veggie pepperoni (thought the girls would like this) cut into slivers, pepper and a little olive oil.

I won't say that I will always use this dough, because I like to change it up, but this is certainly a great pizza dough, and very easy and convenient to make. The dough will keep refrigerated for about 2 weeks, so, if you don't have company and eat the whole thing in one sitting, you can pull out a piece of dough and whip up a pizza (no rising necessary) in no time at all.

(PS: No, we didn't eat the whole batch, but we had collectively eaten 5 of them by the time the girls left -- I managed to save one for my stepson, who came along later. Fast-growing12 year-old girls can eat alot of pizza!)

I'm anxious to try the focaccia, Cornmeal Olive Oil Dough, Chapati, Corn Masa Dough, Crisp Pita Bread Bowl, and several other goodies, but I'm only going to make them when we have company to eat most of it-- otherwise my good intentions to lose weight will fall by the wayside!

Even if you have never made any sort of bread before, fear not-- you can make some mighty good pizza with this book, pizza suited to your tastes and busy schedule. Kudos once again to authors Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois!

Enjoy!

STILL WORKING ON THE "VEGAN BUTTER" RECIPE; MUSHROOM-TEMPEH BURGERS

2012-01-12T17:43:00.000-08:00

Today's trials

I'm still toiling away on the palm-oil-free vegan "butter" recipe (and have invented a "shortening" as well, as you can see). I'm waiting for some more supplies to arrive before I can finish up some refinements and share it with you! So, for now, here's one of the few tempeh recipes that my husband actually enjoys!

BRYANNA'S MUSHROOM-TEMPEH BURGERS
Makes 9 burgers
DH ordinarily dislikes tempeh, but he loves these. They are moist and tasty. I usually double this recipe and freeze leftovers. I use a food processor and/or mini-chopper to mince everything finely, which saves alot of time. The pre-steaming of the burgers cooks the gluten and keeps the burgers moist. After they are cool they can be browned in a non-stick pan or a flat indoor grill. I have been working on this recipe off and on for a few years. (Sorry the pics are so fuzzy!)
Note: If you prefer to serve these on a bun, check out the homemade vegan bun recipes at this blog post.

TVP Mixture:
1 cup textured soy protein (TVP/TSP) granules
7/8 cup boiling water mixed with a vegetarian broth cube, powder or paste for 1 c. broth
1 Tbs soy sauce
Steam-Fried Mixture:
1/2 Tbs olive oil or dark sesame oil
water, broth or dry sherry for steam-frying, if necessary
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
6 oz raw mushrooms, minced finely
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 Tbs yeast extract (Marmite, etc.) OR 2 T. red or dark miso
freshly-ground black pepper to taste
Tempeh:
8 oz tempeh (I prefer the milder 5 or 7 grain tempeh), thawed and crumbled
1 Tbs soy sauce
Additional Ingredients:
1 cup well-cooked cooked bulgur wheat (fine [#1] or medium [#2])
(See Cooking Tip below)

1/2 tsp EACH dried thyme and marjoram, or other herbs or spices that you like
1/3 cup pure gluten flour (Vital wheat gluten)
1/2-1 tsp liquid smoke (OPTIONAL)

1.) In a large bowl, mix the textured soy protein with the boiling water, broth cube, and 1 T. soy sauce. Let stand while you prepare the other ingredients.

NOTE: FOR THE STEAM-FRIED MIXTURE, I mince the garlic in a food processor, then add the onion, chunked and mince it well. After I empty that out, I mince the halved mushrooms in the same processor container-- you don't need to wash it first.

2.) Steam-Frying
Stove-Top Option: Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic til the onion starts to soften, adding a bit of water, broth or sherry as needed to keep the mixture from sticking.

Add the mushrooms, and cook 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat and stir in the tomato paste and Marmite or miso, and pepper to taste. Spread the mixture on a cookie sheet. Place in freezer to cool quickly for a few minutes.

Microwave option: This saves time and effort, so it's the one I use. Place the onions and garlic in a microwave-safe pie plate or casserole with the oil, and cover. Microwave 5 minutes. Stir in the minced mushrooms and microwave 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and Marmite or miso, and pepper to taste. Spread the mixture on a cookie sheet. Place in freezer to cool quickly for a few minutes.

3.) Crumble the tempeh into a bowl and stir in the 1 T. soy sauce. Mash it with the tines of a fork, mixing well.

4.) Add the bulgur, herbs, and optional liquid smoke, if using, to the soaked TVP mixture. Mix in the tempeh and the cooled sautéed mushroom mixture. Mix well.

