Apple Cinnamon Ice Cream [vegan]

Frosty Fall treats!

First, peel and dice a couple apples.  Add them to a skillet with a bit of coconut oil and saute until they have softened.  Set aside and let the apples cool.  Return the skillet to the heat and add a bit of non dairy milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, apple cider, cornstarch and a dash of salt.  Heat the mixture until thickened.  Sweeten with sugar and add chilled non-dairy milk and soy creamer.  Silk makes an excellent creamer.

All the mix to refrigerate until very chilled ~38˚F.  Then pour the liquid mix into an ice cream freezer.  When the ice cream begins to develop, add half the apples.  Just before the freezing process finishes, add the last half.  This keeps them from getting pulverized, allowing for some chunks of apple.

Serve garnished with fresh apple, mint and a stick of cinnamon.

Stone Fruit and Ginger Galette

This is a mix of delicious and easy.

I like this gluten free crust made from ground nuts and oats.  It's hearty, rustic and fairly easy to make. In a food processor, mix the nuts (pecans, almonds and walnuts) with quick oats and a bit of salt and sugar.  Run the food processor until the mix is finely chopped and crumbly.  Then, add enough water to bring it together in a soft dough.  Since there's no gluten, it doesn't really need to rest.  Place between two sheets of parchment and roll out.

Prep the stone fruit.  I chose a mix of cherries, apricots, plums and peaches.  Add to a bowl with fresh grated ginger, sugar, vanilla, cornstarch and a pinch of salt. Place the fruit on the dough and distribute evenly, leaving a generous border.  Fold the dough inward to enclose the fruit.  Place the galette on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350F for 30-45 minutes.

I like to serve it with accents of fresh fruit and Swedish pearl sugar.

Frosted Cinnamon Square Biscuits

Kinda like cinnamon rolls, but quicker; cinnamon biscuits!

Start out with the 3:1:2 ratio [flour:fat:liquid] and then add some flavour: a bit of coconut sugar, cinnamon and salt.  I used fresh ground wheat flour, coconut oil and almond milk. Mix the dry ingredients and coconut oil in the food processor.  Blend until crumbly and then add the almond milk.  Blend a few more seconds to combine the ingredients, but stop as soon as they're combined.

The magic of square biscuits, there's no need to roll out and cut these.  Simply press the dough into a parchment lined pan and then score lines.

Bake at 350F until the top is browned ~25min.

While they're baking, mix a cinnamon drizzle topping: icing sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, almond milk and a pinch of salt.

Allow the biscuits to cool until they're warm to the touch and then drizzle with the topping.

Baked Brains! (Baked Cauliflower)

The perfect thing for Halloween.  Baked brains, but really it's just pizza over a whole head of cauliflower.

Start by setting out the spice profile: basil, onion powder, salt, garlic and oregano.  Stir it in the tomato paste and mix thoroughly.  Wash and shake dry a head of cauliflower.

Spread the spiced tomato paste on the cauliflower and cover with thinly-sliced vegetables.

Bake at 350F for 30-45min.  Doneness can be tested when a knife can be easily inserted.

Slice and serve drizzled with olive oil and sliced green onions.

Apple Cobbler

It's apple season!  I kicked off the season with this simple apple cobbler.

I like to use a blend of apples to get nuanced flavour from each cultivar.  Peel, slice and add to a skillet with a bit of oil.  Saute on low heat until they begin to soften.  Add a bit of sugar, cornstarch, orange juice, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract.  I also added a bit of molasses.  When they're soft, place in a greased cast iron skillet.

I ground a bit of organic red wheat and used it for a basic biscuit dough recipe.  I didn't add any sugar, but probably would next time - sugar helps the dough brown as it bakes.  It's easy to cover the apples with the dough by using a dough scoop to parcel out the topping.

Bake at 350F until the top is done.  I sprinkled a bit of rolled oats on top because oats, brown sugar and cinnamon are amazing together.

Thai Curry From Scratch

This is probably my favorite food. Well, I don't really keep favourites, but this is top ten. A properly spiced thai dish is a pinnacle of human sensation. Thai food isn't always sharply 'hot,' rather contains the primal elements of good taste: sweet, savoury, slight acidity, umami and pungency. The fragrance of the cuisine cannot be overlooked or understated. Jasmine rice, citrus, ginger and richly flavoured vegetables/herbs create an unmatched aroma.

Here I plate an inverted arrangement of curry and cashews, beset with jasmine and black rice.

