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Vegan

Quinoa Salad

Quinoa Salad

With the fresh things starting to grow in the garden, this quick and easy dish is perfect. Quinoa is a pseudo-cereal.  It kind of acts like gain in cooking, but is actually a gluten free seed.  It's really versatile, too.

I like to use a tri-colour blend: red, white and black quinoa.  First, it's important to wash the seeds to prevent any bitterness.  Cook according to the instructions.  I like to use a rice cooker to make things easy.

While it's cooking, prep the vegetables and herbs.  I like to use:  sliced black & kalamata olives, parsley, basil, garlic greens, diced tomatoes and chiffonade spinach.

When the quinoa is done, allow it to cool slightly before adding the vegetables.  Season with salt and dress the salad with a vegan Italian dressing.  Typically, I like to make my own dressing with balsamic and olive oil, but Italian dressing is a quick and easy cheat!

Lemony Kale

Lemony Kale

Kale from the garden and meyer lemon from my trees!  Lemony kale salad is a quick easy and healthy side dish. First, wash, dry and tear the kale into bite sized pieces.  Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season with a pinch of salt.  Then, squeeze in a bit of fresh lemon juice and mix gently.

Last, I like to add a bit of tarragon for an extra flavour dimension.

Strawberry Carpaccio

Strawberry Carpaccio

With the warmer weather and the arrival of fresh local fruit, carpaccioed strawberries are the perfect, light treat. Yes, I know a carpaccio is really made from meat and this is some hippy-vegan arrangement.  I'm ok with that :-)

First, thinly slice a few strawberries.  I used about five berries - the largest slices, not the edge slices.  Consistent size it fairly important.  Then, arrange, in a radiating pattern, the strawberry slices.

To create a bright flavour, I added mint and sweet basil.  Remove the leaves from the stem and add a bit of agave syrup.  Then, muddle the leaves and syrup to release the fragrant oils.

Drizzle the syrup on the berries and arrange the bruised leaves.  Garnish with sprigs of whole basil and mint.  Enjoy!

Vegan Youghurt [Recipe]

Vegan Youghurt [Recipe]

Finally I post a recipe!  Vegan soy youghurt! There are just four ingredients:

  1.  25G Ultra Gel
  2.  1/4 Teaspoon Xanthan Gum
  3.  1 Litre Silk Original
  4.  Vegan Cultures

First, measure and combine the cornstarch, xanthan gum and vegan cultures. If you're using an automatic youghurt maker, you can just mix everything in the container.  Otherwise, a large measuring mixing bowl works well.

Pour half the litre of Silk into the mixing container and mix in the dry ingredients.  Using an immersion blender, mix until completely smooth.  Then add the remaining half-litre of Silk and mix until incorporated.

If you're using the Cuisinart automatic youghurt maker, I find that 7 hours works best (starting with cold milk).  If you're using a traditional youghurt maker, start with 6 hours and check the progress until it's ready.

When it's done, it'll be nearly chunky.  Once more, run the immersion blender through the mix until it's completely smooth.

I like to serve it with granola, youghurt, fresh or frozen fruit and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Guacamole Remixed

Guacamole Remixed

How can you go wrong with avocado?!  This dish uses of the avocado shell to make a perfect bowl for the guac. You'll need the regular ingredients for guacamole:  avocados, onion, lemon/lime, tomatoes and seasonings.  I chose to flavour this one with garlic, onion powder and cumin.

Carefully halve avocados, taking care to keep the peel in good condition.  Dice and scoop out the flesh, adding it to a medium mixing bowl.

Add the minced tomatoes, seasonings and a squeeze of lemon.  Mix well, but don't completely smash up all the chunks.  They provide a varied mouth-feel throughout, making for a unique treat.

Arrange the chunky guacamole in the empty avocado shells and garnish with slices of tomato, green onion and lemon.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

So often vegan cookies taste "healthy."  That is, they're unfit for human consumption. Since it's my mission to make delicious vegan food, here's my composition of plant based chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

The beauty of this method is that the substitutions work for most cookie recipes.

  • The most important substitution is egg, replaced by blended flax seed and water.  I use the ratio found at King Arthur Flour and blend using this immersion blender.
  • Butter is swapped out easily for refined coconut oil.

You know my craziness in the kitchen.  Not much for a recipe; I mixed things together until they looked right.  In any case, it's important to add the flour after all the sugar and liquid ingredients have been thoroughly incorporated.  Otherwise, with a lot of mixing, the gluten in the wheat begins to form, making a tough cookie.  The very last step is to stir on the oats and chocolate chips.  I used a nice vegan Belgian dark chocolate.

