Vegan Pumpkin Spice Muffins

October 5, 2016

It's been a while since I posted! Things are extra busy, but I wanted to post this new discovery. Vegan Pumpkin Muffins. They taste like autumn. I used a recipe from Epicurious as a framework and veganised it with EarthBalance and Flax seed.

first, prep the raw ingredients. I love the boldness of autumn spices, so I went fairly heavy: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, allspice... and I put a (heavy) sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice mix for extra measure.

The recipe called for quite a bit of fat, but I cut back on the oil and added applesauce. I also used spelt and einkorn flour in addition to the unbleached white flour.

To shift the flavour even closer to autumn, I used brown sugar, maple syrup and a splash of orange juice. The juice is also a trick to help preground wholemeal flours taste fresher.

Start by prepping the flax "egg" by blending 1T flax seed with 3T water. It's ready when it becomes thick and egg-like in consistency. Mix together the dry and wet ingredients separately, before combining them together. This helps to reduce over mixing which can make the muffins tough.

I noticed (because I don't really measure even when I follow a recipe) that the batter was a bit thicker than I wanted, so I added some maple syrup for that warm flavour and sweetness.

Scoop portions into a lined or greased muffin tin. I wanted a bit of extra texture, so I sprinkled some flaked almonds atop each muffin before baking.

Bake at 350F until the fragrance of autumnal spice fills the kitchen and wafts throughout your dwelling. Allow to cool before serving, or you'll burn your mouth like I just did.

My favourite presentation is to split the muffin and sandwich in some vegan ice cream or CocoWhip.

Strawberries & Peaches with Einkorn Shortcake

May 12, 2016

Enjoying the fruits of spring with sweet strawberries and fragrant peaches, served on warm einkorn shortcake.

Einkorn is an ancient grain. It's a unique, tasty four. I whipped it into a buttery shortcake using a modified version of the biscuit ratio: 3:1:2 (flour:fat:liquid). I used all-purpose and fresh-ground einkorn (300g) and mixed it with a vegan buttery spread (80g). I used a "lite" version of the product which contained more water than fat, so it clumped when I cut them together. Then I added in the almond milk (200ml) and mixed thoroughly. Einkorn has less gluten than wheat, so it doesn't tend to get tough when it's mixed.

I piped the thick batter with a large star tip into a few small springform pans, and baked it for ~20min at 400˚F.

While it's baking, I hacked up some strawberries and fragrant peaches. Saving a few for garnish, I smashed up the rest with some agave syrup, vanilla and a whisper of ultra gel for thickness.

When the shortcakes were golden brown, I removed and let them cool for a minute before cutting them in half.

Spoon on the fruit and enjoy!

Chocolate Cake - Valentine's Day 2016

February 14, 2016

Woah! It's been a while! I missed blogging so much. I'm still insanely busy, but I'm going to post something at least once a month.

What better way to make an awesome Valentine's Day than to make chocolate cake!? I'm using a modified recipe from Joy of Cooking This is the Devils Food recipe.

I substitute butter for coconut oil and Earth Balance; blended flax seed for eggs; and soy milk for butter milk.

Mix the cocoa powder and the wet ingredients (except the milk and vanilla). Stir to ensure the cocoa has no lumps - then mix in the milk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and gently stir until incorporated. Don't over mix or it'll be tough. ... Well, I added more cocoa than the recipe called for and the mix was a little dry. So, I tried to blend in a little apple sauce to compensate. It worked.

Then spread the batter into a parchment lined baking pan (9"x13"). Bake at 175˚C (350˚F) for about 25 - 30 minutes; until a toothpick comes out clean.

While it's baking, prepare some shimmering ganache and crack open a pomegranate.

Ganache is easy: chocolate (or cocoa powder), fat (coconut oil and margarine), glucose (or light corn syrup) and vanilla.

Allow the cake to cool and cut into squares. Why little squares? Because it increases the surface area, which means more hot ganache!

Place the squares on a wire rack and pour over that liquid chocolate. Then top with pomegranate arils and flecks of edible gold. Bam, it looks like like a million bucks!

Serve this sexy dessert to your loved one. Or just eat a pile of this chocolate cake to drown your sorrows. I mean cocoa is technically a fruit and it's topped with pomegranate AND it's vegan. It's totally health food ;-)

Tofu Pad See Ew

September 13, 2015

This is one of my favourite dishes. It's so flavourful and it's carb heavy :) First, this isn't totally authentic. Fish sauce plays a major role in Thai cooking. I like to substitute tamari sauce - its vegan and gluten free.

