by betsy

Vegan Oatmeal Ginger-Ale Pancakes

Yield: 8 pancakes

I’m not a beer drinker, so a partial bottle of Heineken Lite leftover from last night’s beer-battered dill pickle slices was “burning a hole” in our fridge. It crossed my mind while making that batter that I bet the beer would make excellent pancakes. I love the way it fizzes and bubbles.

When I woke up this morning quite late and starved–I couldn’t sleep last night for several hours but finally nodded off at around 5 or so–I remembered the beer and decided to give it a try. Thinking of ginger beer, I decided to add some ground ginger to the batter and delicious “Ginger-Ale” pancakes were born.

Ginger and peaches seem made for each other, but peaches are not yet in season here. However, I did have some peach butter, a gift from my sister-in-law, Tina. So, I spread it between the pancakes and drizzled plain maple syrup over the top. Feeling that they needed just a little color, I crowned them with a small dollop of vegan sour cream and a fresh mint sprig from our garden. I loved the end result, especially for the cooler months. Come summer, I will definitely serve my new “Ginger-Ale” pancakes with diced fresh peaches.

Hopefully, with this nice long weekend–at least in the U.S.–you might have an opportunity to try them sooner rather than later. Happy Memorial Day!

½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup self-rising cornmeal mix
1/2 cup oatmeal + 8 teaspoons (optional)
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2-1 teaspoon ground ginger (start with smaller amount and adjust if desired)
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 generous cup “ale” (I used Heineken Lite, but use your favorite)
Vegan butter and/or vegetable oil for frying
Peach Butter (or diced fresh peaches)
Maple Syrup
Garnish: small dollops of vegan sour cream and sprigs of fresh mint

Preheat oven to warm. In a medium mixing bowl, place first 7 dry ingredients, except for the 8 teaspoons of oatmeal. Make a well in the center and pour in ale. Whisk together until well combined. In a large cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the vegan butter, oil or a combination. (I like a combination: the oil reduces chances of burning while the butter contributes flavor.) Using a 1/4 cup measure, make pancakes, two at a time. Cook two-three minutes on the first side until you get a nice rise, a few bubbles appear, and the edges appear set. (If desired, while they cook on the first side, sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of oatmeal over the top for a little added texture.) Gently flip and cook another couple of minutes on the reverse. Add butter and/or oil to keep skillet greased as needed. If pancakes are cooking too quickly, lower heat to medium, especially for second side. When cooked through, remove pancakes to plates or a serving platter, keep warm, and repeat with remaining butter or oil and pancake batter. Spread peach butter between 2 pancakes, drizzle with maple syrup and top each stack with vegan sour cream and mint sprigs if desired. If fresh peaches are in season, you may substitute fresh diced peaches for peach butter and/or spoon over the top after drizzling with maple syrup.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Fried Dill Pickles

Yield: 12 slices

Do you crave bar menu junk food every so often? I do and tonight was one of those nights.

We were low on fresh produce, but I had some bread & butter dill pickle slices on hand. And I remembered that a week ago, the chef at one of our very favorite restaurants had made me an order of vegan fried dill pickle slices–the thin long ones especially for sandwiches–using flour and soymilk. They were delicious.

I decided, just for a change, to try more of a tempura-style beer batter. So, while about a scant 1/2-inch of canola oil heated, I made a batter of roughly equal parts self-rising flour and lite beer. Then I dipped the slices in more self-rising flour seasoned with a little salt and pepper and next into the batter.

After frying them until they were a golden brown, I sprinkled them with a little paprika and devoured them with BBQ dipping sauce and fresh parsley sprigs. I intended for the latter to be a garnish, but I liked their fresh taste with the crisp fried pickles.

I can imagine these vegan fried dill pickles with all kinds of dipping sauces, maybe even an Asian one since the batter is very similar to tempura. I could also imagine seasoning the flour or batter with spices like curry powder for a whole different taste sensation.

I can’t say that I liked my batter-dipped ones better than the restaurant’s, but I liked them just as much. And as you probably know, dredging and battering are two different things, sort of like comparing apples and oranges, with batter-fried foods a bit more filling. Still, the leavening in the flour plus the beer makes for quite a light batter.