It's easiest to portion the cookie dough using a scoop.  Onto a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper), flatten the lumps of dough and top with a square of chocolate.  Add another dimension of flavour by garnishing the chocolate squares with a couple crystals of Maldon Salt.

Bake at 350˚F until the edges are just browned.  This yields a crispy border and a chewy center.  Allow the cookies to cool and enjoy!

Sesame Soba with Bok Choy

This is a quick and easy dish.  It's fresh, it's filling and it's great comfort food. IMG_4166 Begin by preparing soba - a buckwheat flat noodle - by following the directions on the packaging.

While that's cooking, prepare the bok choy and mushrooms by slicing them and sauteing over high heat with a bit of sesame oil.

Add together the cooked noodles, bok choy, sesame, a whisper of grated ginger tamari sauce and mushrooms.

Plate the noodles with fresh sliced tomatoes.  The whole dish is ready in about 10 minutes.  It's a delight.

Creamy Watercress Soup

This is a quick and easy dish with a St. Patrick's Day hue. Creamy watercress soup! IMG_3711

First, hack up the white bit of 2-3 leeks and one large potato.  It's also fine to use the green part of the leek, but it will result in a slightly darker colour.  Sautee them with a bit of olive oil until the potatoes are tender.  You don't want them to begin to brown since that will result in a darker soup.

Then, add to a blander jar: a couple hand-fulls (about a cup of leaves) of watercress, the cooked leek and potato and a hand-full of macadamia nuts.  I just used regular roasted macadamias.

Blend on medium speed and add water until the mixture is thin enough to puree.  Next, ultra puree the mixture!  It needs to be completely smooth (I used a Vitamix, for the perfect consistency).  When it's very smooth, taste and season it with salt, and if you like, a little squeeze of lemon.

Garnish with a few watercress leaves and a drizzle of macadamia nut oil.

Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup

I love mushroom soup, but not the sloppy congealed type that's extruded from a can.  I like a rich, flavourful and meaty soup with chunks of mushroom. IMG_2108

First, make a broth.  The broth is the canvas on which the soup is painted.  I made a very simple base using: celery, carrots and a seasoning blend [bay, paprika, garlic powder, dehydrated onion and nutritional yeast.

Don't salt the broth because that reduces flexibility of the finished product.  It's best to salt the soup at the end.  Otherwise, it can reduce and become too salty.

In a separate pan, boil a medium chopped potato.  While that's cooking away, rehydrate a selection of your favourite mushrooms.  Now, I always like to use fresh, but finding these unique funghi can be a challenge.  So, I've chosen dehydrated: black trumpet, oyster and porcini.

Simply pour boiling water over them and allow them to reconstitute ~20 minutes, or until tender.  At this stage, the broth should also be ready.

Remove the mushrooms from the water and set aside.  Add the water from the mushrooms to a high speed blender.  *Often there's grit that sinks to the bottom when rehydrating mushrooms.  Be cautions to prevent adding the grit to the mix.*  Then, add into the blender the broth, cooked (drained) potato and most of the mushrooms.  I like to select a few mushrooms for garnish and set them aside.  This provides both texture and aesthetic enhancement.

Pulverize the mix in the blender until velvety and creamy.  Season with salt, to taste, and blend until thoroughly mixed!  Garnish with the reserved mushrooms and serve piping hot.

Made from scratch Hot Cocoa!

Mmmm!  The perfect thing for these cold winter days!  Vegan, made from scratch, hot cocoa! IMG_3260

First, I like to work with fair trade organic cacao nibs.  Spread them in a thin layer and toast lightly at 350˚F until they start to darken and sizzle.  Then, after they've cooled just slightly, add them to the Vitamix.  You may be able to do this with another blender, but the ultra slow speed option of the Vitamix makes the process very easy.

Blend on low until a thick paste forms.  Then add a bit of non-dairy milk - just enough to loosen the cacao so it can be easily blended.  I like almond milk best for this beverage.  Increase the blender speed to the highest setting.  In a high powered blender, the friction of the blade will cause the mixture to heat up.  Continue blending until the mixture reaches ~150˚F, adding milk as needed to keep the entire mixture available to the blades.

When heated, and smooth, add a bit of vanilla bean and cayenne pepper (if you like things wild).  Unless you're using a sweetened milk, it may need sweetening at this point, too.  Blend a while longer to ensure that all the ingredients are completely mixed through.

To ensure consistency, be sure to strain the mix through a very fine sieve.  Pour up the mixture and garnish with flake salt.  I like Maldon or a fleur de sel.

