Pepper Crusted Goats Cheese and Almond Feta

Around New Years Eve, I made two nut based cheeses. First the cashew goats cheese which I had already tried at Johannas house and loved. I used muslin because the woman at spotlight told me to and also had very little come out when wrapped in the cheesecloth.

Pepper Crusted Goats Cheese from Vegetarian Times

3/4 cup raw cashews

6 Tbs. canola oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 Tbs. tahini

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cracked black peppercorns or coarsely ground black pepper

Directions

1. Place cashews in large bowl; cover with 3 inches water. Soak overnight.

2. Drain liquid, rinse cashews under cold water, and drain again. Purée cashews, oil, lemon juice, tahini, salt, and 2 Tbs. water in food processor 6 minutes, or until smooth and creamy.

3. Place large strainer over bowl, and line with triple layer of cheesecloth. Spoon cashew mixture into cheesecloth. Fold sides of cloth over cheese, and form into 6-inch-long oval loaf. Twist ends of cloth and secure with rubber bands. Set in strainer over bowl, and let stand 12 hours at room temperature. Discard excess liquid. Chill.

4. Preheat oven to 200°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap cheese, and scrape into 7-inch-long log on cheesecloth. Rewrap, and twist ends to secure. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake 35 minutes, or until cheese becomes set on outside but still soft, turning occasionally. Cool, and chill.

5. Unwrap cheese. Sprinkle with peppercorns, pressing to adhere.

I copied Johanna and used this in a quinoa salad. The salad itself was a bit boring but the 'goats cheese' made such a tasty addition. Its got a lovely tangy, salty flavour.

Next I made the:

Almond Feta but without the herb oil, also from vegetarian times

• 1 cup whole blanched almonds
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 Tbs. plus 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbs. fresh thyme leaves (left this out)
• 1 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves (also left this out)
• 1. Place almonds in medium bowl, and cover with 3 inches cold water. Let soak 24 hours. Drain soaking liquid, rinse almonds under cold running water, and drain again.
  2. Purée almonds, lemon juice, 3 Tbs. oil, garlic, salt, and 1/2 cup cold water in food processor 6 minutes, or until very smooth and creamy.
  3. Place large strainer over bowl, and line with triple layer of cheesecloth. Spoon almond mixture into cheesecloth. Bring corners and sides of cloth together, and twist around cheese, forming into orange-size ball and squeezing to help extract moisture. Secure with rubber band or kitchen twine. Chill 12 hours, or overnight. Discard excess liquid.
  4. Preheat oven to 200°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap cheese (it will be soft), and transfer from cheesecloth to prepared baking sheet. Flatten to form 6-inch round about 3/4-inch thick. Bake 40 minutes, or until top is slightly firm. Cool, then chill. (Cheese can be made up to this point 2 days ahead; keep refrigerated.)
  5. Combine remaining 1/4 cup oil, thyme, and rosemary in small saucepan. Warm oil over medium-low heat 2 minutes, or until very hot but not simmering. Cool to room temperature. Drizzle herb oil over cheese just before serving. I skipped this part.
  
  
  
  
  
  I enjoyed the garlic in this one and thought it was tasty enough without the herb oil. However, I took half of it to a new years eve party and when paired with crackers with a lot of salt/flavour you could barely taste it. So I recommend adding the herb oil. I can't choose a favourite either, as they are both tasty in their own ways. I will certainly continue experimenting with more nut based cheeses. What are your favourite recipes?

Around New Years Eve, I made two nut based cheeses. First the cashew goats cheese which I had already tried at Johannas house and loved. I used muslin because the woman at spotlight told me to and also had very little come out when wrapped in the cheesecloth.

Pepper Crusted Goats Cheese from Vegetarian Times

3/4 cup raw cashews

6 Tbs. canola oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 Tbs. tahini

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cracked black peppercorns or coarsely ground black pepper

Directions

1. Place cashews in large bowl; cover with 3 inches water. Soak overnight.

2. Drain liquid, rinse cashews under cold water, and drain again. Purée cashews, oil, lemon juice, tahini, salt, and 2 Tbs. water in food processor 6 minutes, or until smooth and creamy.

3. Place large strainer over bowl, and line with triple layer of cheesecloth. Spoon cashew mixture into cheesecloth. Fold sides of cloth over cheese, and form into 6-inch-long oval loaf. Twist ends of cloth and secure with rubber bands. Set in strainer over bowl, and let stand 12 hours at room temperature. Discard excess liquid. Chill.

4. Preheat oven to 200°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap cheese, and scrape into 7-inch-long log on cheesecloth. Rewrap, and twist ends to secure. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake 35 minutes, or until cheese becomes set on outside but still soft, turning occasionally. Cool, and chill.

5. Unwrap cheese. Sprinkle with peppercorns, pressing to adhere.

I copied Johanna and used this in a quinoa salad. The salad itself was a bit boring but the 'goats cheese' made such a tasty addition. Its got a lovely tangy, salty flavour.

Next I made the:

Almond Feta but without the herb oil, also from vegetarian times

• 1 cup whole blanched almonds
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 Tbs. plus 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbs. fresh thyme leaves (left this out)
• 1 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves (also left this out)
• 1. Place almonds in medium bowl, and cover with 3 inches cold water. Let soak 24 hours. Drain soaking liquid, rinse almonds under cold running water, and drain again.
  2. Purée almonds, lemon juice, 3 Tbs. oil, garlic, salt, and 1/2 cup cold water in food processor 6 minutes, or until very smooth and creamy.
  3. Place large strainer over bowl, and line with triple layer of cheesecloth. Spoon almond mixture into cheesecloth. Bring corners and sides of cloth together, and twist around cheese, forming into orange-size ball and squeezing to help extract moisture. Secure with rubber band or kitchen twine. Chill 12 hours, or overnight. Discard excess liquid.
  4. Preheat oven to 200°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap cheese (it will be soft), and transfer from cheesecloth to prepared baking sheet. Flatten to form 6-inch round about 3/4-inch thick. Bake 40 minutes, or until top is slightly firm. Cool, then chill. (Cheese can be made up to this point 2 days ahead; keep refrigerated.)
  5. Combine remaining 1/4 cup oil, thyme, and rosemary in small saucepan. Warm oil over medium-low heat 2 minutes, or until very hot but not simmering. Cool to room temperature. Drizzle herb oil over cheese just before serving. I skipped this part.
  