First, start sauteing the extra-firm tofu on low heat with coconut oil.  Turn every 5 minutes until tofu is chewy.

Home crown chili makes this fresh - as well as kaffir lime leaves from my tree and fresh pulled shallots.  I added a bit of salt and peanuts and bashed them in the mortar.

Bash the end of a lemongrass stalk and chuck into a pan with a can of full-fat coconut oil.  Add the bashed curry paste and lime juice or tamarind paste to pan as well.  Simmer the coconut milk mixture until slightly thickened and add in fresh veg.  I like sliced carrots, peppers, diced tomato and green onions.  Dice the tofu and add in.

Plate and serve with rice, cashews, thai basil and fresh grated coconut (unsweetened).

Vegan Lasagna

I'm so busy this week, but I wanted to post this. Vegan Lasagna!

So many vegan lasagnas only use tofu instead of ricotta. It's alright, but it's not great. So, I still used tofu, but the base was grated cauliflower, tamari sauce, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, onion powder and a smidgen of smoky paprika.

I started by preparing the base and then crumbling in the extra-firm tofu. Set it aside while grating the rest of the veg: broccoli, peppers, courgette, carrots and the non-woody stalks of asparagus.

Then add those greeted veggies to a heated pan with olive oil and sauté until tender. This helps reduce the water content and helps build flavour. I was in a rush, so I used canned pasta sauce.

I decided to grill the aubergine instead of grating it. So, just in a hot skillet, I seared it with a bit of olive oil. The spinach also seemed to be too good to chuck through a grater, so I wilted it quickly with olive oil. And salt! Carefully season everything after it's been reduced/seared/sweated.

Sometime when all of this was going on, I boiled the lasagne noodles. You could totally go gluten free, but these are just regular wheat noodles. Either way, be sure not to over cook them. Just soften them - ultra al dente? They'll get more cooking in the oven.

Then, begin building the dish: layer sauce, noodle, spinach and then "ricotta" filling until the dish is almost full. Be sure the top layer is sauce, and that the noodles are fully covered - otherwise they get hard and dry. Then arrange extra veg on the top. I think this makes a nice addition to any lasagna. I topped it with asparagus spears, tomatoes, olives and more grilled eggplant.

Bake for about 30-45 minutes.

I served it with a fresh sprig of basil and a drizzle of aged balsamic and olive oil.

Gazpacho

Gazpacho has the reputation of being an awkward dish.  It's not always well received - after all, it's cold soup.  The first time I tried it, I was in Paris and decided, "I'm never coming back to this place!  They can't even heat up soup properly."Thankfully I got over my Parisian aversion and I learned to actually like gazpacho!

I started with tomatoes, red onions, bell peppers, chili pepper and basil - all harvested from the garden. First, peel, half and remove the seeds from a medium cucumber.  Then coarsely dice the cucumber, tomato, onions and pepper.  Be sure to very finely mince the chili pepper - any remove the seeds unless you're really a fan of spice. Pile it all in a food processor with the basil, a bit of salt, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Blitz it up until it's soupy, but not a fine puree.  There should be a bit of texture.

I find it's best to serve chilled, but not ice cold.

Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo

This was a surprising delight.  I found a red pepper recipe from Minimalist Baker (amazing blog).  I had red peppers in the garden.  I was inspired.

First, break down the red peppers and coat with olive oil.  Then, broil, roast or grill until the skin is charred.  This should help it slide off easily.  Mix the peeled red peppers with a few cashews, tamari sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, nutritional yeast and a bit of salt.  Cover the mixture with water and puree in a high speed blender.

Prepare a portion of brown rice pasta to just-before-al-dente.

Add the blender mixture to a hot frying pan with a shot of olive oil.  Allow to bubble and reduce until slightly thickened.  Then, add a scoop of the starchy pasta water and the noodles.  Continue to simmer until the pasta is finished cooking.

It's a very rich and savoury-sweet dish.  I love it!

Matcha Doughnuts

Doughnuts are always a hit!  These are made from organic spelt - ground in the vitamix.

After grinding the flour, the first step is to make a dough: Water, flour, yeast, coconut oil, yeast and sugar.  I let it ferment in the fridge overnight to increase the flavour complexity.

Then, kneed and add enough flour to make a workable dough.  Sometimes, at this stage, I add a bit of baking flour to make the doughnuts really expand when fried.  Let it rest about 15 minutes to relax the gluten then roll to quarter-inch thickness.  Using cookie cutters, cut into doughnut shapes.  Allow the dough to raise for ~15 minutes to before deep frying at 350F.

