Since Valentine’s Day is tomorrow(!), I wanted to direct you to three oldies-but-goodies that I created in years past to celebrate the national day of love. Just click on the title to be taken right to the post with that recipe. Happy Valentine’s Day from the Blooming Platter!
Savory Vegan Sausage and Red Bell Pepper Heart Tarts
Vegan Peppermint and Chocolate Patties
Well, if our dog, Huff’s, national Superbowl celebrity hadn’t overshadowed almost all else, I would have made these for our Superbowl party last Sunday and posted the recipe as part of my “Crash the SuperBowl Snack Recipe” countdown during the week leading up to the big event.
But alas, I didn’t make them until Monday night to take to my AP art students’ critique on Tuesday. We call them Critique Treats. However, I also had Valentine’s Day in mind.
These confections are as nutritious and delicious as they are beautiful. And though each one looks like a precious gem, they are super-simple to make. Another of their best features is their texture contrasts: plump chewy dried apricots, silken dark chocolate and crunchy wheat berry flake and flaxseed cereal coating.
This recipe–which is more of a procedure than a true recipe–was inspired by a gift of Uncle Sam Toasted “Original” Whole Wheat Berry Flakes and Flaxseed Cereal from Alisa Fleming, founder of GoDairyFree, who also does some online marketing for Attune Foods. When she asked if I’d be interested in reviewing a couple of cereals, and invited me to choose which ones I wanted, she happened to mention that my choices were good “recipe cereals.” So that got me thinking in terms of what I could do with the cereal besides eat it.
Though eat it I did. I put a little in my mouth and closed my eyes to try to get in “tune” with its distinctive flavor. I thought I detected the pleasantly subtle taste of barley malt, checked the box and, sure enough, there it was in the very short list of wholesome ingredients. Otherwise, Uncle Sam is deeply nutty in flavor. It just tastes wholesome, with pleasant texture contrasts.
So, next I poured a little unsweetened soymilk over it and tasted it before doctoring it up in any way. I decided that–and this admittedly sounds odd–it would be tasty with a sprinkling of both nutritional yeast and natural sugar to create the same sort of savory-sweet appeal of Kettle Corn. I loved it. Be advised, though, that, even without the nutritional yeast and sugar, Uncle Sam’s is calorie dense. I recommend measuring out the cereal so as not too meat too much. Because it is so healthy and tasty–10 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein with less than 1 gram of sugar per serving–it would be very easy to go overboard.
Not being much of a cereal eater–I get a little carried away with it in the house and don’t know when to stop eating–I opted for making the treats mentioned above. Still thinking in terms of dried apricots and nuts from my morning hiking in Back Bay Wildlife Refuge/False Cape described in a previous post, and with a bag of vegan chocolate morsels in the pantry, I decided to dip the apricots halfway into the melted chocolate and then roll them in the cereal. The resulting color contrast of shimmering translucent orange and dark ebony brown chocolate studded with lighter brown flecks was just beautiful.
I can scarcely think of a more appealing nor unique box of Valentine’s treats than these combined with my Peanut Butter Brown Rice Cereal Treats with a Dried Apricot-Almond Surprise.
Vegan Chocolate -Dipped Dried Apricots with Crunchy Coating
Yield: 24 confections
24 plump dried apricots
12 ounces vegan dark chocolate (you won’t need this much, but I like the melted chocolate to be deep so that dipping is easy)
approximately 1/2 cup Uncle Sam’s cereal
Line a baking sheet with waxed or parchment paper and set aside. in a small microwave safe mixing bowl or a 1 quart saucepan set over a double boiler, gently melt chocolate. While chocolate is melting, pour cereal into a small bowl. Holding each apricot between your thumb and forefinger, dip halfway up in the melted chocolate, gently roll in the cereal, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Store in the refrigerator between layers of waxed or parchment paper in an airtight container, but allow to come to room temperature before serving.
For 150+ more recipes for holidays and every day, please check out The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes.
If you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day this weekend, you’ll want to wake up your sweetie tomorrow with these not-too-sweet, but almost-too-good-to-be-true Red Velvet Pancakes.
