Apple Galette

This is the easy version of pie; galette!  It also has a higher crust to filling ratio.  So, if you love pastry and hate the work required for pie, this is the dessert for you! Start with the pastry ingredients: flour, fat and ice water (and a pinch of salt).  I use the 3:2:1 ratio 300g flour; 200g EarthBalance and/or coconut oil; 100ml ice water.

Combine the four, salt and fat in a food processor and pulse until combined in a bread crumb consistency.  Then add in the water and pulse just until combined.  Scoop out the dough and press it together in a flattened-ball. Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes. *Coconut oil sets up completely ridged when refrigerated, so getting the temperature just right can be tricky.  Using More EarthBalance can make the dough more workable while it's cold.

While the dough is resting in the 'fridge, peel and thinly slice two or three medium apples.  I used two apples because I really love the tasty pastry - I wanted it to be almost equal in portion to the apples.

Mix the really tasty parts: the sugar and spices.  I like brown sugar and cinnamon to be the primary flavours, but a dash of salt, a bit of nutmeg and vanilla bean created a sublime rounded flavour.  I also used a bit of granulated sugar and cornstarch to help gel any runniness the apple juice might create.  All of this, of course is based on your palate:  I use about 1/2 cup of brown sugar; 1/4 cup granulated sugar; 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon; a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of salt.  One teaspoon of cornstarch/cornflour and a splash of vanilla work well, too.  I prefer vanilla bean, but, ya know, whatever you got works.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface and - this may be "controversial" - trim the edge.  Most galettes are rustic - that's their essence.  All the same, I like a tidy edge.  I also like to sprinkle a bit of oatmeal on the pastry before adding the apples to make double sure that the juice from the baking apples gets absorbed, rather than making a soupy mess.

Evenly pile the apples across the dough, leaving an inch or two for folding space.  Then carefully work around the circle of dough, folding a few inches inward until the edge is fully formed.  How much dough is used for the fold-over is a personal choice.  Again, I like that chunky pastry so I fold-over a lot!

I keep seeing all my heroes on the Instantgramz using stamped and cut dough.  So, in my attempt to be like the cool kids, I got these autumnal dough stamping/cutter combos.

Bake at 350˚F until the apples are soft and the pastry is browned - about 30-45 minutes.  Allow to cool and dig in! I like to serve mine with nondairy ice cream.  To add a whisper of extra sweetness, drizzle with a good maple syrup.

Peaches Shortcake

An adaptation of strawberry shortcake, this dessert captures the fragrant nature of ripe peaches.  Using the biscuit recipe outline found in Ratio, I made the dough from spelt and white flour, coconut oil and almond milk.  I enhance it with little sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. I like to prepare the dough in a food processor.  It's quick, but can overwork the dough.  Just be sure to agitate the dough as little as possible.  I take the easy route and cut the dough into squares.  Bake on parchment paper at 400˚F until golden brown.

While the pastry bakes, prep the peaches by chopping about 4 medium-large peaches.  Simply sprinkle them with castor sugar and mix until all the pieces are coated.  If the peaches won't be served right away, also mix in a splash of lemon juice.

While the shortbread is still warm, cut in half and pile in peaches.  Add the other half of shortbread and top with slices of peaches.  Garnish with a sprig of mint.  Some vegan ice cream or whip can kick it up a notch, too.

Savoury Scones

I have heaps of courgette frim the garden.  I'm thinking of every way to work it into my cooking.  These savoury scones pack in garden-fresh zucchini. Normally, I don't like fake food.  But, Daiya has a fairly good imitation cheese.  Adding a bit to this dish adds a nice flavour.

Using the ratio recipe found in the Ratio Cookbook, I use 300g spelt-wheat flour blend, 100g coconut oil and 200g almond milk.  And, baking powder. To make it savoury, smoky and flavourful, I use: smoky paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and an extra bit of salt.

In a food processor, add the flour, baking powder and solid coconut oil.  Blend until crumbly.  Then, add in the almond milk, spices, salt, "cheese," and grated zucchini.  I also added chopped onion and tarragon.

Blitz a few seconds - just until the ingredients are mixed.  Any more mixing and it'll make a tough a tough scone (and it would completely smash up the zucchini).

Gather the dough and press into a parchment lined baking round.  Bake at 180˚C (350˚F) until the tops are golden brown.

Serve warm, garnished with a bit of "cheese" and chives.

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!

Traditional Baguette

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

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.

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!

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.

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). 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.

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.

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!

Vegan Karelian Pastry

I've found a great new Youtube channel!   http://www.youtube.com/frenchguycookingIf you want to expand your taste in French food and international cuisine, this is a great channel!

Recently, French Guy made a video about Karelian, a Finnish rye pastry:  http://youtu.be/MzOtBft2vRY  Watch the video and Subscribe!

First, make a rice pudding: half cup of rice and a litre of almond milk; a bit of sugar and salt. I also added vanilla and almond extract for a bit of extra flavour.

While the rice is cooking, prepare the dough. Two cups of rye flour, one cup of all-purpose flour, a bit of salt and a cup of water. So simple! Work the ingredients into a dough, roll flat (half centimeter thickness). Cut out circles, and roll out extra thin.

Then, place a bit of rice pudding in the middle of the pastry.  Fold in two of the sides and begin pinching the sides.  It should cause the pastry to form an oval shape.

Place the pastry on parchment and bake at 500F until golden brown (~10 minutes). When it's done, remove from the oven and brush with vegan-butter spread.

French Guy added a twist by adding fruit and seeds. I liked it! I thought, "what else can I do?" So I made a savoury karelian pastry: sauteed oninon and chopped pecan. Such flavour!

Give it a try! It's sure to delight. Remember to subscribe to French Guy Cooking!

Wheat Bread [Fresh Ground Flour]

I got a dry ingredient container for my Vitamix and decided to give it a try.

I used red organic wheat and ground it to flour.  It's important to sift four that's just been ground since the occasional unground kernel may be hiding amongst the powder.

Plain bread - composed of sugar (molasses), salt, fat (olive oil), water, yeast and this fresh-ground flour - comes together fairly easily.  If you measure your ingredients, fresh flour should be added by weight, rather than volumetrically.

Shape the loaf; score it in whatever fashion makes you happy, and let raise.  Bake at 350F until it's golden brown.

I know I'm horrible about posting recipes.  But, bread is one of those amazing baking things that is resilient.  Jump in and give it a try!

Here's a basic recipe:

• 1 Cup Water
• 2½ Cups Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 2 Teaspoons Yeast
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Keep in mind that this a very basic recipe and needs adjustments depending on the nature of the ingredients.