When they're done frying, drain excess oil and cover in matcha-sugar while still hot (half-teaspoon of matcha powder in half-cup of sugar).

Focaccia: baking watery bread #notgross

Focaccia is a delightful bread.  It's a little unique that it contains ~60%-70% water.

As usual I just threw things together; so bad at measuring.  After you work for years with bread it becomes second nature.  So, now's the perfect time for you to start!  In no time, you'll be making bread from scratch.

Begin by mixing flour, salt, yeast and water to form a very soft dough.  I like to let the dough ferment overnight in the refrigerator to allow it to develop complex flavours.

Scoop the dough out on a floured surface.  Here's the trick, the dough should be folded over itself rather than traditionally kneaded.  This forms the gluten, gives the bread shape and it keeps the air bubbles intact.

After folding, place the dough on a baking tray (lined with a silicon baking mat, oiled parchment, or simply oil the baking tray).  Let it raise until doubled in size and then use your fingers to make indentions on the surface.  This keeps the bread from raising too high and it gives the topping a nice home.

Then drizzle with good olive oil and top with delightful Italian flavours.  I chose red onion, olives and tomatoes.  Bake at 400F until golden brown.  It's a delight!

Grilled veg - the easiest summer meal

One of the simplest and most delicious summer meals is also one of the easiest. I love taking fresh garner veg and giving it a go on the grill. Be sure to chose things that won't crumble on, or fight, the skewer. Things like carrots and slices of tomatoes don't work the best.

This time, I chose to try out a vegan barbecue sauce. But, it's also delicious with sea salt and olive oil.

One thing I forgot to do: if you're using bamboo skewers, be sure to soak them to prevent burning.

Traditional, first tomato sandwich of the year 2014

Each year I take the first ripe slicing tomato, bake bread from scratch and assemble a sandwich. Multigrain wheat and rye swirl:

Garden grown; vine ripe, pesticide free:

Mmmm... a delicious tradition.

Tofu - the experiment!

I saw an episode on the Reserve Channel about making Tofu: http://youtu.be/08hPqd9sWzw

So easy, I thought!  And really it is easy, but rather time consuming.  Here are the steps:

1. soak soybeans overnight
2. drain, rinse, add more water and blend - they need to be a smooth mush
3. add the slurry to boiling water and let it cook (I dunno, maybe 20 minutes)
4. keep an eye on it!  (soy) milk doesn't boil, it boils-over!
5. let it cool a bit and then strain through cheesecloth, keeping the milk
6. the leftover soy mush can be used in veggie burgers

Now, here's how the most simple tofu is made:

1. Pour the soy milk into a wide pan and set the heat to a low simmer
2. after a few minutes, a skin will form on the top - that's the TOFU!
3. carefully remove the skin, it's best to let it fold in half, making a semi-circle
4. keep removing the skin as it forms, keeping the finished sheets covered with a damp cloth

This is tofu in its purest form - no thickeners or coagulants, just the soy.  It's best to use them right away, but they keep a few days in the fridge.

Check back soon to see how these (eerily-skin-like) tofu sheets become part of a delicious appetizer.

Avocado filled Potatoes

A delicious fusion of carbs and avocado bliss, this dish is energising and filling. The starchy sweetness of the potatoes melds delightfully with the mellow avocado.

First, wash and scrub the potatoes. Boil the potatoes with a bit of salt. Continue boiling until soft, testing for doneness by inserting a knife. When the knife can go through easily, they're ready.  Remove the potatoes from the heat and allow to cool in the cooking water. When they've cooled completely, coat with olive oil, dill and a bit of salt.  Then, halve them and scoop out the insides, leaving at least a quarter inch on the sides.

Mix the scooped potato with a couple avocados, a squeeze of lemon, salt, tarragon and blend in the food processor until creamy.

While it's mixing, warm the hollowed potatoes.  A hot grill, a skillet, the broiler are all perfect methods.  I just used a gas torch... because it's manly.

Quickly place the creamy avocado-potato puree in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.  Fill the warmed, hollow potatoes with the savoury, sweet, tangy and smooth avocado mixture.  Garnish with tarragon, green onion, tomato and finishing salt (Maldon or fleur de sel).

Pomegranate-Blood Orange Granita

Take the edge off the summer heat with a granita!  Not quite a slush, not completely frozen, this dish is a frosty delight.

Start by juicing the pomegranate and oranges.  I like a ratio of 1 pomegranate to 2 oranges.  Add a bit of orange zest, water and sugar to brighten the flavours.

