by betsy

Vegan Chocolate Truffles

Yield: approximately 14 truffles

I am posting this recipe at the request of my good friend and realtor Jonell. She and her husband came to our Valentine’s Day dinner party this year from which I sent each couple home with a little box of homemade truffles. There is a funny story here but, don’t worry Jonell, your secret is safe with me!

6 tablespoons chocolate or lite chocolate soy milk
9 ounces vegan chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark, but dark is a little overpowering)
Optional: 1 ½ teaspoons liqueur
1/3-1/2 cup cocoa powder

In a small microwave safe bowl, heat soy milk in microwave for a minute or two. Whisk in chips until completely melted, adding optional liqueur toward the end. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Using a small scoop (about 1-inch in diameter) with a release lever, dip out balls of chocolate and place onto a waxed paper- or foil-lined plate or tray.

If firm enough to handle, roll in cocoa powder and place on serving tray or, preferably, place into individual candy papers (like cupcake liners, but much smaller) and then on a tray. Cover and refrigerate until serving time. If not firm enough to handle, cover and refrigerate for several more hours or overnight. Mixture may be a bit sticky, but once you drop the balls into the cocoa powder, they are simple to shape. You may also dip your fingers into cocoa powder to reduce stickiness.

Note: if the brand of chips you purchase is sold in 12 ounce bags, use ½ cup chocolate soy milk and 2 teaspoons of optional liqueur.

Source: Vegetarian Times Magazine (no author on my clipped recipe, but whoever you are, you’re a genius)

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Tahini Topping

Yield: approximately 1 cup

This is my go-to multi-purpose sauce that can be used in place of sour cream and other creamy sauces that are drizzled or spread, as the thickness can be controlled with the amount of water and lemon or lime juice added. Similarly, it can be dressed up in myriad ways by adding herbs, spices and mix-ins like capers, sliced scallions, finely chopped olives, sundried tomatoes in oil, roasted red peppers, roasted garlic, and on and on into delicious infinity.

1/3 cup Tahini
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup lemon or lime juice
salt to taste (in my opinion, this sauce requires a fair amount of salt)
freshly ground black pepper or white pepper to taste
Optional: herbs, spices and mix-ins of your choice

Whisk together Tahini and water. When well combined, whisk in lemon or lime juice. If thinner sauce is desired, add a little more water and/or lemon or lime juice. Season with salt, pepper and optional herbs, spices and mix-ins to taste.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Fried Green Tomatoes

Yield: 2 servings

As hard as it may be to believe, it is a fallacy that egg is needed as a binder in baked goods or breading, as this recipe deliciously demonstrates.

½ cup whole wheat or unbleached all purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened soy milk (plain works too, but is a little sweeter)
½ cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
(feel free to season to taste with pinches of cumin, curry powder, smoked paprika, etc.)
2 medium-sized firm green tomatoes, cores removed and sliced into 1/3” slices
¼ inch canola oil in a 10-inch skillet

Heat oil over medium-high heat until a drop off water sizzles briskly. Watch oil closely and remove from heat if it starts to smoke. Meanwhile, place flour, soy milk and cornmeal into three separate small bowls. Divide the salt equally among all three. Add ¼ teaspoon of both the garlic and onion powders and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper to both the flour and the cornmeal. Stir to combine well.

Dip each tomato slice into flour, then soy milk, then cornmeal, coating well. Place into oil and cook for a couple of minutes or until golden brown. Carefully flip and repeat on the opposite side. Drain on paper towel or brown paper. Sprinkle with a little more salt and serve with the sauce of your choice. I prefer my Tahini Topping which can be dressed up in myriad ways. I like a plain version of the topping with a sprinkling of capers.

Note: You will have a little leftover flour, soy milk and cornmeal, but you need the ingredients to be deep enough in the bowls to coat the tomato slices easily. The ends of the tomatoes may not take the coating as nicely as the interior slices because of the slick skin vs. the absorbent flesh.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Tomato Tart(s)

Yield: 4-4” tarts or 1-8” tart

This recipe was inspired last summer by the heirloom tomatoes at our local farmer’s market. I fell hopelessly in love with the nearly black-skinned ones. They tasted like more savory cousins of red plums, but still very sweet.

Some people may wonder why not just eat the tomatoes raw, and I do that too. However, in this tart, they become more of a complete meal. Yet the thickness of the slices and the short cooking time sets the topping while allowing the tomatoes to remain virtually uncooked.