  
  
  
  
  I enjoyed the garlic in this one and thought it was tasty enough without the herb oil. However, I took half of it to a new years eve party and when paired with crackers with a lot of salt/flavour you could barely taste it. So I recommend adding the herb oil. I can't choose a favourite either, as they are both tasty in their own ways. I will certainly continue experimenting with more nut based cheeses. What are your favourite recipes?

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Home Made Soy Yogurt- Vegan MOFO Day 21

I made yogurt, yipppeee. I originally tried with a crappy plastic yogurt maker which I suspect to be quite similar to doing it in a pot and didn't work at all. But then I invested in a proper yogurt maker, I got a yolife yogurt maker which was bit more expensive but includes 7 small glass jars or you can use your own large jar. I was originally inspired by the fat fuelled vegan's post on it back in June. But given that his wasn't thick, decided to follow Bryanna Clark Grogans recipe a little more closely.

Soy Yogurt adapted very slightly and halved from Byranna's recipe here


5 cups of soymilk
1 T sugar
1/4 cup tapioca starch
3/4 t agar powder
5 Capsules of inner health plus-dairy free
need candy thermometer

1. Sterilise Jars 
2. Add sugar, tapioca starch and agar powder to soy milk. Whisk well.
3. Heat mixture over low heat while stirring. Turn off heat before milk reaches boiling point at about 176F-185F (80C).
4. Let it cool to 104F (40C) This took about about 90 minutes to 2 hours. Just keep checking regularly.
5. Empty capsules into mixture and whisk again.
6. Add to jar/s
7. Turn on yogurt maker and let is set for 9-12 hours.
8. Place lids on jars and refrigerate for 12 hours.

We let it set about 13 hours due to a slight sleep in and it was nice and tart. The texture was pretty close, although still slightly watery in parts, there was a bit of condensation on the inside of the lid which I think got in the yogurt as we removed it in the morning. We have been enjoying it by mixing in frozen blueberries and a small amount of jam. Next I will experiment with coconut yogurt and try using it in savoury dishes.

This was surprisingly easy to make but does take lots of waiting, so will be a regular weekend thing I think!

I made yogurt, yipppeee. I originally tried with a crappy plastic yogurt maker which I suspect to be quite similar to doing it in a pot and didn't work at all. But then I invested in a proper yogurt maker, I got a yolife yogurt maker which was bit more expensive but includes 7 small glass jars or you can use your own large jar. I was originally inspired by the fat fuelled vegan's post on it back in June. But given that his wasn't thick, decided to follow Bryanna Clark Grogans recipe a little more closely.

Soy Yogurt adapted very slightly and halved from Byranna's recipe here


5 cups of soymilk
1 T sugar
1/4 cup tapioca starch
3/4 t agar powder
5 Capsules of inner health plus-dairy free
need candy thermometer

1. Sterilise Jars 
2. Add sugar, tapioca starch and agar powder to soy milk. Whisk well.
3. Heat mixture over low heat while stirring. Turn off heat before milk reaches boiling point at about 176F-185F (80C).
4. Let it cool to 104F (40C) This took about about 90 minutes to 2 hours. Just keep checking regularly.
5. Empty capsules into mixture and whisk again.
6. Add to jar/s
7. Turn on yogurt maker and let is set for 9-12 hours.
8. Place lids on jars and refrigerate for 12 hours.

We let it set about 13 hours due to a slight sleep in and it was nice and tart. The texture was pretty close, although still slightly watery in parts, there was a bit of condensation on the inside of the lid which I think got in the yogurt as we removed it in the morning. We have been enjoying it by mixing in frozen blueberries and a small amount of jam. Next I will experiment with coconut yogurt and try using it in savoury dishes.

This was surprisingly easy to make but does take lots of waiting, so will be a regular weekend thing I think!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Taiwanese Marinated Tofu - Vegan MOFO Day 10

When I first turned vegan, I ate a lot of Taiwanese marinated dried tofu from the packet.  They are almost like jerky and go very well with booze.  But most of them are full of preservatives and artificial flavour enhancers.   

When I was researching authentic Taiwanese vegetarian recipes to veganize and de-gultenize, I came across this amazing marinated dried tofu recipe. (in Chinese).  The original author didn't specify the quantities but I just estimated by the look of the photos with a bit of common sense.  

What you need are:

Oil (I used 4 tablespoons for the 1st time and 1/2 cup for the 2nd time)  

Dried tofu (I chopped up two blocks of Yenson Dry Tofu) 

Whole Star Anises (I used 10)

Szechuan pepper (I used 2 tablespoons)

Dried chilli pepper (I used 1 tablespoon chilli flakes)

Rock sugar  (I used around 1/2 cup)

Gluten-free soy sauce (I used 4 tablespoons for the 1st time and 1/2 cup for the 2nd time)

Instruction :

1) Brown the tofu with a little bit of oil (I didn't do it for the first time and the result wasn't very good) and set a side.

2) Add whole star Anises, Sichuan pepper, dried chilli pepper and oil in a cold wok or fry pan, cook in low heat until fragrant.  

3) Melt rock sugar (you might want to break them up first) to the wok/fry pan   

4) Add tofu and gluten-free soy sauce in and cook over low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, stir occasionally  

5) Drain the marinade out and serve. You can keep the marinade and reuse for another time.

I didn't use much oil and gluten-free soy sauce and it wasn't good enough.

I nailed it the second time!

You can also add some peanuts (dry roasted in the wok/on the fry pan first) when you cook the tofu.

It is a great snack or dinner when paired with vegies and rice!

When I first turned vegan, I ate a lot of Taiwanese marinated dried tofu from the packet.  They are almost like jerky and go very well with booze.  But most of them are full of preservatives and artificial flavour enhancers.   

When I was researching authentic Taiwanese vegetarian recipes to veganize and de-gultenize, I came across this amazing marinated dried tofu recipe. (in Chinese).  The original author didn't specify the quantities but I just estimated by the look of the photos with a bit of common sense.  