5.) When the mixture is on the cool side (you can spread it on a cookie sheet and put it in the freezer for a few minutes for a quick cool-down), add the gluten flour (don't add it to a hot mixture, or it will be” stringy"). Mix well again.

6.) Divide the mixture into 9 / 1/2-cup balls and pat into patties (4" across) with wet hands. I pat them down on a parchment-covered cookie sheet to get an even shape.

7.) Steam over simmering water for 20 minutes. (I line the steamer with cooking parchment, with holes poked in it with a bamboo skewer.) Place on cookie sheets and chill thoroughly before stacking with sheets of waxed paper in between and refrigerating or freezing in a rigid plastic container with a tight lid.

One lone burger in a steamer basket on its own-- the rest are in big steamers.

The steamed burgers before they are browned.

8.) To brown, use a non-stick pan with a bit of olive or toasted sesame oil, or a flat nonstick sandwich grill. Serve on buns, or on their own with a favorite sauce or gravy.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 138.9 calories; 22% calories from fat; 3.8g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 221.3mg sodium; 329.5mg potassium; 13.4g carbohydrates; 1.5g fiber; 1.4g sugar; 14.7g protein, 2.8 points.

Cooking Tip:
To cook bulgur wheat-- use a fine or medium grain bulgur. Bring 1 cup bulgur to a boil in a small saucepan with 2 cups water and a little salt. Turn down to low, cover, and cook 15 minutes. Use leftovers for a dinner grain side dish, like rice.

Enjoy!

A NEW, IMPORTANT EXPERIMENT, AND CHOCOLATE/COCOA NIB SCONES

2012-01-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, everyone! I'm feeling pretty energized and ready for some new projects (three lined up for myself so far) to get me through the winter. I'd like to tell you a little about one of them in this first post of 2012, and post a successful recipe utilizing an experiment on that project.

Several people whom I really respect have been reminding me about the problems with palm oil. We generally eat pretty low-fat and don't eat alot of packaged foods or use solid shortening, so I was, I admit, pushing it to the back of my mind. But the elephant in the room, so to speak, was Earth Balance, the best-tasting and vegan butter substitute around, which is good for baking, too. (Should we start a writing campaign to convince them to change their formula?) And, yes, we are careful with our use of it, have our toast only with low-sugar jam or marmalade, use homemade low-fat spreads whenever possible, use primarily olive oil in cooking, etc., etc. But, for many of us, unless we are on a fat-free regime, there are those times when you need a vegan butter substitute, particularly for baking.

So, long story short, my first project of 2012 is to develop a homemade version of vegan "butter" that is a.) easy to make; b.) tastes good and "buttery"; c.) is made from simple ingredients that are not difficult to find; d.) has the potential to be made from organic and even some fair trade ingredients; e.) is similar to butter in the balance between fat, solids and liquids; f.) has a better balance of fats than Earth Balance and other solid fats (my goal is more monounsaturated fats than saturated or polyunsaturated fats); g.) contains little or no coconut oil ( see this short video from Dr. Michael Greger and this also), and, of course, no palm oil; and h.) can be used both as a good tasting spread or in baking, substituting across the board for butter or Earth Balance (and instead of palm oil shortening).
After many hours of research and some experiments I think I'm almost there! Here are some photos of my latest experiment (which meets all the criteria above) and it's pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. I have another version to try before I share it (providing that works!).

I used silicone muffin cup liners for molds.

You can scrape it easily for spreading.

Of course, while I'm doing this I'm trying to stay on a low-fat diet! But I wanted to try it in baking, so I made some scones (I only made half the recipe)-- some fancy ones, I admit. The vegan "butter" (I need to find a name) worked just like the "real thing" in the recipe and the scones came out beautifully! The recipe is below-- it's not low-fat but makes a lovely treat for a company tea or coffee party.

I'll post my "butter" recipe as soon as I'm completely happy with it, so stay tuned!

BRYANNA'S CHOCOLATE CHIP/COCOA NIB SCONES
Servings: 6

Yield: 6 large scones

Dry Mix:

1 cup wholewheat pastry flour

1 cup unbleached white flour

2 tablespoons unbleachedorganic granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Additions:

1/4 cup vegan "butter", chilled and cut into small pieces

1/4 cup organic cocoa nibs

1/2 cup organicdairy-free chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Wet Mix:

5 tablespoons non-dairy milk (preferably soy or hemp, in that order-- they curdle better)

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Finishing:

non-dairy milk for brushing

about 1 tablespoon coarse unbleached organic sugar for sprinkling

Optional Additions:

chopped organic candied ginger

grated organic orange zest, or chopped candied orange peel (If you can't find this-- and it is NOT the same thing as "candied citron"!!-- you will find an easy recipe to make your own here. You can make it up to 2 weeks ahead of time.)

