Some Amazing Recipes

Some time off from work and a visit from our daughter requires some cooking.  So for a late birthday celebration, I made my favorite cake (a vegan number ).  I first found this recipe when Carrie was doing vegan some years ago.  And yes, it's my favorite cake.  Rich, dark chocolate, with lots of flavor.  It's moist and you wouldn't know it doesn't have eggs unless you see the recipe.

Our beautiful daughter with her "late" birthday cake.

I found this recipe on the ppk.com.  It's a vegan recipe database.  It was submitted by Isa.  Who I presume to be Isa Chandra Moskowitz--a very prominent vegan cookbook author.

Give this a try before you poo poo it.  I make this regularly for birthday celebrations.  Enjoy.

Rich Chocolate Cake

Prep time:  15 minutes
Cook time:  Recipe says 25 minutes.  I have to bake at least 40 minutes to get a toothpick to come out clean.
Makes: 12 slices

From author:  Well the name says it all.  This is the richest chocolate cake around.  To make it a two layer cake, multiply the ingredients by one half and divide into two separate springform pans.  If you don't have springform pans, cover the bottom of cake pan in parchment paper or it will stick.

Equipment:
springform pan, two good sized bowls, a whisk, a saucepan

Ingredients:
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all purpose unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup good cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain soy milk
1/2 cup oil (I used grape seed)
1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons of vanilla

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray.
• Sift together flours and baking powder and baking soda.
• In a saucepan heat the soy milk on low-medium heat.  When it's slightly bubbling, add the cocoa powder and whisk well until it is dissolved.  Removed from heat.
• Combine the other liquid ingredients in a bowl and whisk well.  Add the cocoa mixture and combine.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry.
• Pour batter into prepared pan, bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool completely and frost with your favorite frosting.

Vegan Chocolate Frosting

(Which also happens to be my favorite.)

This came from wegweb.com.  Author is Wally.

For ingredients use vegan versions or whatever you have on hand.  It will not be vegan if ingredients are not vegan.

Ingredients:

1 cup margarine

4 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla

4 tablespoons soy milk

1/2 cup cocoa powder

dash of salt

Directions:

Margarine should be at room temperature when being placed in mixing bowl.  (I used my stand mixer.) Blend margarine until a little mushy, and then add powered sugar, salt, vanilla, chocolate, and soy milk. You can add more soy milk (gradually) if you like a smoother icing.  (I use four tablespoons and that seems to be about perfect.)  Beat with mixer until a very creamy consistency.

Spread on cake and enjoy.  This makes a huge amount of frosting, so you can save for frosting cookings or brownies.

This has just the right amount of sweetness.  Not so sweet that you can't stand it.

Pot Sticker Miso Soup

I was looking for something quick and hearty for a cold, snowy, winter night.  Then I remembered my PDQ cookbook. I picked one up for Justin in 2007.  He was eating vegetarian and these were super easy.  I tried out a few recipes and it was so good I got one for myself.

From:  The PDQ (Pretty Darn Quick) Vegetarian Cookbook
By:  Donna Klein

Makes 4 servings
Vegan

"Miso is a fermented soy paste that is used frequently in Japanese cooking to flavor and thicken soups and sauces.  While just 1 tablespoon of miso contains 2 grams of protein and 1 gram of dietary fiber, it also contains about 800 milligrams of sodium.  If you are watching your salt intake, use the lesser amount in the recipe.  Vegetarian pot stickers, a ravioli-like Asian pasta, are typically filled with a combination of cabbage, carrots, and radishes.  Both miso and pot stickers can be found in Asian markets as well as specialty and health food stores; I got mine at Trader Joe's."

• 2 1/2 cups water (*I used whatever vegetable broth I have on hand)
• 1 14-ounce can low sodium vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon freeze-dried chopped chives
• 8 ounces frozen vegetarian pot stickers
• 1/2 cup canned straw mushrooms, drained (optional) (*I love these.)
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons miso, preferably the brown variety, mixed with 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon toasted dark sesame oil

In a medium stockpot, bring the water, broth, and chives to a boil over medium-high heat.  Add the pot stickers and mushrooms; stir and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until pot stickers are softened but still firm to the bite, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and add the miso mixture and sesame oil, stirring well to combine.  (If not serving immediately, keep warm over low heat, but do not allow the mixture to boil.) Serve hot.