Crust

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar or raw sugar
½ cup canola oil
2 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk
(or, for less calories, 6 tablespoons oil and 4 tablespoons soy milk—works great, but the crust might be just a tiny bit less crispy)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together all ingredients with a fork in a medium bowl. Press into the bottom and against sides of an 8” tart pan with a removable bottom. Or divide into 4 equal parts and do the same with 4-4” tart pans with removable bottoms. Try to keep the bottom and sides of the crust a similar thickness. Use a drinking glass to assist with the pressing if desired (as the glass allows you to compress the bottom and sides simultaneously). Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool approximately 3 minutes.

Filling

Enough ¼-inch thick tomato slices, preferably heirloom, to make two layers of tomato in shell(s)
12 ounces (1 ½ cups) Silken firm tofu or lite tofu
1 bunch fresh basil or dill OR 2 generous tablespoons dairy free pesto
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes (optional but recommended, especially if not using pesto)
1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
Additional salt and pepper to taste
Optional topping: vegan Parmesan or a sprinkling of nutritional yeast
Optional garnish: fresh basil leaves or dill sprigs

Layer slices of tomato into each crust. Combine tofu with next five ingredients in a food processor and blend well. Spoon mixture on top of tomato layer(s) and spread gently almost to the edges. Sprinkle with optional topping if desired and bake 15 minutes or until topping is almost set. Remove tart pan(s) to a rack until they are cool enough to handle and then push the bottom disk up through the ring, set ring aside, and gently slide the tart off of the disk onto the serving plate. Garnish, if desired, with basil leaves or dill sprigs.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Chocolate Mousse and More

In September 2008, I conducted an in-home vegan baking class under the auspices of The Virginian-Pilot. For the story, written by Denise Watson Batts and recipes listed below, access:

http://dev.hamptonroads.com/2008/09/vegan-baking-tips

  • Spiked Vegan Chocolate Mousse (which can be used as a pie filling in the crust listed below as pictured here)
  • Vegan Shortbread Crust
  • Oatmeal Dried Cranberry Cookies
  • Gingerbread Cupcakes with Orange-Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Banana and Chocolate Chip-Hazelnut Cookie Dough Brownies

Be forewarned: this chocolate mousse is dangerous whether served as a mousse or a pie. But its primary ingredients are tofu and chocolate soy milk so it is practically health food.

Thanks to my buddy Angela for noting that those avoiding white sugar can substitute raw sugar in a 1:1 ratio for baked goods.

Note: As a sideline, both my “student” and now good friend, Susan Kaplan, and I were appalled at the photograph of us that ran with the story. We both look old and haggard and I look a little angry to boot. For what it’s worth, I think my blog photo is a much more accurate representation and Susan is gorgeous. I even asked my editor who I had p—– off!

Photo Credit: Chris Tyree

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Chili Two Ways

Our weather has been living up to its “if you don’t like it, wait ten minutes and it will change” reputation, meaning that we have had some unseasonably cold days and nights. So, while I don’t normally associate March with chili weather, we have been experiencing some pretty “chilly” temperatures.

Check out this link for a short feature and recipes that I published in The Virginian-Pilot in January ’08 for a vegan chili buffet that even our meat-eating friends lined up for (a red and a white chili plus my Mom’s addicting corn fingers, veganized):

http://hamptonroads.com/2008/01/plan-super-bowl-chili-buffet

Note: This lovely photo was taken by either a staff photographer or freelancer for The Virginian-Pilot, but there was no photo credit on the website and, for some reason, I don’t have a hard copy of that story in my files, as I do for virtually everything else. My apologies to the photographer.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Birthday Cake from Patti Cakes

Speaking of dogs… My husband turned 50 in November. (No, silly, he’s not the dog.) I threw him a big movie-themed bash at Flex Gym (thanks again Bonnie and Al!). The star of the evening, besides the birthday boy, was most certainly our beloved canine, Huff, in edible form. Emily Patti of Patti Cakes is the southern mid-Atlantic’s answer to Ace of Cakes. They have nothing on her!

While gourmet vegan movie fare, courtesy of Cuisine & Co., comprised the main part of the meal, dessert took the shape of a 3-foot+ edible sculpture of one of our pack. If you’ve seen Steel Magnolias, don’t worry; the cake was not red velvet. It was rich chocolate layers with peanut butter filling, “buttercream” frosting and airbrushed fondant–ALL VEGAN.