What you need are:

Oil (I used 4 tablespoons for the 1st time and 1/2 cup for the 2nd time)  

Dried tofu (I chopped up two blocks of Yenson Dry Tofu) 

Whole Star Anises (I used 10)

Szechuan pepper (I used 2 tablespoons)

Dried chilli pepper (I used 1 tablespoon chilli flakes)

Rock sugar  (I used around 1/2 cup)

Gluten-free soy sauce (I used 4 tablespoons for the 1st time and 1/2 cup for the 2nd time)

Instruction :

1) Brown the tofu with a little bit of oil (I didn't do it for the first time and the result wasn't very good) and set a side.

2) Add whole star Anises, Sichuan pepper, dried chilli pepper and oil in a cold wok or fry pan, cook in low heat until fragrant.  

3) Melt rock sugar (you might want to break them up first) to the wok/fry pan   

4) Add tofu and gluten-free soy sauce in and cook over low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, stir occasionally  

5) Drain the marinade out and serve. You can keep the marinade and reuse for another time.

I didn't use much oil and gluten-free soy sauce and it wasn't good enough.

I nailed it the second time!

You can also add some peanuts (dry roasted in the wok/on the fry pan first) when you cook the tofu.

It is a great snack or dinner when paired with vegies and rice!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Baked Rice Paper Rolls-Vegan Mofo Day 3

I've been craving spring rolls since going gluten free and remember seeing people post about using rice paper rolls to make them so thought I would give it a try last week. I had mentioned to Johanna at the picnic that I wanted to do it and she reminded me that she had tried it before. So I followed her recipe.

Baked Rice Paper Spring Rolls from Green Gourmet Giraffe

makes 20 spring rolls

• 50g dried rice vermicelli noodles
• 1 largish carrot, grated (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup shredded Chinese cabbage
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 150g firm tofu, crumbled
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp agave
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove. crushed
• 1 tsp pickled sushi (or fresh) ginger, finely chopped
• 20  rice paper roll wrappers
• vegetable oil

Soak vermicelli noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes and then drain. Add remaining vegies and seasoning. Mix well.

Have a large shallow bowl of water to soak each rice paper wrapper in for about 10 seconds before placing flat on a board. Place a dessertspoon of filling on the one side of the wrapper. Fold edge of wrapper over the filling. Fold the sides over and then roll up so the filling is wrapped in the rest of the wrapper.

Preheat oven to 210 C. Place spring rolls on a tray lined with baking paper or silicone. Spray or brush with oil.

Bake spring rolls for about 20-25 minutes or until crispy - it will be hardly brown and will soften slightly if you let it cool for a while but will remain pleasingly chewy. I served mine with sweet chilli and gf soy sauce.


I found the pictures on the bake bike blog to be useful in knowing how to roll them, so also attempted a similar thing but mine are not as clear:

 

Here they are out of the oven:
 

I loved the filling, but didn't think they resembled proper gluteny spring rolls at all.  I have read about people deep frying them so wonder if that is a better replication? Still they were enjoyable in their own way, although a little time consuming because I was so damn slow at rolling them.

I've been craving spring rolls since going gluten free and remember seeing people post about using rice paper rolls to make them so thought I would give it a try last week. I had mentioned to Johanna at the picnic that I wanted to do it and she reminded me that she had tried it before. So I followed her recipe.

Baked Rice Paper Spring Rolls from Green Gourmet Giraffe

makes 20 spring rolls

• 50g dried rice vermicelli noodles
• 1 largish carrot, grated (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup shredded Chinese cabbage
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 150g firm tofu, crumbled
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp agave
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove. crushed
• 1 tsp pickled sushi (or fresh) ginger, finely chopped
• 20  rice paper roll wrappers
• vegetable oil

Soak vermicelli noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes and then drain. Add remaining vegies and seasoning. Mix well.

Have a large shallow bowl of water to soak each rice paper wrapper in for about 10 seconds before placing flat on a board. Place a dessertspoon of filling on the one side of the wrapper. Fold edge of wrapper over the filling. Fold the sides over and then roll up so the filling is wrapped in the rest of the wrapper.

Preheat oven to 210 C. Place spring rolls on a tray lined with baking paper or silicone. Spray or brush with oil.

Bake spring rolls for about 20-25 minutes or until crispy - it will be hardly brown and will soften slightly if you let it cool for a while but will remain pleasingly chewy. I served mine with sweet chilli and gf soy sauce.


I found the pictures on the bake bike blog to be useful in knowing how to roll them, so also attempted a similar thing but mine are not as clear:

 

Here they are out of the oven:
 

I loved the filling, but didn't think they resembled proper gluteny spring rolls at all.  I have read about people deep frying them so wonder if that is a better replication? Still they were enjoyable in their own way, although a little time consuming because I was so damn slow at rolling them.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Apricot Delight

Another entry for that recipe looks familiar event, this one uses a recipe from Green Gourmet Giraffe. I used to love apricot delights but all the preservatives and other ingredients would upset my stomach so I was excited to see Johanna make them at home. To completely avoid preservatives, I got some organic sulphur free dried apricots and dessicated coconut from wholefoods. I didn't read the recipe right the first time, so ended up adding all of the apricots to the pan rather than leaving some whole. I don't think it make a big difference though. I also accidentally added a little bit too much water to mine, which made my a little softer but did mean that I had no issues getting the coconut on the sides.

 

Apricot Delight
makes 36
adapted from the Australian Women's Weekly as found on Green Gourmet Giraffe
250g dried apricots, chopped
3/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups dessicated coconut
2 tbsp honey agave
extra coconut, for coating

Place half  the apricots and the boiling water in a small saucepan.  Soak for about an hour.  Bring to the boil and gently simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.  The apricots should be quite jammy.

Puree apricots in a blender.   Add the rest of the apricots and the coconut.  You will have a stiff paste.  Spread into a lined 15cm square cake tin and leave overnight in the fridge. 

The next day, take slab out of the cake tin and chop into about 36 squares (or any size you want).  Toss each piece in coconut.  I found that the top of my slab had dried out a bit and was harder to get the coconut to stick to it - so I wiped it with a damp wad of kitchen paper. 

Keep in an airtight container. 



They are just as tasty as the store bought ones, although a little darker in colour without the preservatives. But more importantly easy to make and pretty healthy. Will certainly make them again!