The recipe isn’t in The Blooming Platter Cookbook (though 150+ mouthwatering recipes for special and not-so-special occasions are!), so just click here to go to the original post for the short back story and complete list of ingredients and instructions.
Ever since childhood, I have loved to have the occasional breakfast for dinner, especially in the winter. So, since Valentine’s Day falls on a weekday this year, and since–if you’re like me–breakfast during the week is a soy-something-or-other from Starbucks, why not enjoy these beauties for dinner with a side of fruit and a glass of soymilk?
I plan to post retro-recipes from my blog for other Valentines favorites along with a brand new creation, but I encourage you to search “Valentine” to see what goodies pop up that might grab your interest.
Happy Valentine’s Day from the Blooming Platter!
While my husband and I are still riding high on our dog, Huff’s, meteoric rise to fame as the co-star of a locally-produced commercial that garnered it’s director and our friend ONE MILLION CLAMS by virtue of being chosen by USA Today’s Ad Meter Poll as the No. 1 ad on the Superbowl, beloved vegan cookbook author, Bryanna Clark Grogan, writes this in her Superbowl post on her website:
“…Betsy, author of The Blooming Platter Cookbook, is one of my favorite vegan cookbook authors (see my review here to find out why!)…”
Follow this link for her entire post.
Wow. Just when you think it can’t get any better!
Thank you, Bryanna; I bow in your direction.
Note: You can learn all about the big win in the Doritos “Crash the Superbowl” Commercial Competition here. Thank you WAVY TV 10 for this great story.
Yield: 12 “stuffed” balls or 24 unstuffed (easily doubles)
In this recipe, a childhood favorite grows up…just a little. And, because these treats are portable and can sit out indefinitely, they lend themselves to Superbowl noshing, as well as brown bag lunches, backpack snacks, and travel.
As a kid, my mom, sister and I used to make Peanut Butter and Rice Krispie Treats. So when Alisa Fleming of Go Dairy Free, who also does some online marketing, offered to send me a couple of varieties of cereal from Attune Foods to review and mentioned that Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal was a good “recipe cereal,” I knew what I would make as soon as the package arrived on my doorstep
But, being one who likes to play with her food–that is, adapt original recipes–I started brainstorming about what I could do to make them extra-special. I’m not a big cereal eater, as most are so carb- and calorie-dense and fail to make me fill satisfied, but I do like the idea of cereals with fruit and nuts. And my good pal, Katherine Jackson and I had recently gone on a 7+ mile hike in Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park with dried apricots and almonds in tow. So, it occurred to me that I could form the mixture into balls around a piece of dried apricot and tuck a roasted almond into the top. Delicious, nutritious, and cute to boot. (Note: Katherine authored the book, Walking Virginia Beach.)
Eureka! These are so good that the only danger is eating too many. Though reasonably healthy albeit pretty heavy in the sweetener department, they are far from low-calorie. So, make them for your Superbowl or any other gathering–or to give as gifts (they pack and travel well)–and limit yourself to just one…or two. Wouldn’t they be cute as Valentine’s “candy”?
First, before the recipe, the cereal “review”: I loved Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal. It is almost identical to Rice Krispies, but it is made with the whole grains of organic brown rice. And I found Erewhon’s particular crunch to be pleasantly dense, not as light and airy as the Kellogg version. Erewhon is vegan, of course, gluten free, all organic, kosher, low fat, very lightly sweetened with brown rice syrup, and contains no artificial anything. You can buy it at
I did it again: missed a day yesterday in my “Crash the Superbowl Snack Recipe.” Darn it. It was a really busy day, but that’s no excuse. So, I owe you two today.
Let’s start with one of the recipes I intended to post a while back when I mentioned having been invited to present a program, complete with samples, on The Blooming Platter Cookbook for Alpha Rho, the educational sorority to which I belong.
I love this combination of rich cashew cheese (featuring my secret “cheesy” ingredient!) and tangy sweet-and-savory chutney. The pairing is perfect perched on a cracker but, after the meeting and some errands, I was starved, so I came home and made a grilled cheese-and-chutney sandwich on super-thin Danish rye bread. Oh, my…
My recommendation is to make the Vegan Cheddar Cheese Spread first so that it can be chilling while you make the chutney.
Next, make the chutney.