Start with wide rice noodles. Soak them in warm water until they're rubberband-like. They should be flexible and have a bit of stretch. While they're soaking, fry up some extra-firm tofu. It's not essential to fry it, but it keeps the tofu from crumbling so much. Also, fried food is delicious.

Then mix up a seasoning blend. I use: tamari, tamarind, palm sugar, a whisper of red curry paste and some coconut milk to keep it all liquid in the pan. I experimented with black soy sauce in this dish. It's basically soy sauce with molasses. It's tasty, but contains gluten. If that's a deal breaker for you, skip the black soy sauce in favour of tamari and a smidgen of molasses.

Add the seasoning and coconut milk mix to a hot pan and drop in the noodles. Stir it, jostle it, shake the pan a bit. Be sure to keep the noodles moving to prevent them from clumping. Coconut milk is high in fat and it helps keep the noodles moving.

When the rice noodles are starting to get tender, add in some chopped vegetables. I use bok choi, green onions and carrots. Continue to cook until the vege is slightly cooked - it should still have some bite; not at all mushy.

Finally, add the tofu. Adding it last will keep it from getting smashed and crumbly. Give it a final stir and plate it up with some fresh Thai basil.

Peaches Shortcake

August 20, 2015

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.

Dolmades

June 12, 2015

With grapes on the vine and leaves to spare, it's time to make dolmades! There are several types with different filling. I like a nice savoury eggplant and rice filling to make the perfect doma. Start by roasting an eggplant (aubergine). I like to score it, salt it and drizzle on olive oil. While it's roasting, plunge the grape leaves in boiling water. Continue to cook them until they're tender. Also, prepare a bit of rice to add to the filling. I like to use brown jasmine rice. It imparts a nice texture and a subtle, delightful flavour.

When the eggplant is mushy and browned, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool. When it's cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and combine it with a bit of rice. I use nearly equal portions of each. Then, mix in a bit of turmeric, onion powder, lemon juice and salt.

Place a spoon of the filling mixture onto a grape leaf and roll it up - kinda like a little burrito. Garnish with dill and drizzle with olive oil.

Smoky Hummus

June 6, 2015

Smooth, smoky and tasty; this hummus tastes like summer. I hesitate to liken this hummus to "barbecue" flavour since it can mean so many different things. But, it's kind of like barbecue potato chips (my weakness).

Start with the spice blend and the basic hummus ingredients: garlic powder, smoky paprika, onion powder, salt, olive oil and lemon juice. I use tinned chickpeas, but I always make sure to wash them. This rinses away the thickeners and some of the gas producing compounds.

Add all the spices, the oil and lemon juice to a food processor, or high powered blender. (I used a Vitamix). Then add a bit of water ~250ml, and half the chickpeas. It's important to add only half if you're using a blender. It allows the ingredients to liquify, which makes it easier for the rest of the chickpeas to integrate in the blender.

Puree until the ingredients are liquified, then add the last half of the chickpeas. Blend until smooth, adjusting the seasoning and liquid (oil and water) to suit your tastes.

Enjoy this smooth, smoky spread with pita bread, or in a veggie wrap.

Strawberry Carpaccio

April 15, 2015

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 Cream of Mushroom Soup

March 4, 2015

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.

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.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

January 21, 2015

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.

Almond-Ginger Spelt Scones [vegan]

January 8, 2015

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

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.

Poached Pear Frangipane

December 24, 2014

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.

Glazed Chocolate Cake [Vegan]

December 14, 2014

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.

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.

Vegan - Gluten free Apple Crumble

November 27, 2014

This is one of my go-to dishes for my vegan and gluten free friends. It's got that classic nut-oat crust and an easy fruit filling.

First, add to the food processor the quick oats, nuts and a bit of salt. Chop until a fine crumbly texture and then add enough water to make a thick paste. Press the dough into a pan - it may be easiest to roll it between parchment first. Trim the dough around the edges to provide a uniform appearance. Bake the crust for about 15 minutes at 400˚F. Remove from the oven and place sliced apples on the dough-lined pan. Sprinkle over top a mix of oats, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Bake for about 30-45 minutes. The dough is quite different from regular flour dough, so keep an eye on it.

If I had to do it again, I'd use more apples. All the same, it's a nice sweet dessert.

Apple Cinnamon Ice Cream [vegan]

November 14, 2014

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.

Frosted Cinnamon Square Biscuits

October 30, 2014

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.

Apple Cobbler

October 19, 2014

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.

Matcha Doughnuts

August 8, 2014

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

July 30, 2014

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

July 10, 2014

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!

jLAmode