Another entry for that recipe looks familiar event, this one uses a recipe from Green Gourmet Giraffe. I used to love apricot delights but all the preservatives and other ingredients would upset my stomach so I was excited to see Johanna make them at home. To completely avoid preservatives, I got some organic sulphur free dried apricots and dessicated coconut from wholefoods. I didn't read the recipe right the first time, so ended up adding all of the apricots to the pan rather than leaving some whole. I don't think it make a big difference though. I also accidentally added a little bit too much water to mine, which made my a little softer but did mean that I had no issues getting the coconut on the sides.

 

Apricot Delight
makes 36
adapted from the Australian Women's Weekly as found on Green Gourmet Giraffe
250g dried apricots, chopped
3/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups dessicated coconut
2 tbsp honey agave
extra coconut, for coating

Place half  the apricots and the boiling water in a small saucepan.  Soak for about an hour.  Bring to the boil and gently simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.  The apricots should be quite jammy.

Puree apricots in a blender.   Add the rest of the apricots and the coconut.  You will have a stiff paste.  Spread into a lined 15cm square cake tin and leave overnight in the fridge. 

The next day, take slab out of the cake tin and chop into about 36 squares (or any size you want).  Toss each piece in coconut.  I found that the top of my slab had dried out a bit and was harder to get the coconut to stick to it - so I wiped it with a damp wad of kitchen paper. 

Keep in an airtight container. 



They are just as tasty as the store bought ones, although a little darker in colour without the preservatives. But more importantly easy to make and pretty healthy. Will certainly make them again!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Ginger and Jasmine Tea Glazed Almonds

I kind of lost my blogging mojo since we come back from the US, which is partially due to what I like to call post holiday syndrome, and then was out of cooking/baking action for a few weeks when I broke my toes and have had a few other things distract me. But I am now trying to get it back.

I made these nuts weeks ago when friends bought over a fun boardgame called apples to apples. They were kind of inspired by wheres the beef cashew crack but obviously with different flavours and nuts. I used the right amount of jasmine tea but the flavour of the tea was overpowdered by the ginger, next time I might decrease the ginger and add more jasmine tea. I enjoyed them but I do love ginger but admit that I prefer their lemony cousin.


Jasmine Tea and Ginger Glazed Almonds from 28 cooks:
1 c raw almonds
1/4 c sugar
pinch of salt
2 jasmine tea bags, or 1 generous tsp of jasmine tea
1/4 c finely chopped crystallized ginger

In large pan, combine almonds and sugar over medium high heat. Stir frequently until sugar starts to melt. Lower heat, and stir continuously for 10 minutes, or until sugar starts to fully melt and cover nuts. Add tea and continue to cook for an additional minute or two, until nuts are well glazed and tea is well mixed in. Add ginger, and stir until well mixed. Pour onto sheet of wax paper on a cooling rack, and spread out. Allow to cool. Store in tightly-sealed container.

I kind of lost my blogging mojo since we come back from the US, which is partially due to what I like to call post holiday syndrome, and then was out of cooking/baking action for a few weeks when I broke my toes and have had a few other things distract me. But I am now trying to get it back.

I made these nuts weeks ago when friends bought over a fun boardgame called apples to apples. They were kind of inspired by wheres the beef cashew crack but obviously with different flavours and nuts. I used the right amount of jasmine tea but the flavour of the tea was overpowdered by the ginger, next time I might decrease the ginger and add more jasmine tea. I enjoyed them but I do love ginger but admit that I prefer their lemony cousin.


Jasmine Tea and Ginger Glazed Almonds from 28 cooks:
1 c raw almonds
1/4 c sugar
pinch of salt
2 jasmine tea bags, or 1 generous tsp of jasmine tea
1/4 c finely chopped crystallized ginger

In large pan, combine almonds and sugar over medium high heat. Stir frequently until sugar starts to melt. Lower heat, and stir continuously for 10 minutes, or until sugar starts to fully melt and cover nuts. Add tea and continue to cook for an additional minute or two, until nuts are well glazed and tea is well mixed in. Add ginger, and stir until well mixed. Pour onto sheet of wax paper on a cooling rack, and spread out. Allow to cool. Store in tightly-sealed container.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Choc Rice Cakes- Product Review and Recipe

I discovered these mini dark chocolate coated rice cakes in the supermarket the other day and was pleased to discover that they were both gluten free and vegan. Anyone who has every worked with me knows that my two most common snacks at work are chocolate and rice cakes. Although not normally together as I tend to put peanut butter on rice cakes. So I was intrigued by this pack which I found them in coles for about $3.90 for a packet.



At the first bite, I was still not convinced but after eating one or two I'm now a total convert. It allows me to have my choc fix but in smaller portion and also fills me up at the same time.  They are much smaller and thinner than regular rice cakes so after sharing a few with colleagues and indulging in several the packet was quickly gone. They do vaguely remind me of chocolate digestives which I was also a big fan of.




So tonight I tried to recreate them using regular size rice cakes. I used the multigrain corn thins and melted a tiny bit of lindt dark chocolate with coconut oil and simply spread a thin layer and let it set. I can't tell you how much though because the chocolate was leftover from another recipe I was making. They were just as good but next time I would use the neutral plain rice cakes as the multigrain ones have a weird sorgum/corn flavour which doesn't go that well with chocolate. I can defintely see this becoming a regular snack in our household.

I discovered these mini dark chocolate coated rice cakes in the supermarket the other day and was pleased to discover that they were both gluten free and vegan. Anyone who has every worked with me knows that my two most common snacks at work are chocolate and rice cakes. Although not normally together as I tend to put peanut butter on rice cakes. So I was intrigued by this pack which I found them in coles for about $3.90 for a packet.



At the first bite, I was still not convinced but after eating one or two I'm now a total convert. It allows me to have my choc fix but in smaller portion and also fills me up at the same time.  They are much smaller and thinner than regular rice cakes so after sharing a few with colleagues and indulging in several the packet was quickly gone. They do vaguely remind me of chocolate digestives which I was also a big fan of.




So tonight I tried to recreate them using regular size rice cakes. I used the multigrain corn thins and melted a tiny bit of lindt dark chocolate with coconut oil and simply spread a thin layer and let it set. I can't tell you how much though because the chocolate was leftover from another recipe I was making. They were just as good but next time I would use the neutral plain rice cakes as the multigrain ones have a weird sorgum/corn flavour which doesn't go that well with chocolate. I can defintely see this becoming a regular snack in our household.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Fancy Birthday Food

To celebrate my 30th, I had a few people over to celebrate with food and/or drinks. We only live in a tiny 1 bedroom place so couldn't have a large potluck or party. So I hope I haven't offended anyone by keeping it really small!