Fresh Pear and Dried Cranberry Chutney
Yield: 4-5 cups
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 of a red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2-3 large cloves of garlic, minced
3 Asian pears, stemmed, cored, and coarsely chopped in a food processor (I’ve only every seen Asian pears in one size and that’s large! About the size of a small grapefruit.)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup natural sugar
1/4 cup catsup
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 1/3 cups dried cranberries
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary or to taste
In a large cast iron skillet over medium-high, heat olive oil. Add onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and continue to saute and stir for about 30 seconds. Add pears and saute, stirring frequently, for another 5 minutes or so, or until pears release juices and begin to cook down. Add all remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until the mixture has reached the desired consistency. Stir in rosemary and cook and stir for another minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Serve chilled or at room temperature with crackers or crostini.
Note: To make a Grilled Cheese-and-Chutney Sandwich, melt about 1 tablespoon of vegan butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. While butter melts, spread one piece of bread first with the cheese and then with a layer of chutney. Cover with a second piece of bread and grill for a minute or two on each side or until golden brown.
This hearty Vegan Queso Con Carne Dip is an oldie but goodie, and the essence of traditional Superbowl snacking.
Though this recipe lacks the seasonal influence of most of my other recipes, like those in The Blooming Platter Cookbook, frozen corn, soy crumbles, soy milk, and nutritional yeast makes it nutritious, and onions, green chilies, Ro-tel tomatoes, and a host of Mexican spices insures that it is fragrant and addicting.
Even though our dog Huff is co-starring in a “Crash the Superbowl” Doritos commercial. I like this “Queso” served with Frito “Scoops” to do just what the name says. And I don’t feel too badly, as Frito-Lay makes both products.
Note: I inadvertently skipped yesterday in my Crash the Superbowl Snack Recipe countdown, so I will make up for it by posting two today. Sorry about that!
Yield: 4 servings
Okay, I admit it: Indian dishes aren’t the first thing that pops into my mind when I think of the Superbowl.
But someone recently singled out this photo from my album of Blooming Platter Cookbook winter dishes on Facebook and I was reminded of how pretty it is. But I was also reminded of a Christmas Eve party that my family has attended for many years. Annually on the menu is a huge bowl of marinated cauliflower, rings of fresh onion, black olives and shrimp (which I avoid) served with toothpicks. Everyone always enjoyed it and it was fun to eat.
So it occurred to me, though it’s not your standard Superbowl fare, that a big platter of my Indian Cauliflower set out with toothpicks would easily serve and satisfy a crowd. It is fragrant, simple and delicious. Try using orange cauliflower when making the recipe; it tastes the same as white and it looks beautiful with the black mustard seeds (see photo).
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped onion
1 head white or orange cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon vegan butter
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, optional
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until golden. Add the cauliflower, coriander, turmeric, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the water and simmer until the cauliflower is tender and most of the water is absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. In a small skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the mustard seeds and cook for 2 minutes.
3. To serve, transfer the cauliflower to a serving platter, drizzle with the mustard seed mixture and sprinkle with cilantro, if using. Serve hot (or room temperature).
A big and fat-free thank you to Susan Voisin, the queen of delicious fat-free vegan food, for including The Blooming Platter and one of my recipes in her tasty fat-free Superbowl starting line-up at the Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen.
Just follow this link for her list of great ideas and links for guilt-free snacking, including my Vegan Fat-Free Spinach-Three Bean Dip.
I can think of no better endorsement for this scrumptious dip than that my National Art Honor Society teenagers ask for it by name and devour it at our meetings!
The SuperBowl wouldn’t be the SuperBowl without “wings.”
But make sure the only animal in your celebration is the pigskin on the field with my authentic-tasting Vegan Buffalo Wings. You’ll love their chewy texture and their finger-lickin’ sauce. They are absolutely habit-forming with my Creamy Blue “Cheez” Sauce and crunchy celery sticks.
Oh, there is one more animal that we hope will be part of the big game: Huff, our Great Dane. Read all about his chance at national stardom in the Doritos “Crash the Superbowl” commercial competition here.
For 150 other seasonal recipes for every occasion, I invite you to peruse The Blooming Platter Cookbook.
