March 18, 2018March 18, 2018 by betsy

Vegan (Microwave) Cheese Fondue

We decided to eat-in on Valentine’s Day to avoid the crowds on what a friend in the restaurant biz once referred to as “amateur night.” But we wanted a bit of romance…maybe something we could feed each other little tastes of. Enter fondue.

After researching lots of vegan fondue recipes with potato, rutabaga, and more–and admittedly loving the rutabaga-based fondue at Vedge restaurant in Philly–all of them sounded like lots of work with questionable textures.

As with queso and all of the machinations vegans go through to create a Mexican cheese sauce causing me to wonder, “Why not just melt vegan cheese with Rotel tomatoes?,” and doing it with great success, I decided to veganize a very traditional dairy-based fondue.

I simply swapped out vegan for dairy-based cheese in a recipe by Tyler Florence and I wouldn’t change a thing about the dairy version for Bob nor the vegan version for me. Swiss is traditional, but if you can’t find vegan Swiss, cheddar is lovely too.

We own a fondue pot, but for just the two of us, we didn’t want to break it out because we didn’t want to make that large of a quantity. I wasn’t sure if microwaving would work, but a gratin dish in the mic seemed more fondue pot-like than a saucepan, and it worked beautifully.

Yield: 1 serving (easily doubles; if you double perhaps use 2 gratin dishes)

1/4 pound vegan cheddar or Swiss cheese, shredded

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 garlic clove, peeled, and halved

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon cherry brandy, such as kirsch

1/8 teaspoon dry mustard

Pinch nutmeg, preferably fresh grated

Assorted dippers, e.g. toasted Pumpernickel and apple wedges

In a small bowl, coat the cheese with cornstarch and set aside. Rub the inside of a small ceramic gratin dish with the cut sides of the garlic clove halves, and then discard.

Using full power in the microwave, heat the wine and lemon juice and bring to bubbling, 30 seconds or so. Stir the cheese into the liquid and heat 30 seconds at a time, whisking in between, until melted. Once cheese is melted and smooth, stir in cherry brandy, mustard, and nutmeg.

Serve immediately on a wooden cheese board or platter with dippers. Gently reheat fondue and whisk as necessary.

March 17, 2018 by betsy

Vegan Spinach, Veggie, & Cheese Enchiladas

Yield: 8 enchiladas

Ordering vegan Mexican food in a restaurant here in Eastern Virginia is a bit tricky. Enter my quick and easy homemade restaurant-quality vegan enchiladas.

It appears, in exchanges with other vegans, that simple foods we thought were safe–like refried beans–are not necessarily. Apparently many restaurants still use lard in them, yet say they do not. How much of that misunderstanding is language barrier-based, I’m not sure. But I’d rather not take a chance.

As it turns out, these enchiladas include no beans at all. They were inspired by spinach and goat cheese enchiladas I used to make as a vegetarian, a favorite for company from back in the day.

Vegan goat cheese in our area is expensive, so I used a combination of Tofutti cream cheese and Daiya pepper jack flavored shreds. In addition to the baby spinach–for which you can substitute baby kale–I add a generous portion of a riced broccoli-cauliflower mix. I purchase it for convenience, but you can just pulse 4 ounces each of broccoli and cauliflower in a food processor until very finely minced.

For a sauce, feel free to make your own, but I love the Hatch brand mild green enchilada sauce. If you are not a green sauce fan, red would be delicious too. I was going for all green which, as it turns out, is appropriate for this Saint Patrick’s Day post if you overlook the small detail that these enchiladas are not in the least bit Irish. But they are every bit tasty.

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 large clove garlic, minced

8 ounces riced broccoli-cauliflower mix (or make your own by pulsing 4 ounces of each in a food processor until finely minced)

8 loosely packed cups baby spinach or kale

1 teaspoon ground cumin (or more to taste)

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika or your favorite chili powder like Ancho (or more to taste)

4 ounces vegan creamed cheese

2 cups shredded vegan cheddar, jack, or pepper jack cheese (or a blend; I use Daiya pepper jack), divided

8 gently warmed corn tortillas

1-15 ounce jar green enchilada sauce (mild, medium, or spicy; I use Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce)

Toppings: vegan sour cream, pico de gallo, sprigs of fresh cilantro; optional: lime wedges and roasted pepitas

Oil a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish and set aside. In a large skillet over medium heat, bring oil to shimmering. Add onion and saute, stirring frequently, until softened. Add garlic and saute, stirring frequently, for about 30 seconds. Add riced vegetables and saute, again stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or so until they have softened, released their juice, and it has been evaporated. Add spinach or kale, about 2 cups at a time, and cook, stirring, until it begins to wilt. Repeat until all greens have been added. Stir in cumin and smoked paprika. Then stir in vegan cream cheese and 1 cup of the shredded cheese until melted. You can remove the skillet from the heat if mixture seems to be cooking too much, as the residual heat will melt the cheeses.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide mixture evenly among the 8 tortillas, spooning it in a loose rectangle in the center of each and gently folding the sides toward the center, overlapping. Cover the bottom of the prepared casserole dish with a very thin layer of the enchilada sauce and nestle each tortilla into the dish, sides touching with folded side down. Spoon remaining sauce over the enchiladas, spreading to cover exposed areas of tortillas. You may or may not have sauce left over. Sprinkle top evenly with remaining cup of shredded cheese and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve topped with sour cream, pico de gallo, and cilantro sprigs along with optional lime wedges and roasted pepitas.

March 1, 2018 by betsy

Cuban-Inspired Chex Mix

Recently, I heard an interview on NPR with Anya von Bremzen, the author of Paladares: Recipes Inspired by the Private Restaurants of Cuba, and I was completely captivated by the tales of resourcefulness, resilience, and innovation, not to mention the kinship the Russian author feels with her Cuban socialist brethren, especially in terms of hunger and deprivation. I highly recommend. The photos are stunning, the stories engaging, and the recipes, while not necessarily vegan, are easily veganized.

This isn’t one of them, but it is inspired by the flavors of Cuba, some of which we have learned to appreciate thanks to Juan and Barbara Gelpi. I gifted them with this batch–though I kept a little stash (which instantly disappeared)–and Juan pronounced that it tasted “pretty Cuban,” which is quite a compliment coming from him, an accomplished vegan cook with Cuban roots.

After perusing the cookbook, I new I wanted to include the flavors of orange and cumin which featured prominently in one of the recipes. But I also knew that I wanted to nod to their very simple staples of rice, black beans, corn, potatoes, onion, and plantains. Granted, I ended up using an Asian black bean product, but I like some soy in my Chex Mixes and have never felt that that alone made them taste Asian, that is, unless I wanted them to and punched up the Chinese, Japanese, or Thai flavors with other ingredients.

I think you will love this addicting iteration. It doesn’t have a lot of contrasting colors, but the flavor will more than make up for any lack of color. For many others, just search “Chex Mix” here on The Blooming Platter.

1/2 cup vegan butter

Juice and zest of one large orange

2 tablespoons black bean garlic sauce (sold in the Asian section of the grocery store; make sure it is vegan)

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

8 cups Rice Chex

6.5 oz toasted corn snacks

4.5 ounces plantain strips

4 ounces Potato Sticks

2.8 ounces crispy fried onions

1 cup roasted and salted cashews

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. While oven heats place vegan butter in a large roasting pan and place inside oven to melt butter. Remove from oven and whisk in orange juice and zest, black bean garlic sauce, cumin, and garlic and onion powders. Stir in remaining ingredients in order given. Roast for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven, cool, and package in an airtight container(s).