Toby and I made 4 things. We took Friday off but ended up having a bit of a disaster two days of cooking, lots of accidentally misreading recipes, throwing out things, spilling things, breaking things and I even gave myself a nasty bump on the head. We attempted to make tomato jelly by mixing arrowroot with tomato juice but it didn't quite work out texture wise, so Toby grated the jelly with a microplace grater which I think fixed the texture issues. We served it on seaweed crackers with cream cheese.




We also made some:

Red Pepper Hummus in Cucumber Cups from Wind Attack.

 For the Hummus
    * 2 Red Bell Peppers, fire roasted, skins, stems and seeds discarded
    * Juice of Two Lemons
    * ½ tsp (Smoked) Sea Salt
    * 3 cloves Garlic, Smashed
    * 2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
    * 2 tsp Agave Nectar
    * 2 ½ cups Cooked Chickpeas
    * 1/3 cup Tahini
    * ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    * Cucumbers ( I think I used 5 in total)
    * Paprika
    * Chives


   1. In the food processor, blend the red peppers, lemon juice, garlic, vinegar, agave nectar and salt until liquified. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
   2. Next, add the chickpeas to the food processor and blend until ground into a crumbly texture. Add the tahini and blend in until completely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
   3. Add the red pepper mix back into the chickpea mix and blend to incorporate. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Continue blending for several minutes until everything is well incorporated. The hummus will not be completely smooth on account of the texture left from the pepper.
   4. Peel the cucumbers leaving stripes of skin still intact. Slice into one to two inch high pieces. Using a teaspoon, pierce down into the top of a cucumber piece at the edge of the seeds. Rotate the spoon to remove a conical shape of seeds, going down only halfway through the cucumber piece.
   5. Using a mini ice cream scoop (I just used a teaspoon), place a scoop of the hummus in the hole. Dust with paprika, and garnish with the tip of a chive.

We were really happy with how they looked and tasted although check out wind attacks, she has closer pictures. We ended up with a bit of dip leftover too.



We also made some rose and cardamon ice cream (from vegan scoop) which I didn't take a picture of and these fruit desserts. I got this recipe and idea from Sivonne, I was at a wedding and was telling her about my idea of making fancy food for my birthday and my dream to make gf vegan tuilles and she told me about this recipe which her mother made and then send me the recipe which was easy to veganise. Although my two attempts at tuilles didn't work. The first time I made a vegan version of the coconut tuiles in this recipe but they didn't stay together and cracked when I tried to put them over a rolling pin. I suspect it's because I attempted to make them too thick, I ended up breaking it into pieces and serving it with tiny bits of biscuits. I also attempted to make poh's tuiles which didn't work with g/f flour. However, I was happy with this dessert overall. A word of warning though, it's quite time consuming and has several parts. It was our first time working with fresh lemongrass and I don't think I was successful at getting enough flavour out of it. Also, we used more passionfruit in place of mango.

Pineapple and Lemongrass Soup with Tropical Fruit by Lorraine Godsmark via Sivonne.  I think the original recipe is from women weekly?

Serves 6

12 lychees, peeled, halved (I forgot to cut them in half)
1 medium mango, peeled, sliced ( I used more passionfruit)
1 passionfruit, pulp removed

Pineapple Soup
1 whole pineapple
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 1/4 cup water
1 stick fresh lemon grass
1 vanilla bean
1 tsp lime rind
1 tbsp lime juice

Coconut Sorbet
1 cup water
1 cup caster sugar
3 1/4 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup milk (I used soy milk)

Coconut Tuiles
1/2 cup caster sugar
2/3 cup desiccated cocconut
2/3 cup shredded coconut
3 egg whites (I used egg replacer)
20g butter (I used nuttlex)

Pineapple Soup

1. Preheat oven to 180c. Remove pineapple top. Place pineapple in oven tray for 2 hours until soft. Cool, peel and chop pineapple. Blend until smooth.
2. Place sugar and 1/4 cup of water in pan, stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil, boil uncovered until it become a pale caramel colour. Remove from heat and add 1 cup of water to stop the caramel from cooking further. Return the pan to heat to dissolve any firm pieces of caramel. Add syrup to the pineapple.
3. Divide the lemon grass into 2cm lengths and bruise with back of a knife. Split the banilla bean in half and scoop out seeds. Place pineapple mixture in pan with lemon grass, lime rind and vaniulla seeds. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes, cool.
4. Press the pineapple mixture through a sieve over a bowl, pressing on the lemon grass to extract it's flavour, add lime juice to taste. Refrigerate until required.

Coconut Sorbet

1. Combine water and sugar in pan, stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Combine syrup with coconut cream and milk. Cool then place in ice cream maker.

Coconut Tuiles

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Combine sugar and coconuts in bowl, add egg whites (egg replacer) and stir until they are absorbed. Stir in the butter to obtain a paste. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before use.
3. Mark 8cm circles on baking paper. Turn paper over, place on oven tray. Using dampened fingertips, pat out the tuiles mixture thinly inside circles. Bake in oven for 5-10 minutes until golden.
4. Lift from tray an drape over rolling pin before they cool. Repeat with remaining mixture.

To serve, put a few small ladles of soup into base of bowls, place scoop of coconut sorbet and fruit around and place tuile on top. (I obviously made mini versions)




Troy bought along some 'fish' cakes with a tangy tamarind sauce, these didn't last long!



Michael made some gluten free dumplings which were impressive both in taste and texture. I really wish I had more right now.



Cindy made these incredibly rich ginger chocolate cheesecakes which both Toby and I loved. Toby admitted he had quite a few and he's not really into desserts







Lisa made this hedgehog style slice

Ivan made some gluten free bread, chocolate spread (both not pictured, sorry!!!) and black bean brownies. Yes he has managed to combine protein and dessert into one successfully without compromising on taste or texture and I doubt that you would be able to guess that they had black beans in it.



Mentone Bec made these strawberries dipped in chocolate with a yummy gooey raspberry layer in between, I wish that I took a photo of the inside.