Place in the freezer and agitate every 15 minutes.  This prevents large ice crystals from forming.  It's ready when all the liquid is frozen.  When serving, garnish with thinly sliced segments of the blood orange.

Mango and Sweet Coconut Jasmine Rice

A variation on a favourite of mine, sticky rice with mango.

It a fairly simple dish, and one I used to eat often when I lived on an island.  It's sweet, savoury, creamy and satisfying.  To make this, I prepared jasmine rice and added: coconut milk, toasted coconut flakes, coconut sugar, salt and Thai basil.  I used only coconut milk, instead of water, to cook the rice and it was a bit too rich.  It would probably be better 50:50 water and rice.  Also, I used coconut sugar to give it a rich caramel flavour; again, a bit too rich.  Plain white sugar would be perfect.

While the rice is cooking, chunk the mango.

When the rice is finished cooking, allow it to cool slightly and serve with the mango chunks.  Garnish with Thai basil.  It's a delightful licoricey complement to the tropical flavours.

Confiture de Pinot Noir and Scuppernong Jelly

I found two delicious grape juices: pinot noir (unfermented) and scuppernong.  One's traditionally from France; the other from the Southern US.  They have very different flavours, but they both make outstanding preserves.

The first time I made jam, it was mediocre at best.  I was hesitant to try this, but Julia Child counsels cooks to proceed with a je-m'en-foutisme attitude.  It turns out making jam can be fairly easy!  Just follow the directions on the pack of pectin.

I like the low-sugar pectin recipe because it lets the natural flavour and sweetness take stage.  For my recipe it was, mix: pectin, sugar and juice.  Bring to a boil and stir until all sugar an pectin dissolves.  Then remove from heat and pour into jam jars.

* Important:  be sure to follow the directions on the pack of pectin.  This particular method is "refrigerator jam," meaning that it has a shorter product life and must remain refrigerated.  It looks and tastes the same, but it's not designed to sit on a shelf since the process may not have killed all the bacteria.  Cook safe and enjoy!

Remember!  Don't let the process intimidate you, proceed with the je-m'en-foutisme attitude!

What kind of vegan are you?

I get this question a lot, so I thought I'd answer it here. I'm the kind of vegan who always wears leather shoes... a perpetually lapsed vegan.  The general trend of my diet is entirely plant-based.  On occasion, a sliver of gruyère, a drizzle of honey or a slather of butter enters my victuals.  All the same, I think that, if animal products are used, they should be ethically sourced and used with restraint.

"Why do you call yourself a vegan?!?" people ask.  They inform me, "If you don't always eat vegan, then you're not vegan at all; you're vegetarian!!!"

That makes sense, but at the same time, it reminds me of a harsh mindset that seems to be pervasive in the vegan community.  I have high admiration for strict veganism, but not the hostile disposition.  I've gotten some hate from using organic, free-range, certified-cruelty-free, vegetarian-fed chicken eggs.

So how can we invite people to the plant-based diet? First, be passionate about veganism, but don't be scary-crazy about it.  We're probably not going to win over anyone to the vegan diet by fanatically grouching at everyone who enjoys a hamburger. Secondly, make good food.  No, make great food!  So much vegan food is "health food." It's not just bland and boring, it's offensively flavoured and sometimes, literally stinks. Don't try to force veggies into some sort of meat counterfeit.  Let the natural food, deliciously, stand on its own! Lastly, remember that everyone is at a different place.  Invite people to try your plant-based food and try not to roll your eyes when they ask, "Where's the meat?" Show carnivores how genuinely delicious vegan can be.  Be the happy, friendly vegan who inspires others to give the plant-based diet a try.

So that's it.  I'm generally a dietary vegan and I'm passionate about showing people that vegan food can be delicious.  I hope you're inspired to give it a try!  And, no complaining about my leather shoes  ;)

Laminated Potato Crisps

These are some of my favourite!  I saw Julia Child make something like this years ago and decided to give it a try.

Start by peeling and thinly slicing potatoes.  I mean really thinly sliced - so thin you can read through it.

Carefully layer one slice of of potato, an herb, a bit of oil and top with another slice of potato.  It helps to roll the herbs (basil, thyme, chives, or green onions) so they're flat and the chips don't warp in the oven.  Bake at 350F until they're golden brown.  Then remove from the oven and sprinkle with sea salt.  Transfer to paper towels to cool and drain any excess oil.

Bon appetit!