July 11, 2017July 11, 2017 by betsy

Vegan Savory Summer Tart
with “No Fail” Spicy Peanut Press-In Crust

Note vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores: if you have a peanut allergy, substitute the nut of your choice OR an additional half-cup of flour. And if spicy isn’t your jam, feel free to use plain nuts or more mildly seasoned ones. Have fun exploring and matching different nuts with different vegetables in the filling.Wraps are all the “wrage” and have been for at least a couple of years. Me? Not a wrap girl. Not much of a sandwich gal either, and I prefer my (vegan) burgers as a lettuce wrap. I’m not carbphobic, but I am just not much of a bread eater…that is, unless someone places some top shelf foccacia and olive oil in front of me. Generally I prefer to consume my calories in other forms.

So a savory tart perhaps? Now we’re talking. Yes, it requires a fork, but that’s a small sacrifice to make from my perspective. And my “no fail” press-in tart crust may make a convert out of you. Especially with its 2-layer filling–vegetables on the bottom, creamy custard over the top–that goes together in a snap. Using half water and half oil in the crust does not adversely affect the finished product and dramatically reduces calories.

For the filling, use whatever vegetables you prefer, but be sure to include some kind of onion, green onion, or shallot, if not the leek that I favor (probably a nostalgic nod to my late mother’s leek quiche).

Vegan “No Fail” Press-In Spicy Peanut Pie Crust:

1 cup flour (white, whole wheat, or white whole wheat)

1/2 cup spicy peanuts (I purchase at Whole Foods, but substitute another nut, another flavored nut, or an additional half-cup flour)

2 tablespoons unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soymilk)

4 to 6 tablespoons water

4 to 6 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processor, pulse flour and nuts together to make a course meal. Add non-dairy milk, and pulse a few times. Then, add 4 tablespoons each water and olive oil and pulse to form a moist dough that clumps nicely, but is nowhere near a batter. If needed, add up to two more tablespoons of both water and oil. Turn out intoan 8-inch tart pan with removable bottom and press evenly onto sides and bottom. Place tart pan on a baking sheet to avoid drips and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Remove crust from oven and leave oven on.

Filling:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small leek, washed and thinly sliced (white bulb and about half of the green part, removing and discarding coarser ends

2 cups spiralized or sliced/diced vegetable(s) of choice (I like zucchini or yellow squash especially well, but experiement)

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

14 ounces firm or extra firm tofu, drained

1/2 cup unsweetened nondairy milk

Zest of 1/2 a large lemon

1 tablespoon vegetable base or 1 vegan/vegetable bouillon cube

1/2 teaspoon grainy mustard

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Garnish: baby or micro greens, halved tri-color cherry tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil, maple syrup, or balsamic reduction, flaky finishing salt like Maldon or just more sea salt

In a large skillet over medium to medium high, heat olive oil. Add leeks and saute for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently. Add spiralized vegetables and a pinch of salt and pepper, and continue sauteeing for a couple of minutes or until tender. Transfer into bottom of crust and distribute evenly.

Place all remaining ingredients except garnish in the bowl of food processor and process until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. With a rubber spatula, distribute mixture over the vegetables in the crust and gently smooth the top. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until set. Remove from oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes. Carefully remove sides of pan and serve slices warm or room temperature garnished with a few baby or microgreens and tomatoes; a scant drizzle of oilive oil, maple syrup, or white balsamic reduction; and a sprinkling of flaky salt.

July 4, 2017 by betsy

Vegan Coconut Cream-Mandarin Orange Cheesecake Extraordinaire with Spicy Peanut-Gingersnap Crust
+ a Plain Cheesecake Option

Are you ready? Ready for the best cheesecake that will ever pass your lips (if I do say so)? If so, then keep reading. And if you could care less about the back story and want to get straight to the heart of the matter, by all means, scroll down to the recipe below.

True confession: my first attempt at veganizing my dear friend and inspired culinarian, Yvette Hetrick’s, cheesecake was an eipic fail. According to prevailing wisdom, one should never make a dish for the first time for company. But I did. And while it was beautiful and edible and our friends were very gracious, it was in no way up to my high standards.

There were so many issues. For starters, the chili-infused gingersnap crust was delicious but overcooked. In addition the top cracked, though not resulting in terrible craters; the mandarin orange compote/jam swirled into the batter never set (I’m not sure how it would even in a dairy version) and the cheescecake around it was underdone; and Y’s beautiful concentric circles of mandarin orange sections deocrating the top made it difficult to cut. However, the worst infraction was it’s dark color and strangely “off” taste.

Disappointed but driven, I did what I always do: I researched, I ruminated, I re-imagined, and I cherry-picked the best aspects of a number of cheesecakes, both vegan and not, and tried it again, this time with stellar, can’t-top-this results. And I served it again to the same friends who raved.

To solve the overcooked crust issue, I made it exactly the same, only I froze it rather than baked it before filling. To prevent the top from cracking, I baked the cheesecake at a lower temperature–325 instead of 350 degrees–and, as before, I let it cool completely in the oven with the door partially open. And to make sure it cooked through, instead of swirling a purchased–and bitter–orange jam into the batter, I made my own compote and used it to top the cheesecake which solved the underdone issue as well as the difficult-to-slice issue of decoration.

