May 23, 2010July 21, 2010 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.

May 22, 2010July 21, 2010 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.

May 20, 2010July 21, 2010 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!

May 20, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

La Vida Vegan

My fantastically talented ballroom dance teacher, Brent Dunn (owner of Shall We Dance, for those of you in the Hampton Roads area), saw this car in a local parking lot and was sweet enough to snap it and email it to me. Love the “Powered by Tofu” sticker.

May 17, 2010July 21, 2010 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!

May 16, 2010July 21, 2010 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.

May 16, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan Shitake, Cucumber & Herb Salad

Yield: 6-8 servings

The salad for a lite Greek meal we served friends on Saturday night was this cool, crunchy and refreshing rendition. With its fresh herbs from my garden and skin-on cucumber cubes, it is emerald green and as cooling to look at as it is to eat.

1 pint shitake mushrooms, stemmed and the caps thinly sliced
1 cucumber, skin left on, cubed
6 tablespoons walnut or olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup fresh minced herbs, either equal parts or any proportions you choose (I used chives, parsley and the most dill)

Combine vegetables in a shallow medium-large non-reactive bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together oil and lemon juice an drizzle over veggies. Sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper. Toss gently and check for seasoning. Cover and chill if not serving immediately. Serve chilled or at nearly room temperature.

Source: Adapted from Food Network Magazine, June 2010. Essentially, I made the salad as directed, only I doubled the dressing and herbs and added the cucumber.

May 16, 2010February 10, 2011 by betsy

Vegan Maple-Cornmeal Pancakes with Minted Strawberries

Yield: 8 pancakes

The dessert for our lite Greek dinner mentioned in the previous several posts was a very simple mixture of local fresh strawberry halves combined with spearmint chiffonade from our garden and drizzled with a little balsamic reduction. It may sound odd, but it was divine. I had some of the mixture sans balsamic reduction left over and I woke up this morning with, for some reason, those beautiful berries as a topping for cornmeal pancakes on my mind. And they had to be cornmeal, not just any pancakes. As I devoured a tall stack of 4 of them, I knew my instincts about combining the cornmeal with the strawberry-mint mixture had been spot-on. I do love summer!

For this recipe and some 170+ more,
I invite you to purchase my first cookbook:

The Blooming Platter:
A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes

Vegan Heritage Press
Spring 2011

May 11, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan Apricot-Almond Pancakes with Vegan Cream Cheese and Apricot Preserve Filling

Yield: 8 pancakes

Our weather has been absolutely schizophrenic this spring. One day, it’s chilly, damp and windy and the very next its 88 degrees with brilliantly blue skies. Consequently, my meals have been similarly varied. Sunday morning was, though sunny, quite windy and cool. Perfect for a last wintry breakfast hurrah.

If you follow this blog, you know that I make weekend pancakes a lot and that I stir into the batter all kinds of ingredients and top them with a variety of special syrups. But I never fill them. That is until I now. They seemed to cry out for a simple vegan cream cheese and apricot preserve filling. And after tasting the end result, I see why. Boy, oh boy, are you in for a treat. In this case, I recommend plain maple syrup to perfectly complement the pancakes and their filling, but not compete. I made an apricot-maple syrup that I wasn’t wild about, so save yourself the trouble and the disappointment. They are much better–delicious in fact–without it.

½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup self-rising flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups unsweetened soymilk (plain or vanilla soy milk would also be good–regular or lite)
1/2 teaspoon real almond extract or to taste
1 cup finely diced plump dried apricots (they should be nice and moist even though technically “dried”)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Vegan butter and/or vegetable oil for frying
Vegan Cream Cheese
Apricot Preserves (buy the most wholesome brand you can find with as few additives as possible)
Maple Syrup
Optional Garnishes: a whole or half dried apricot and a sprinkle of sliced almonds per serving

Preheat oven to warm. In a medium mixing bowl, place first 5 dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour in soymilk and almond extract. Whisk together until well combined. Then stir in diced apricots and sliced almonds with a spoon or fork. 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. 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 and pancake batter. To serve, spread 4 of the pancakes with about 1 tablespoon of vegan cream cheese. Spread another tablespoon of apricot preserves over that. Top with remaining pancakes and serve warm with maple syrup and a garnish of a whole or half of a dried apricot and a sprinkling of sliced almonds.

May 9, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

Vegan Iced Mocha Soy Latte a la Starbucks

Okay, I admit it: I am a Starbucks junkie. I know they are “corporate giants,” but, come on, they always have soymilk and, as of May 1, they started offering any of their addicting frappucinos with soy. Plus, they are socially conscious and they offer their employees health insurance.

But, alas, I think their drinks are pretty expensive. No, I don’t have to order a venti, but the grande just doesn’t seem like quite enough. So, I go for a while and then I cut myself off. When I do, I satisfy my craving with this concoction that I created which, at least to me, comes pretty darn close to an SB Iced Mocha Soy Latte.

This recipe makes a large quantity, so I mix it up in one of those covered plastic containers meant for storing and pouring cereal. I keep it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator door for easy access. In fact, our old refrigerator is in our garage, so I keep it there. In the morning, I grab my backpack, camera, sketchbook and insulated cup of ice and fill it up on my way to the car (or scooter).

2 cups water
1 to 1 1/2 cups regular or decaf instant coffee (use a good brand for maximum flavor satisfaction) 8-12 individual packets of Splenda (or the equivalent of your favorite sweetener)
1/3 cup regular or lite coffee syrup in your favorite flavor (I like hazelnut)
3 cups chocolate or chocolate lite soymilk
8 cups (a half-gallon) unsweetened soymilk (plain or vanilla, regular or lite, would also be good; just adjust sweetener accordingly)

In a large container, whisk coffee into water until completely dissolved. Whisk in Splenda and coffee syrup. Then whisk in both soymilks and chill. Enjoy over ice or soy ice cream as a float. (I have tried blending it with ice, but it gets a little too crystal-y for my taste.)