Brunswick Bec made this lovely trifle, it's been so long since I've had trifle, so good.

Craig ended up frying some tofu at house at 1am which we served with BBW sauce, fried tofu had never tasted so good.



 Danni and Jo gave me a bag of yummy purchased food which included some capscium pesto which I shared with everyone. Thanks for the food and gifts everyone, it was a stressful couple of days leading up to the event but a fun night and I felt quite spoiled!

To celebrate my 30th, I had a few people over to celebrate with food and/or drinks. We only live in a tiny 1 bedroom place so couldn't have a large potluck or party. So I hope I haven't offended anyone by keeping it really small!

Toby and I made 4 things. We took Friday off but ended up having a bit of a disaster two days of cooking, lots of accidentally misreading recipes, throwing out things, spilling things, breaking things and I even gave myself a nasty bump on the head. We attempted to make tomato jelly by mixing arrowroot with tomato juice but it didn't quite work out texture wise, so Toby grated the jelly with a microplace grater which I think fixed the texture issues. We served it on seaweed crackers with cream cheese.




We also made some:

Red Pepper Hummus in Cucumber Cups from Wind Attack.

 For the Hummus
    * 2 Red Bell Peppers, fire roasted, skins, stems and seeds discarded
    * Juice of Two Lemons
    * ½ tsp (Smoked) Sea Salt
    * 3 cloves Garlic, Smashed
    * 2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
    * 2 tsp Agave Nectar
    * 2 ½ cups Cooked Chickpeas
    * 1/3 cup Tahini
    * ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    * Cucumbers ( I think I used 5 in total)
    * Paprika
    * Chives


   1. In the food processor, blend the red peppers, lemon juice, garlic, vinegar, agave nectar and salt until liquified. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
   2. Next, add the chickpeas to the food processor and blend until ground into a crumbly texture. Add the tahini and blend in until completely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
   3. Add the red pepper mix back into the chickpea mix and blend to incorporate. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Continue blending for several minutes until everything is well incorporated. The hummus will not be completely smooth on account of the texture left from the pepper.
   4. Peel the cucumbers leaving stripes of skin still intact. Slice into one to two inch high pieces. Using a teaspoon, pierce down into the top of a cucumber piece at the edge of the seeds. Rotate the spoon to remove a conical shape of seeds, going down only halfway through the cucumber piece.
   5. Using a mini ice cream scoop (I just used a teaspoon), place a scoop of the hummus in the hole. Dust with paprika, and garnish with the tip of a chive.

We were really happy with how they looked and tasted although check out wind attacks, she has closer pictures. We ended up with a bit of dip leftover too.



We also made some rose and cardamon ice cream (from vegan scoop) which I didn't take a picture of and these fruit desserts. I got this recipe and idea from Sivonne, I was at a wedding and was telling her about my idea of making fancy food for my birthday and my dream to make gf vegan tuilles and she told me about this recipe which her mother made and then send me the recipe which was easy to veganise. Although my two attempts at tuilles didn't work. The first time I made a vegan version of the coconut tuiles in this recipe but they didn't stay together and cracked when I tried to put them over a rolling pin. I suspect it's because I attempted to make them too thick, I ended up breaking it into pieces and serving it with tiny bits of biscuits. I also attempted to make poh's tuiles which didn't work with g/f flour. However, I was happy with this dessert overall. A word of warning though, it's quite time consuming and has several parts. It was our first time working with fresh lemongrass and I don't think I was successful at getting enough flavour out of it. Also, we used more passionfruit in place of mango.

Pineapple and Lemongrass Soup with Tropical Fruit by Lorraine Godsmark via Sivonne.  I think the original recipe is from women weekly?

Serves 6

12 lychees, peeled, halved (I forgot to cut them in half)
1 medium mango, peeled, sliced ( I used more passionfruit)
1 passionfruit, pulp removed

Pineapple Soup
1 whole pineapple
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 1/4 cup water
1 stick fresh lemon grass
1 vanilla bean
1 tsp lime rind
1 tbsp lime juice

Coconut Sorbet
1 cup water
1 cup caster sugar
3 1/4 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup milk (I used soy milk)

Coconut Tuiles
1/2 cup caster sugar
2/3 cup desiccated cocconut
2/3 cup shredded coconut
3 egg whites (I used egg replacer)
20g butter (I used nuttlex)

Pineapple Soup

1. Preheat oven to 180c. Remove pineapple top. Place pineapple in oven tray for 2 hours until soft. Cool, peel and chop pineapple. Blend until smooth.
2. Place sugar and 1/4 cup of water in pan, stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil, boil uncovered until it become a pale caramel colour. Remove from heat and add 1 cup of water to stop the caramel from cooking further. Return the pan to heat to dissolve any firm pieces of caramel. Add syrup to the pineapple.
3. Divide the lemon grass into 2cm lengths and bruise with back of a knife. Split the banilla bean in half and scoop out seeds. Place pineapple mixture in pan with lemon grass, lime rind and vaniulla seeds. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes, cool.
4. Press the pineapple mixture through a sieve over a bowl, pressing on the lemon grass to extract it's flavour, add lime juice to taste. Refrigerate until required.

Coconut Sorbet

1. Combine water and sugar in pan, stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Combine syrup with coconut cream and milk. Cool then place in ice cream maker.

Coconut Tuiles

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Combine sugar and coconuts in bowl, add egg whites (egg replacer) and stir until they are absorbed. Stir in the butter to obtain a paste. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before use.
3. Mark 8cm circles on baking paper. Turn paper over, place on oven tray. Using dampened fingertips, pat out the tuiles mixture thinly inside circles. Bake in oven for 5-10 minutes until golden.
4. Lift from tray an drape over rolling pin before they cool. Repeat with remaining mixture.

To serve, put a few small ladles of soup into base of bowls, place scoop of coconut sorbet and fruit around and place tuile on top. (I obviously made mini versions)




Troy bought along some 'fish' cakes with a tangy tamarind sauce, these didn't last long!



Michael made some gluten free dumplings which were impressive both in taste and texture. I really wish I had more right now.