Regarding the dark color and “off” taste, I decided that, though I love coconut sugar and demerera sugar as much as the next gal–in fact, it’s all I bake with–a beautiful white, delicate, clean-tasting cheesecake calls for white granulated sugar. Sorry. But that’s just the long and short of it. The rich color and deep flavor of other less processed “brown” sugars simply results in a vastly inferior product.

So, now, with no fruther ado, I present to you my little slice of paradaise.
Note: to make the best plain cheesecake you’ve ever eaten, simply prepare a traditional graham cracker crust, substitute plain soy or almond milk for coconut milk, and omit orange liqueur, orange zest and optional coconut extract. Never fear, this cheesecake is delicious with no topping at all, but feel free to top with any flavor compote or other concoction you choose.

Crust:

4 cups whole gingersnap cookies (the crispy/crunchy kind)

1 cup spicy peanuts (or your favorite spicy nut)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup vegan butter, melted

Pulse cookies in a food processor until coarse crumbs are formed. Add nuts and sugar and continue pulsing until finer crumbs are formed. Drizzle in butter and pulse just until moist clumbs are formed. Distriubte mixture into the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch springform pan and press evenly onto the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of the pan. Freeze while you prepare filling.

Filling:

14 ounces firm tofu, drained

16 ounces vegan cream cheese (I use Tofutti brand)

1 cup granulated organic white sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup thick coconut milk (I use So Delicious Culinary Coconut Cream purchased at Whole Foods)

Juice of 1/2 large lemon

Zest of 1/2 large orange

1/4 cup orange liqueur (e.g. Grand Marnier or Triple Sec)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

Optional: 1 teaspoon coconut extract (for a more pronounced coconut flavor)

Topping–Mandarin Orange Compote:

2-10.5 ounce cans mandarin oranges

1/4 cup orange liqueur

Zest of 1/2 of large orange

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Garnish:

Shaved coconut, fresh mint sprigs, and optional whipped coconut cream or Coco-Whip

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Rinse and wipe out bowl of food processor. Process tofu and cream cheese until smooth. Add all remaining filling ingredients and continue processing until creamy and silky smooth. Pour into frozen crust and gently smooth top. Place cheesecake on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour and 20 to 30 minutes or until set, very lightly browned around edges, and slightly jiggly only in the very center. Turn off oven, open oven door halfway, and allow to cool completely in the oven which will take several hours. Cover and chill for a couple of hours.

Meanwhile make Mandarin Orange Compote. Drain 1 can of oranges, reserving juice in a small bowl, and place the orange sections in a medium saucepan with remaining can of oranges in juice. Add orange liqueur and orange zest and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Whisk cornstarch into reserved orange juice and slowly pour into simmering mixture, stirring continually. Simmer a couple more minutes, remove from heat, transfer to a heat-proof bowl, and refrigerate until very cold.

Run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake, remove it from the pan and place it on serving platter. Spread half of compote evenly over the top of the cheesecake, mound shaved coconut in the center, and add a sprig of mint or two. Serve in slices with an additional mint sprig if you choose, and pass remaining compote. If you really want to gild the lily, also pass a bowl of whipped coconut cream or a prepared product like Coco-Whip.

July 3, 2017July 4, 2017 by betsy

Vegan Cajun Red Bean, Spiralized Squash, & Spicy Peanut Slaw
A July 4 Explosion of Flavor

Lately, I will spiralize most anything that isn’t quicker than me.

Actually, that’s not true. A friend did give me a Spiralizer that I have yet to break out of the box. But, so far, I have purchased a variety of colorful vegetables already cut into those long, luscious threads.

I’m not a “raw vegan,” but I do find that these thin, spiraling threads do not need cooked, not even the sweet potato, though you could certainly blanch them if you prefer. I favor the flavor, texture, and color “as is.”

This slaw was inspired by my beloved NOLA. It combines super heart-healthy dark red kidney beans with spicy peanuts, cajun seasoning, and a few other key ingredients with a blend of spiralized zucchini and yellow squash for a refreshing, luscious, and lovely–especially when served in a martini glass–heck of a zippy slaw.

Rice would be the more natural choice, i.e. red-beans-and-rice, but I just can’t find much to recommend calorie dense, carb rich, and nutrionally lacking white rice. Hence the light colored spiralized squash which is such fun to eat.

It appears that Bob and I are going to a restaurant for July 4 with his family, as the family matriarch is recovering from a back injury and prefers not to entertain; but if we weren’t, I would certainly be taking this dish as my potluck contribution.

Note: the number of cups listed on the back of spiralized vegetable packages is usually less than my measurements as I very loosely pack it, while it appears that they must compress it a bit more. This is, I always end up with significantly more than the package indicates.

3/4 cup vegan mayonnaise (or to taste)

Juice of 1/2 large lemon

1 tablespoon cajun seasoning (I used one with lots of spices, but none of them with a lot of heat)

2 cups spiralized zucchini (loosely packed)

2 cups spiralized yellow squash (loosely packed)

1 cup diced celery (about 4 celery hearts, sliced lengthwise and then thinly sliced crosswise)

2 green onions, thinly sliced, both the white and green parts (about 1/2 cup)

1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsied and drained

1 cup spicy peanuts

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Garnish: thin lemon slices with a cut from outer edge to center

In a large bowl, whisk together mayo, lemon juice, and cajun seasoning. Add remaining ingredients and gently toss to evenly distribute dressing. Check for seasoning, and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve in glasses with a slice of lemon “hung” on the rim.