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Have ready a cookie sheet or 2 cake pans sprayed with oil or lined with baking parchment.

In a large bowl whisk together the Dry Mix ingredients. Cut in the chilled vegan “butter” until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Stir in the Additions to distribute evenly.

In a small bowl, whisk together the Wet Mix ingredients. Pour this mixture into the dry mixture in the large bowl and stir with a fork until just moist. Turn out onto a piece of baking parchment, lightly floured and pat the dough into a 6 x 8-inch rectangle. Cut in half to make two 6 x 4-inch pieces. Cut each rectangle into 3 more-or-less triangular pieces (see photo).

Place the scones on the prepared pan(s), not touching, and brush the tops lightly with non-dairy milk. Sprinkle evenly with the coarse sugar. Bake for 15-16 minutes, or until nicely golden brown.

Serve hot with marmalade.

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 343.2 calories; 36% calories from fat; 14.4g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 144.7mg sodium; 183.1mg potassium; 49.2g carbohydrates; 4.0g fiber; 6.7g sugar; 45.2g net carbs; 6.6g protein; 7.3 points.

Cheers!

ANTIDOTE FOR TOO MUCH HOLIDAY FOOD? A QUICK, LIGHT SPICY THAI TOFU DISH!

2011-12-29T17:03:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Ours was fun, hectic, and full of family! We had too much good, Christmasy food and still have lots of leftovers remaining, even though I sent some home with guests. After several days of this, I'm craving rice, pasta, soup, tomato-y dishes, spicy food! So, when it's just us after the festivities, this is the sort of thing that does the trick...a really quick, nutritious and delicious dish, a simplified, veganized version of a Thai dish called "Praram", which is often made with chicken. (A birthday and the New Year to go now!)

BRYANNA'S THAI-STYLE SPINACH AND TOFU WITH PEANUT SAUCE (SIMPLIFIED VEGAN "PRARAM")
Serves 3

Quick Peanut Sauce:
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup vegan broth
1/2 cup plain nondairy milk
2 tablespoons coconut flour or creamed coconut
NOTE: Instead of the soymilk and coconut flour or creamed coconut, you can use a generous half cup of lite coconut milk.
2 tablespoons Thai sweet chile sauce (there are many brands of this-- here's one)
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or 2 tablespoons lime juice)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
The rest of the dish:
2 tablespoons mushroom-based vegetarian "oyster" sauce (Lee Kum Kee brand is called "Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce", and I have a homemade recipe here)
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
a few shakes of Thai or Vietnamese hot sauce
1 tablespoon peanut oil, or other oil
12 ounces firm tofu (NOT silken), cubed
12 oz fresh, cleaned baby spinach
freshly-steamed basmati rice

Whisk together the peanut sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and heat gently. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup of this sauce with the vegetarian "oyster" sauce, sesame oil and hot sauce. Reserve the rest of the sauce in the pan.

Heat the peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok. Add the tofu cubes and quickly brown them. Add the peanut sauce/"oyster" sauce mixture in the small bowl to the tofu. Stir this around until the tofu absorbs most of it.

Add the spinach to the tofu and stir over high heat JUST until the spinach wilts. Spoon the mixture immediately over steamed rice and top with the remaining peanut sauce.

Nutrition Facts (without rice)
Nutrition (per serving): 352.4 calories; 62% calories from fat; 24.8g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 582.7mg sodium; 1049.2mg potassium; 15.9g carbohydrates; 5.1g fiber; 7.2g sugar; 10.8g net carbs; 19.7g protein; 8.3 points.

Happy New Year!

HOMEMADE POMEGRANATE AND WALNUT TURKISH DELIGHT-- A WONDERFUL LAST-MINUTE GIFT IDEA

2011-12-22T11:19:00.000-08:00

Before Christmas arrives, I'd like to share one more recipe from my new book, World Vegan Feast...a beautiful and mouthwatering modern version of a Christmas treat with over two centuries of history behind it.

I am not regular a candy maker, but one day I had some pomegranates that needed using, so I juiced them and decided to try making this old-fashioned treat for the first time, but with my own new flavoring combination. We had just seen the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Turkish Delight figured in the story: "Lokum, called Turkish Delight, plays an interesting role in CS Lewis’ novel The Chronicles of Narnia and its Hollywood counterpart The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which was released in 2005. The film in particular introduced Americans to the age old Turkish candy. The White Witch of Narnia tempts young Edmund to bring his siblings to the ice castle with Turkish Delight. The irresistible temptation peeked the interest of many American viewers, and Turkish Delight sales hit a sudden high." From englishteastore.com)

Doing a little research, I discovered that Turkish Delight, traditionally known as Lokum, indeed originated in Turkey, invented in 1777 by famous confectioner named Bekir Effendi (known as Haci Bekir after his hajj pilgrimage). Haci Bekir owned a candy shop in the Bahcekapi district of Istanbul, which is still open today in the exact same location.