Cindy made these incredibly rich ginger chocolate cheesecakes which both Toby and I loved. Toby admitted he had quite a few and he's not really into desserts







Lisa made this hedgehog style slice

Ivan made some gluten free bread, chocolate spread (both not pictured, sorry!!!) and black bean brownies. Yes he has managed to combine protein and dessert into one successfully without compromising on taste or texture and I doubt that you would be able to guess that they had black beans in it.



Mentone Bec made these strawberries dipped in chocolate with a yummy gooey raspberry layer in between, I wish that I took a photo of the inside.




Brunswick Bec made this lovely trifle, it's been so long since I've had trifle, so good.

Craig ended up frying some tofu at house at 1am which we served with BBW sauce, fried tofu had never tasted so good.



 Danni and Jo gave me a bag of yummy purchased food which included some capscium pesto which I shared with everyone. Thanks for the food and gifts everyone, it was a stressful couple of days leading up to the event but a fun night and I felt quite spoiled!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Arancini Experiment

I had my grandmothers funeral yesterday and have been stressing about what to make for the wake for days. I'm only sharing this in case you are crazy enough to google 'gluten free vegan wake food', like I did. I found nothing and so then I googled 'wake food' and 'wake dishes' and 'what to make for a wake' and still didn't find much that was helpful!

My mother arranged lots of finger food, sausage rolls, pies etc for the wake. So I wanted some sort of g/f vegan finger food. All I could think of was rice paper rolls, but wanted something warm since it has been freezing in Melbourne lately. Emily on twitter suggested rice balls which I thought was a great idea but maybe a bit too unusual for my family, this eventually lead me to the idea of making risotto balls which are also called arancini. Thanks Emily!

I saw the Melinda's packaged risotto cakes in store and decided to make them and my own arancini and compare the two.

I was skeptical about packaged food but they were surprisingly great. They can be dairy and egg free options, so I used cheddar cheezly and egg replacer. You still need to cook the mixture on the stove before adding it to the oven, but it was much quicker and easier than making my own.  I think the flavour of the cheezly gets lost, vegan cheese is too subtle. However, Toby and I really enjoyed them, particularly the little bits of vegetables.

And then we ended up making our own. I followed Pip's recipe except I replaced the mushrooms with sun dried tomatoes, used corn flake crumbs and I baked them. I took them to the wake because I was sure that they would taste even better, but they were a tad bland. Yes surprisingly the packaged ones were actually better. I think getting rid of the mushrooms was a mistake. Also, I think I didn't put enough stock powder or something. I meant to serve them with some marinara sauce which I forgot to take. So we ended up serving them with sweet chilli sauce.

Sun Dried Tomato Risotto Balls from Fairest Feed

(Makes about 25)

2 tbs olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 clove garlic, crushed

400g mushrooms, finely chopped (I used sun dried tomatoes)

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

4 - 6 cups water or stock

1/2 cup nutritional yeast (optional)

1 tbs fresh thyme

1 cup rice flour or breadcrumbs (I used corn crispy crumbs-Organ brand) 

oil for shallow frying

Preheat oven to 180°C

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook gently until soft (about 10 minutes). Add the bay leaf and mushrooms (or sundried tomatoes) and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring until the mushrooms are soft. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains in oil. Add a cup of the liquid and stir until it has been absorbed. Continue adding the liquid, cup by cup until it has all been absorbed and the rice is tender. Discard the bay leaf and stir in the thyme, nooch (if using) and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

 

When the risotto is cool enough to handle, use your hands to form golf ball sized balls. Roll them in the flour or breadcrumbs and bake til they are crispy, roughly 20 minutes.

I didn't take a picture though since I was up at 11pm the night before making it and it seemed wrong to take food pictures at a wake.

I had my grandmothers funeral yesterday and have been stressing about what to make for the wake for days. I'm only sharing this in case you are crazy enough to google 'gluten free vegan wake food', like I did. I found nothing and so then I googled 'wake food' and 'wake dishes' and 'what to make for a wake' and still didn't find much that was helpful!

My mother arranged lots of finger food, sausage rolls, pies etc for the wake. So I wanted some sort of g/f vegan finger food. All I could think of was rice paper rolls, but wanted something warm since it has been freezing in Melbourne lately. Emily on twitter suggested rice balls which I thought was a great idea but maybe a bit too unusual for my family, this eventually lead me to the idea of making risotto balls which are also called arancini. Thanks Emily!

I saw the Melinda's packaged risotto cakes in store and decided to make them and my own arancini and compare the two.

I was skeptical about packaged food but they were surprisingly great. They can be dairy and egg free options, so I used cheddar cheezly and egg replacer. You still need to cook the mixture on the stove before adding it to the oven, but it was much quicker and easier than making my own.  I think the flavour of the cheezly gets lost, vegan cheese is too subtle. However, Toby and I really enjoyed them, particularly the little bits of vegetables.

And then we ended up making our own. I followed Pip's recipe except I replaced the mushrooms with sun dried tomatoes, used corn flake crumbs and I baked them. I took them to the wake because I was sure that they would taste even better, but they were a tad bland. Yes surprisingly the packaged ones were actually better. I think getting rid of the mushrooms was a mistake. Also, I think I didn't put enough stock powder or something. I meant to serve them with some marinara sauce which I forgot to take. So we ended up serving them with sweet chilli sauce.

Sun Dried Tomato Risotto Balls from Fairest Feed

(Makes about 25)

2 tbs olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 clove garlic, crushed

400g mushrooms, finely chopped (I used sun dried tomatoes)

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

4 - 6 cups water or stock

1/2 cup nutritional yeast (optional)

1 tbs fresh thyme

1 cup rice flour or breadcrumbs (I used corn crispy crumbs-Organ brand) 

oil for shallow frying

Preheat oven to 180°C

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook gently until soft (about 10 minutes). Add the bay leaf and mushrooms (or sundried tomatoes) and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring until the mushrooms are soft. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains in oil. Add a cup of the liquid and stir until it has been absorbed. Continue adding the liquid, cup by cup until it has all been absorbed and the rice is tender. Discard the bay leaf and stir in the thyme, nooch (if using) and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

 

When the risotto is cool enough to handle, use your hands to form golf ball sized balls. Roll them in the flour or breadcrumbs and bake til they are crispy, roughly 20 minutes.