Traditional Baguette

Generally I prefer a really dynamic whole grain bread, but if I eat "plain" white bread, baguette is my favourite! IMG_4335

The following video is actually how I learned. It is in French, but there are subtitles, and most importantly, he demonstrates the baguette making technique:

A few tips, in addition to the video:

  1. Plan on the process taking at least 5 hours.
  2. Place a baking tray in the oven while it's preheating.  When placing the dough in the oven, carefully pour at least 300ml (1 cup) of water in the tray to create steam.

Since the video covers all the ingredients and methods, I'll say a bit about the brilliance of the baguette. I'd say, that I'm most amused over the fact that this simple food is only composed of four ingredients: flour, water, salt and yeast.

I'd also say that this is the essence of cuisine. Ask any culinary artist and they'd say: Many people can make a dish with dozens of ingredients and hide mistakes in the busyness of the flavour. But, these simple foods require technique and finesse. There is no hiding behind a facade of complication.

 

Matcha Rice with Mango

Someone showed me a few recipes that utilized tea in unique ways - in savoury dishes as well as sweet.  I was inspired to make this quick and easy sweet dessert. IMG_2841 Pairing matcha and jasmine rice allows the fragrance of both components build on each other.

Simply prepare a couple cups of jasmine rice, adding about a teaspoon of matcha powder, a half-teaspoon of vanilla extract, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of sugar.

When the rice is done, allow it to cool slightly - it should be pleasantly warm, but not hot.  Top with sliced mango and garnish with lime.  This very fragrant dish is the perfect light conclusion to any heavy meal.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Lemon poppy seed bread is the perfect thing to have with coffee or tea!  Its sweet-tart flavour makes it a wonderful accompaniment. I taste tested this recipe with non-vegans - they loved it!

IMG_2707

This recipe was inspired by the Joy of Cooking cookbook.  First mix together flax meal and water and blend until thick.  This is a perfect substitute for eggs.  I also added a bit of homemade soy youghurt.  In the stead of butter, I used grape seed oil, but you could certainly use margarine or Earth Balance.

Mix all the wet ingredients, a bit of lemon juice, sugar and lemon zest.  Mix the dry ingredients together and add them to the wet ingredients.

I only added a bit of poppy seed to the batter, reserving most of them to coat the pan.  It gives a delightful crust and helps the bread release easily from the pan.  Simply coat the pan with cooking spray and sprinkle in the seeds.

Pour the batter in the pan and bake at 350˚F until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  While still hot, glaze the cake with a thick mixture of lemon juice and icing sugar.

Roast Cauliflower Onion Soup

Keep warm on these chilly days with this roast cauliflower and onion soup.  I made onion rings as a crispy accent to the soup.  It's all vegan and gluten free! IMG_9327

First, cut apart a head of cauliflower and drizzle with olive oil.  Season with a bit of sea salt and place in a 400˚F oven until slightly browned and tender.

While the cauliflower is roasting, peel, chop and boil a potato.  When the potato is tender, drain the water and add to a blender.  Then, chop a large onion and saute in a bit of olive oil.  To prevent bitterness, don't let the onions brown.  Remove them from the heat when they're just translucent.

Add the cauliflower and onions to the blender and blitz on low.  Slowly add water until the ingredients are suspended and able to blend.  Then, ultra-puree the mixture until smooth.  Season with salt and serve hot, garnished with black sesame seeds and parsley.

I wanted something crunchy to go with the soup.  I used rings of sweet onions and battered them with blended flax meal and xanthan gum.  Then, I covered them with a breading of cornmeal and cornflour (starch), seasoned with a bit of onion powder and sea salt.

Almond-Ginger Spelt Scones [vegan]

A tasty sweet scone that's vegan - and delicious!!! IMG_2224

I used the 3:1:2 ratio (spelt and almond flour:refined coconut oil:almond milk).

First add the spelt flour, salt, baking powder, a bit of coconut sugar and coconut oil in a food processor.  Blitz until the mix looks like bread crumbs.  Then add in the almond milk and a splash of vanilla.  Pulse in the food processor just until mixed - don't over mix.  Add in candied ginger and whole roasted almonds - incorporate them gently as you press the dough into a parchment lined baking tin.  Score with a knife or baking chopper/scraper (like this one OXO Scraper).

Bake at 400F for ~25 minutes or until golden brown.

While it's baking, I made a simple syrup and added finely julienned orange zest.  This made a wonderful syrup that I mixed with icing sugar for the drizzle as well as sweetened the zest.