Haci Bekir’s 5th generation descendants believe the first recipe for Lokum originated from an Anatolian candy traditionally made using honey or grape molasses (pekmez) and flour. Haci Bekir transformed this into Lokum, using the at-that-time-newly-available ingredient, sugar, and cornstarch (called cornflour in the UK and many other regions). Turkish Delight, or Lokum, if you prefer, has a soft, gelatin-like texture, often with chopped nuts inside, and subtle flavoring. It is cut into small cubes and coated in powdered sugar.

Lokum became very popular among Turks and Haci Bekir was appointed Chief Confectioner for the Ottoman Court and awarded a medal of honor by the Sultan. This jewel-like treat was soon discovered by an English traveler who called the candy “Turkish Delight” and introduced it to Europe. Today, in many countries around the world, Lokum is still known as Turkish Delight.

Haci Bekir’s confectionery is the oldest company in Turkey to operate from its original location. It now has representative companies in several countries and , though the original recipe for Lokum has changed very little, the company sells Turkish Delight in 12 flavors, but not pomegranate! I thought that pomegranate juice would be an ideal base for this candy, not only because of its tart/sweet flavor and nutritional qualities, but because if is beautiful color. Walnuts seemed to me to be an ideal addition. This actually turned out to be very simple to make and a very satisfying and eye-appealing Christmas treat.

BRYANNA'S POMEGRANATE AND WALNUT TURKISH DELIGHT

Makes 36 pieces

This candy is quite refreshing and very beautiful. The recipe is from my new book, World Vegan Feast .

NOTE: If you follow the links in the ingredient list, you can see that you can make this with organic, fair trade ingredients.

1 3/4 cup water, divided

2/3 cup pomegranate juice (unsweetened bottled, or fresh-- see below)

2 cups organic unbleached granulated sugar

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons cornstarch, divided

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup chopped, lightly-toasted walnuts

1/2 cup organic powdered sugar

Mix 1 cup water with the pomegranate juice and set it aside in a medium saucepan.

Combine the sugar and 3/4 cup water in another medium saucepan over medium-high heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid starts to bubble. Allow the mixture to boil, without stirring, until it registers 260ºF on a candy thermometer (this takes about 15 minutes).

While the sugar mixture is coming to temperature, sift the 1/2 cup cornstarch and cream of tartar together into the water/pomegranate juice mixture. Whisk it until all of the lumps are dissolved. Cook it over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it becomes very thick and clear looking. Reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon.

As soon at the candy thermometer in the sugar/water mixture registers 260ºF, remove the mixture from the stove. Pour the hot mixture slowly into the cornstarch mixture, whisking vigorously. When it is thoroughly combined and formed into a thick sticky paste, add the walnuts and continue cooking, stirring all the while with a wooden spoon, over low heat for 45 minutes longer. The paste will continue to thicken during this time and should be very thick.

Microwave Option: I get impatient with making candy, which is one reason why I seldom make it, so I only cooked the mixture on the stove for 10 minutes and then I scraped it into a 2-quart Pyrex batter bowl (you need plenty of room for boil-ups!) and cooked it, uncovered, in the microwave at 50% power for 15 minutes, by which time it became a very thick paste. You can microwave it from the time you add the walnuts for approximately 20 minutes at 50% power.

Whichever way you cook it, when the paste is very thick, remove it from the heat and use a spatula to transfer the paste into a well-oiled 8-inch square baking pan. Press the mixture evenly into the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator to cool for at least 2 hours. The finished product should be quite firm when cool.

Remove the pan from the refrigerator. The bottom of the pan should be cold. If it is still warm, chill longer.

Mix the remaining cornstarch with the powdered sugar. Spread 1/4 cup of this mixture over a sheet of baking parchment on your work surface. You should be able to lift the Turkish Delight out of the pan with your hands. Place the square of Turkish Delight on top of the powdered sugar/cornstarch mixture and spread more of it over the top of the square with your fingers. Once the square is covered on all sides with a layer of powdered sugar/cornstarch mix, use a sharp knife to cut it into 36 squares.

Toss the small squares with more powdered sugar/cornstarch mixture to coat them on all sides. Store the candy in an airtight container.

TIP: How to juice a pomegranate

Just cut it in half horizontally and juice it on a orange juicer-- I use a manual one. You get lots of juice out of one large pomegranate!

Happy Holidays!