Don’t be tempted to try dill pickle spears. I tried a few with the leftover flour and batter, but felt they were too much of a good thing. Stick with the thinner sandwich slices for a superior product, including their pickle to batter ratio.

scant 1/2-inch canola oil in large cast iron skillet
approximately 1/3 cup self-rising flour
pinch salt
a few grinds of fresh black pepper
an additional approximate 1/2 cup self-rising flour
approximately 1/2 cup light beer
pinch garlic powder
pinch onion powder
12 sandwich-style bread & butter pickle slices
Optional garnish: a sprinkling of paprika and fresh parsley sprigs

Heat oil over medium-high until a drop of water sizzles and sputters. Meanwhile, drain pickles between paper towels. Place first 1/3 cup self-rising flour and a pinch of salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, whisk together the 1/2 cup self-rising flour and next 3 ingredients. Add more self-rising flour or beer if needed to achieve a pancake batter or slightly thinner consistency. Dredge pickle slices in seasoned flour and then dip in batter before carefully lowering into hot oil. Fry six at a time for a couple of minutes on first side or until golden brown, carefully flip and fry a couple more minutes on second side until the color matches the first. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Serve hot with the sauce of your choice optionally garnished with paprika and sprigs of fresh parsley.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Happy Vegan Birthday to Me! (The 9th Anniversary of my 40th Birthday)

My dear, dear friend, Beth Camper, a National Board Certified English teacher at our school, feted me for my birthday today in a way to rival my mother! She emailed me to say she needed to “see me” and asked when she could come down. I was in a planning block, so I told her to come ahead. A very few minutes later, she appeared in my door with a bakery box full of perfect vegan German chocolate cupcakes and a copy of Bryant Terry’s celebrated new cookbook, Vegan Soul Kitchen!

I was truly overwhelmed by her generosity and cleverness, especially since professionally baked vegan cupcakes are about as rare as polar bears in our area. When I asked her how she managed to procure them, she explained that she had called Yorgo’s Bageldashery in Norfolk, VA, remembering that they employed a vegan pastry chef. It turns out that the pastry chef no longer works there, but they gave Beth her phone number and she tracked her down to ask if she’d bake a custom order, which she was happy to do. They were delicious–not too sweet or too gloppy with frosting. In fact, they were topped with a perfectly restrained amount of the traditional coconut-pecan frosting, veganized. I say “were” because there are none left.

The cookbook Beth had heard about on “The Splendid Table” which airs on Sundays on our public radio station, WHRV. I had heard the same broadcast and was smitten with the idea of the book. Beth told me that her good friend Mary went with her to purchase it and, as they were looking through it, Mary said, “This all looks like something I’d like to have with a pork chop.” We both had a good laugh about that. I’ve never met Mary, but I know her from the stories Beth tells about her; she is one smart and funny woman. Actually, both of them are.

Since my poor husband had emergency oral surgery last night, I doubt we will be going anywhere tonight. But I still have had a wonderful birthday. Thanks to all for the cards, gifts, Facebook posts, and well-wishes, not to mention vegan cupcakes and cookbook. Not necessary, but very much appreciated.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Cinnamon-Orange Pancakes with Vegan Orange-Maple Syrup and a Vegan Orange-Brown Sugar-Butter Pecan Topknot

Yield: 6 pancakes

These sunny pancakes were inspired by a favorite childhood breakfast treat: those Pillsbury cinnamon rolls with orange frosting.

My plan was to make cinnamon-orange pancakes, which I did, with an orange powdered sugar glaze, which I didn’t. It turns out that I was out of powdered sugar (almost unheard of in our house). So, instead I made something that is quite possibly better: orange-maple syrup with an orange-brown sugar-butter pecan topknot (which I inadvertently almost concealed with those enormous pecan halves).

Garnished with an orange slice and pecan halves, I’d say these pancakes were about perfect. Hope you agree.