While the scones are still warm, drizzle the tops with a mix of icing sugar and the orange simple syrup.

Tofu Waffles with Sesame Green Beans

Starting the new year with a vegan and gluten free treat:  tofu waffles and sesame green beans. IMG_1914

First, set a large kettle to boil, adding a significant amount of salt.  This helps the beans cook properly.  Boil until they're al dente - they should have lost their coarseness, but not be mushy at all.  Then, plunge into ice water.

Half a block of extra-firm tofu and drizzle with olive oil.  Place in a hot waffle iron and slowly close the lid.  Watch out for steam!  Since tofu is very hydrated, there will be significantly more steam than when making regular waffles.

Also, don't add any flavourings - like garlic - which will likely burn before the tofu is done.  Shelf stable tofu, even if it's extra-firm, won't work for this recipe.

Drain the green beans and place in a hot skillet with sesame seed oil; stirring until the beans are comfortably warm.

Arrange the warmed beans atop the waffle and drizzle with a mix of ginger, tamari sauce and sesame oil.  Garnish with sesame seeds.

Poached Pear Frangipane

Happy Christmas! This is something I just recently discovered: frangipane. And, I'm addicted! It's a simple mixture of almonds, sugar, egg and butter, but I veganized it (with delicious result). IMG_1942 It follow the typical frangipane mix of almond meal, white sugar and a bit of vanilla. I substituted flax seed and xanthan gum instead of egg and refined coconut oil for butter.

This is my favourite vegan hack: ~2T flax seed to 3T water (or almond milk) blend until creamy with an immersion blender. It makes a decent egg replacer. I've made vegan chocolate chip cookies with this trick and nobody could tell the difference.

Place the ingredients in the food processor and blitz until creamy.

The next part to this dish adds a festive nature to it: pears poached in pomegranate juice. First, peel and core the pears and place in a shallow skillet with a portion of pomegranate juice. Over low heat, allow the juice to begin simmering, and spoon over the pears.

When they're a nice colour, remove from the pan and allow to cool. Then, slide lengthwise and place in a prepared tart shell. I already had one in the fridge.

If I had to do it again, I'd have made the frangipane thicker, and I'd have put the pears on top of the filling. It was delicious all the same.

 

Bake at 350F until the filing is set, ~45min. I like to dust it with icing sugar and serve it with pomegranate kernels and a sprig of mint.

IMG_1957

Roasted Stacked Potatoes

I saw something similar and decided to try this.  They turned out alright, but it was a lot of work. IMG_0577

First, I used a cutter to create small cylinders of potato and then I ran them through the food processor to slice them thinly.

Then, I coated the slices with olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.  Stacking them in a cupcake tin, I baked them at 350˚F until they were tender.

Allow the potatoes to cool slightly and pile a few into a stack; garnishing with tomatoes, basil and thyme.

Glazed Chocolate Cake [Vegan]

I love cake!  I've never really tried to make a vegan cake - I always thought it'd be kinda gross.  But, since I'm determined to make delicious vegan food, I decided to give it a try.  I used a recipe from the book:  The Joy of Cooking Cocoa Devil's Food Cake. IMG_1484

I made the following alterations: Coconut oil instead of butter, flax seed instead of eggs, soy youghurt instead of dairy; half the sugar and extra cocoa powder.  I also added a bit of baking powder to make sure it raised well.

While it's baking, I made the glaze.  It's composed of dark chocolate, Earth Balance, corn syrup and Silk creamer.

Pour the glaze over the cake and garnish with mint and pomegranate.

IMG_1478

Goulash braised Cabbage

This is a perfect warm and filling dish for the winter months.  It's like a goulash, but without the meat.  Of course, it's possible to add fake meat, but I like to let the natural flavours of the ingredients stand on their own. IMG_9989

I use a seasoning mix of caraway seeds, garlic and paprika.  To add extra umami dimensions, I use just a bit of tamari sauce.

Begin by sauteing the caraway seeds in olive oil.  Toast them lightly and keep a watchful eye since they can burn easily.  To the hot oil and caraway, add chopped onions, celery, carrots and peppers.  Allow them to soften, but not brown - browning can add bitterness.

Then, add shredded or chopped red and white cabbage.  I also like to add a can of stewed tomatoes since fresh ones are hard to come by in the winter.  Fill the pan with enough water so that the mixture is submerged.  Add a bit of salt to suit your taste, keeping in mind that the stew will reduce while cooking.  You can always add more salt to finish the dish, but you can't take any out.

Bring the stew to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer.  Continue cooking until the cabbage is tender.

I like to serve it over rice!