Nutritional info:  Calories 135, Protein 9 grams, Total Fat 2 grams, Saturated Fat 0 grams, Cholesterol 0 grams, Carbs 21 grams, Dietary Fiber 2 grams, Sodium  629 milligrams

Variations:

1. Miso Noodle Soup-- Substitute 2 to 3 ounces somen noodles, broken in half, for the pot stickers.
2. Miso Soup-- Omit the pot stickers and mushrooms.  After the broth mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat and stir in the miso mixture and sesame oil.  Serve hot.

My note:  I use low-sodium miso.  It still has plenty of of sodium.  I like to serve it with some sort of thick crusty bread or biscuits--though that isn't very Asian.  It's best to use it all up at once.  Trader Joe's pot stickers come in a 16 ounce package.  That makes a lot of soup.  The pot stickers get a bit droopy on the second day, but the flavor is even richer as the miso has time to blend and mellow.

Miso Pot Sticker Soup

*My note.

Addicting Tempeh "Chicken" Salad

You won't believe how good this salad is.  Especially if you are yearning for some old fashioned chicken salad like granny used to make.  My grandmother made the BEST chicken salad anywhere.  I still make it on occasion for gatherings.  But for a healthier option at home, this is what I like. My husband can't make up his mind. Today he had seconds, but said, "it's not chicken salad."  I venture to say you can't tell the difference.  Thank you Carrie Price for getting me the Cookin' Southern Vegetarian Style, by  Ann Jackson.  This is your go-to recipe book if you are craving flavors from your childhood!

Addicting Tempeh "Chicken" Salad
From:  Cookin' Southern Vegetarian Style
By:  Ann Jackson
My notes in bold.

Yield:  4-6 servings (unless you eat it all up like I do.)

Important note:  You can purchase tempeh at most grocery stores these days.  Tempeh should be cooked before you use it in a recipe.  I steam mine in a rice cooker when I cook rice, but it can also be boiled or steamed on the stove.

• 1-8 ounce package tempeh
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup mayonnaise (To make it vegan, use Vegenaise.  I use 3/4 cup because I like it that way!)
• 1/2 large onion, half grated, half chopped (I just chop mine.)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery (Not to finely.  You can also add celery see if desired.)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (This is not the same as yeast for bread.  Bob's Red Mill makes a good nutritional yeast.)
•  1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) I like a little salt on this.
• Black pepper to taste

 Steam tempeh lightly for about 25 minutes.  Chop into chunks and put into a bowl.  Add the other ingredients.  Mix.  Refrigerate and serve.  You can eat it in a sandwich, or on top of a tomato.

An Apple Pie in a Tortilla

SXM Strudel

This recipe comes from The Everyday Herbivore, by Lindsay S. Nixon.  Yes, it's my favorite cookbook right now.  What I like most about it is that the recipes are easy, tasty, and healthy.  So, other than the fact that I need to learn how to wrap a tortilla, it turned out very well.  Both my husband and I loved it, and my daughter-in-law requested the recipe.  So here goes.  Enjoy.

SXM Strudel

Ingredients:

1 apple, cored and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon  brown sugar

dash of ground cinnamon

1 whole wheat tortilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
2. Toss the apples in a mixing bowl with sugar and several dashes of cinnamon, until the apple slices are well-coated.
3. If you want the ooey-gooey, apple-pie filling,  you'll need to pan-fry the apples while your oven preheats (otherwise, put raw apples straight in the tortillas as directed in # 4).  Line a skillet with a thin layer of water and saute apples over high heat until they start to soften and the water has cooked off.  About 4 minutes.
4. Turn off heat and quickly microwave your tortilla for 5 to 15 seconds, so that it's soft and pliable (perhaps longer if you kept it in the fridge, but it shouldn't be longer than 20 to 30 seconds).
5. Spoon the apples into the center of the tortilla, setting a few slices aside, then roll up the tortilla like a burrito.
6. Place it, crease side down on the baking sheet with a few apple slices over the top.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden and crispy, but not burned, or bake for less time if you still want it to be soft.

 

Any one who knows me, knows that I didn't make just one.  I must have quadrupled!  But they refrigerate well, and Mike and I had them for breakfast on days 2 and 3.

 

 Nutritional Info:  182 calories, 1 gram fat, 44.9 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 27.9 grams sugars, 1.9 grams protein

Chefs Note:  For a more decadent treat, combine 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of nondairy milk to form a thick glaze.  Adjust milk as necessary.  Dip a fork into the glaze and drizzle it over the warm strudel.

And here's an idea:  Why not use a tortilla as a pie crust?  I haven't tried it yet, but I think it would work great as a single crust pie.

How to Fold a Burrito--I should have watched this first!