½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup self-rising cornmeal mix
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsweetened soymilk (plain or vanilla soy milk would also be good–regular or lite)
1 generous teaspoon orange zest
Vegan butter and/or vegetable oil for frying
Vegan Orange-Maple Syrup (recipe follows)
Vegan Orange-Brown Sugar-Pecan Butterball Topknot (recipe follows)
Garnish: orange slices and pecan halves

Preheat oven to warm. In a medium mixing bowl, place first 6 dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour in soymilk and orange zest. Whisk together until well combined. In a large cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the vegan butter, oil or a combination. (I like a combination: the oil reduces chances of burning while the butter contributes flavor.) Using a 1/4 cup measure, make pancakes, two at a time. Cook two-three minutes on the first side until you get a nice rise, a few bubbles appear around the edges, and the edges appear set. (These tend to bubble only on the edges.) Gently flip and cook another couple of minutes on the reverse. Add butter and/or oil to keep skillet greased as needed. If pancakes are cooking too quickly, lower heat to medium, especially for second side. When cooked through, remove pancakes to plates or a serving platter, keep warm, and repeat with remaining butter or oil and pancake batter. Serve topped with Vegan Orange-Maple Syrup, Vegan Orange-Brown Sugar-Butter Pecan Topknots and a garnish of orange slices and pecan halves.

Vegan Orange-Maple Syrup

4 tablespoons maple syrup
2 generous teaspoons orange zest

Mix together and heat for a few seconds in the microwave. Recipe halves or doubles easily.

Vegan Orange-Brown Sugar-Butter Pecan Topknot

4 tablespoons softened vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons broken or chopped pecan pieces
2 teaspoons orange zest

Mix together with fingers until well combined. Refrigerate until serving time. I like to use a small scoop to make a true butterball as the topknot.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Peppers Stuffed with Creamy Spaghetti Squash and Veggie Potpourri (A Restaurant Redux)

Yield: 6 generous servings

This beautiful meal-in-one dish is the result of wanting to rescue a restaurant meal. This restaurant, one of our Top 5 in the area, always has a couple of vegan dishes on its seasonal menus, but this spring’s choices are virtually devoid of protein. However, they happened to have some chicken-flavored vegan strips last night so I asked the chef to just surprise me. He is very young, very nice, very interested in learning more about vegan cooking and very accommodating. For instance, he also had some soy milk leftover from a special brunch and made me a custom order of fried dill pickle strips–to die for! I haven’t had those in years.

The meal however, missed the mark in that the individual ingredients didn’t come together as one dish. Essentially, he just piled the vegan chicken strips, flavored with a hint of chili sauce, and some nice sauteed veggies into lightly roasted bell pepper halves over a bed of cous-cous. After the dill pickles–oh, and their addicting bread–I only had room for one of the FOUR stuffed pepper halves, bringing the rest home with me.

I knew that I would let the dish spoil in the refrigerator if I didn’t do something with it, as there just wasn’t much that was compelling about it. So, after I walked the dogs, I set about on a Restaurant Redux. I simply cooked a spaghetti squash, made one of my favorite white vegan “cheese” sauces, and stirred both together with the chicken strips, veggies and cous-cous. The portions at this restaurant are enormous, so I had some broccolini and sweet potato cubes from a meal there a few days earlier and I stirred them in too, measuring it all carefully so that I could reproduce the recipe. I ended up with enough filling to refill the remaining 3 pepper halves plus 3 more. But, it seemed to need just a little spice to make it extra-special. Some paprika did the trick.

The filling is so creamy, scrumptious and satisfying that you will have to keep reminding yourself that it is a gloriously healthy melange of all the protein, vitamins and micro-nutrients that anyone could want in a single meal.

3 large bell peppers, any color or a combination, halved, stemmed, seeded and lightly blackened under the broiler (they should still hold their shape nicely)
Creamy White Vegan “Cheese” Sauce (recipe follows)
1 spaghetti squash, halved, seeds and pulp removed, and microwaved flesh side down in 1/4 cup salted water in a baking dish covered with plastic wrap for 10 minutes (I cook each half separately; you may bake if you prefer)
1 cup homemade chicken-flavored seitan or other chicken flavored strips like Meal Starters
2 cups cooked mixed veggies, seasoned according to your taste, cut in bite-size pieces (mine were from two restaurant meals and included squash, eggplant, a little onion and spinach, sweet potato cubes and broccolini)
3/4 cup cooked cous-cous (quinoa or another small grain or pasta like pastina or orzo would be nice too)
1/2 teaspoon sweet or smoky paprika (or to taste)
coarse sea or kosher salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
garnish: optional balsamic reduction (I really liked a little drizzle on my version) plus sprigs of fresh herbs (cilantro from our garden tasted nice with mine) and/or lightly toasted pine nuts or bread/cracker crumbs