Emily is as sweet and accommodating as she is talented. If you live in our area and are in the market for a beautiful wedding cake or an amazing novelty creation, I urge you to contact her. Check out her website; the photos speak for themselves.

Patti Cakes, Inc., Moyock, North Carolina, 252-435-2726, www.patticakesinc.net, epatti@mchsi.com.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Pup-kin Tortoni

Yield: 10 frozen treats

Miss Pyttle, who came by her name honestly, was one of the inspirations for these treats. She’s quite a picky eater, but loves these homemade snacks. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Terri Ann, for capturing Pyttle’s serious and slightly concerned nature in this photo.

approximately 4 large vegan dog biscuits or cookies (Kroger carries some my dogs love–but they love anything)
½ cup canned pumpkin
1 large banana
¼ cup peanut butter

Place biscuits or cookies in a resealable plastic sandwich bag and gently pounded with a rolling pin to make a generous ¼ cup coarse crumbs. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper, parchment or tin foil. Place last three ingredients in a food process and blend until smooth and fluffy. Scrape into a small mixing bowl and stir in dog biscuit crumbs. Drop mixture by tablespoons onto cookie sheets. You should get 10 treats. Flatten slightly on top to make a round, slightly domed biscuit shape. Freeze. Transfer to resealable plastic freezer bags.

Note: While none of these ingredients are harmful to dogs, you should check with your vet to make sure that the proportions of ingredients meet with his or her approval for your particular dog(s).

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Pumpkin-Apple Butter Cheesecake Pie

Yield: 8 slices

It’s hardly pumpkin season, but I had this photo from our Thanksgiving feast and decided to post it with the recipe. Thank goodness for canned pumpkin (I hope I haven’t offended anyone) which makes it possible to whip up this recipe anytime. My niece and I ate the nuts off my husband’s cheese platter at dinner the night before Thanksgiving and decided we had to have something similar for our pie. Thanksgiving Day, she jumped online and found a recipe for nuts that we adapted. This pie is truly something to be thankful for!






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

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
by betsy

Vegan Mid-Morning Snack

Staying fueled throughout the work day–without blowing it in the calorie department–presents an ongoing challenge that I’ve approached in different ways over the years. As a “Carnation Instant Breakfast” girl when I was in high school, I’ve never been a big breakfast eater. I know all the arguments for eating the all-important first meal of the day, but it has never worked for me: it stokes my metabolism and makes me hungrier than I should be.

Currently, I start the day at about 6:30 a.m. with a cup and a half of Ocean Spray “Diet” Cranberry juice. You really have to read labels, as some of the diet-sounding cranberry juices are loaded with calories or, worse, they are relatively low in calories but are completely devoid of nutrition. This bottle has a “5” on the label and is literally 5 calories per cup, but retains its high concentration of vitamins. (Yes, it contains Splenda, but I haven’t eliminated it from my diet yet.) While I drink it, I heat two cups of Lite Chocolate Soy Milk in the microwave and take it to school in my insulated mug. I sip on this “hot chocolate” between 7 and 9 a.m. (It’s especially good heated with a broken cinnamon stick.) By then, after my first class, I’m ready for a snack. This gets tricky because it needs to be fairly quick, neat and portable. Plus it needs some protein and a bit of “bulk” without being high in calories.

What’s working for me currently is a cup of hot tea and a 100-calorie whole wheat mini-bagel straight out of the fridge (I can only eat the larger ones toasted, as they’re too doughy otherwise). I spread each half with 1 tablespoon of Kroger’s natural peanut butter and top that with a huge mound of Clover sprouts. This concoction has earned me the nickname “Rabbit” from one of our security guards and more than a few questions from coworkers. But I love the combination of the chewy bagel, the creamy-crunchy peanut butter, and the juicy-crispy sprouts. I won’t pretend that the sprouts are terribly healthy, as you have to eat one cup (a whole carton) in order to get small percentages of vitamins A and C plus calcium and iron, and I don’t begin to eat that quantity in one sitting. But at least they aren’t unhealthy in addition to being filling and adding that wonderful freshness to my morning repast.

Note: Did you know that decaffeinating tea removes many of the antioxidants (or so I’ve been told)?

Please share your breakfast solutions and stay-tuned for a warm-weather breakfast drink and some fantastic weekend breakfast/brunch options.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Site developed by IYPS

Featuring Recent Posts WordPress Widget development by YD