Place roasted pepper halves in a lightly oiled microwave- or oven-safe baking dish. Combine vegan “cheese” sauce with remaining ingredients, mixing gently but thoroughly. Spoon into pepper halves, mounding the top. Reheat in microwave if necessary or keep warm in a preheated oven until serving time. Garnish as desired with balsamic reduction, herbs, pine nuts or crumbs.

Creamy White Vegan “Cheese” Sauce

1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/2 cup flour, any kind (I used whole wheat)
or 1/4-1/2 cup roasted and lightly salted cashews
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons cornstarch or kuzu
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons light miso
1 teaspoon onion powder or to taste
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or to taste
coarse sea or kosher salt

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend/process until smooth. Pour into a small saucepan and heat gently over medium-high heat for approximately 4 minutes, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens and flour no longer tastes raw.

Source for Vegan “Cheese” Sauce: Slightly adapted from Jo Stepaniak’s The Uncheese Cookbook.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Ballroom Dance Shoes

My aforementioned “fantastically talented” ballroom dance teacher, Brent Dunn, told me at this week’s lesson that he’d found vegan ballroom shoes online. Amazing because vegan street shoes are pretty darn hard to find, at least vegan shoes advertised as such that I’d actually wear and could afford. If you’ve been bitten by the ballroom bug, check out just one of several vegan shoe options here. If you haven’t, I highly recommend it. But save your pennies; the pros ain’t givin’ away the goods!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Recipe from TBP Featured in FARM’s "Meatout Monday" eNewsletter

Much to my complete surprise and delight, I was contacted by Cindi Saadi of FARM (there is also a link under “Important Platters” in my sidebar) for permission to feature recipes from The Blooming Platter in their Meatout Mondays e-newsletter. As you can imagine, my answer to her generous request was a resounding “YES!” First up, my

Vegan Pumpkin Cake with Vegan Cranberry-Walnut Streusel

I encourage you to visit their site and read about/support their good work. I hope you’ll also follow the link to their Meatout Mondays newsletter and subscribe as I just did.

Best wishes Cindi and FARM!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Pea, Pistachio & Fresh Tarragon Hummus

Yield: approximately 6 servings

With our good friends Karen and David coming for dinner Saturday night, I had a lite Greek menu in mind as, though they are not vegans, they are very health-conscious. And I wanted to build the meal around what was fresh at Stoney’s, a local outdoor market. Among lots of other delectable produce were pints of May peas. Processed with a few pistachios, olive oil, lemon juice and some tarragon from our garden, they became a beautiful green hummus-type spread. We enjoyed it with a bowl of mixed olives and some pizza dough wedges. I had two nice balls of frozen homemade dough in the freezer, so I pressed each into a small round, cooked them for 8 minutes, brushed them with olive oil, cooked them for two more minutes and then sprinkled them with coarse sea salt before cutting them into wedges. I made those ahead so that they were room temperature when I served them. This spread is so tasty, though, that Karen said she would have been happy to devour it with a spoon.

2 cups fresh raw green peas, simmered for 15-18 minutes in just enough salted water to cover and drained (or use 2 cups pre-cooked peas)
1/3 cup roasted and lightly salted shelled pistachios
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh tarragon leaves
2 tablespoons walnut or olive oil
juice of one lemon
coarse sea or kosher salt to taste
freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Garnish: a few whole or chopped pistachios, a slice of lemon, and/or a sprig of fresh tarragon

Place all ingredients in food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse until desired consistency is reached. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Pulse one more time and scrape into serving bowl. Garnish as desired and served with the bread, toast, crackers or veggie dippers of your choice.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Print Friendly, PDF & Email