I didn't take a picture though since I was up at 11pm the night before making it and it seemed wrong to take food pictures at a wake.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Candy Cane Fudge and Mushroom Tarragon Pate

So it turns out we don't have any pictures of Toby's ice cream dish or his xmas potluck dish. Yes we had two potlucks this weekend! A ice cream one on Saturday and xmas themed potluck on Sunday. For the ice cream potluck Toby made a super alcoholic large version of the frozen margarita pie that I made last time. Except this time he made the ice cream using the lime recipe from vegan scoop. For the xmas potluck he made this:

 Mushroom and Tarragon Pate using this recipe from BBC.

• 50g margarine
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 leek finely chopped (he used a regular onion)
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 100g chestnut mushrooms , finely chopped (he used button mushrooms)
• 100g shiitake mushrooms , finely chopped
• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche (see vegan version below)
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon plus extra to garnish(he used dried)

1. Heat butter in a large frying pan. Add shallots, leek and garlic, then gently fry for 7 mins until softened.
2. Increase the heat, add the chestnut and the shiitake mushrooms, then cook for 10 mins, stirring, until the juices have evaporated and the mushrooms are tender. Stir in the mustard and crème fraîche, then season well. Cook for a further 2 mins then stir in the chopped tarragon.

Almond Creme Fraiche loosely based on recipe for cashew cream fraiche from Vegan Epicurean.

Makes approximately 20 tablespoons (he made much less)

Ingredients:

1 cup almond meal
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (start with half)
1 pinch of salt (optional)
approximately ½ cup of water to process

Directions:

Place the almond meal,  half the apple cider vinegar and salt in your blender and turn the machine in. Add water slowly until the cashews have just been liquefied. Stop the machine and taste the mixture and adjust the flavors to your taste. Refrigerate until needed.

I quite liked the pate despite my mushroom texture issues and Toby loved it.

I was exhausted by Sunday so I opted to make something which I thought was easy and quick for the Xmas potluck. This Candy Cane Fudge from A profound Hatred of Meat.



 I loved the simple idea of adding crushed candy canes on top. I had all sorts of issues with the fudge though. First, I almost the burnt the coconut milk, then had to use the kitchen aid to mix it together but it was still too dry. So I ended up adding more and more coconut milk and then in the end you couldn't get it out of the pan. It also results in way too many dishes for such a simple dish. I think next time I would opt to make the five minute fudge from my sweet vegan and just add the candy canes to that.

Check out what fat fueled vegan made for the ice cream potluck, and Lisa's post about the her dish at the xmas potluck and hopefully there will be more recipes posted online!  

So it turns out we don't have any pictures of Toby's ice cream dish or his xmas potluck dish. Yes we had two potlucks this weekend! A ice cream one on Saturday and xmas themed potluck on Sunday. For the ice cream potluck Toby made a super alcoholic large version of the frozen margarita pie that I made last time. Except this time he made the ice cream using the lime recipe from vegan scoop. For the xmas potluck he made this:

 Mushroom and Tarragon Pate using this recipe from BBC.

• 50g margarine
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 leek finely chopped (he used a regular onion)
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 100g chestnut mushrooms , finely chopped (he used button mushrooms)
• 100g shiitake mushrooms , finely chopped
• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche (see vegan version below)
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon plus extra to garnish(he used dried)

1. Heat butter in a large frying pan. Add shallots, leek and garlic, then gently fry for 7 mins until softened.
2. Increase the heat, add the chestnut and the shiitake mushrooms, then cook for 10 mins, stirring, until the juices have evaporated and the mushrooms are tender. Stir in the mustard and crème fraîche, then season well. Cook for a further 2 mins then stir in the chopped tarragon.

Almond Creme Fraiche loosely based on recipe for cashew cream fraiche from Vegan Epicurean.

Makes approximately 20 tablespoons (he made much less)

Ingredients:

1 cup almond meal
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (start with half)
1 pinch of salt (optional)
approximately ½ cup of water to process

Directions:

Place the almond meal,  half the apple cider vinegar and salt in your blender and turn the machine in. Add water slowly until the cashews have just been liquefied. Stop the machine and taste the mixture and adjust the flavors to your taste. Refrigerate until needed.

I quite liked the pate despite my mushroom texture issues and Toby loved it.

I was exhausted by Sunday so I opted to make something which I thought was easy and quick for the Xmas potluck. This Candy Cane Fudge from A profound Hatred of Meat.



 I loved the simple idea of adding crushed candy canes on top. I had all sorts of issues with the fudge though. First, I almost the burnt the coconut milk, then had to use the kitchen aid to mix it together but it was still too dry. So I ended up adding more and more coconut milk and then in the end you couldn't get it out of the pan. It also results in way too many dishes for such a simple dish. I think next time I would opt to make the five minute fudge from my sweet vegan and just add the candy canes to that.

Check out what fat fueled vegan made for the ice cream potluck, and Lisa's post about the her dish at the xmas potluck and hopefully there will be more recipes posted online!  

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

G/F Potluck and Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

I can't believe it has taken me so long to blog about this potluck, but I have had a few distractions like getting super close to handing in my thesis and trying to put together a journal article submission, finishing up at two different offices (I've got a new job) and of course doing all of the cooking/housework, I miss your cooking Toby! To say things have been hectic would be an understatement. I'm also trying to complete the couch to 5km running plan, anyway enough whinging, just please excuse me if I'm not super attentive to your blogs for a little while.

Anyway, the potluck was awesome, it was so good to be able to eat everything and I didn't get sick afterward so no-one accidentally poisoned me :-) Several of the bloggers have already blogged about it including: Steph (twice), Cindy, Michael, Vicki (twice) and Johanna. As many of the other potluckers have pointed out, the original theme was cheese but changed to gluten free when I tested positive to coeliacs disease but some people did both themes.

I made blueberry iced rooiboss tea

Toby made goats cheese from vegan soiree, I've never had goats cheese before, but didn't like this at all, it was too sour for my liking. The texture was more like a loaf as a few people commented.

To make up for it, I tried to make another 'cheese' using this recipe from rawmazing at the last minute. This also didn't work out very well either, but I didn't soak the cashews.
The one dish that I was proud of was the blueberry cheesecake ice cream, the recipe is from a vegan ice cream paradise and was thick creamy and pretty damn yummy:

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

2 c. Silk soy creamer (I used soy milk)
1 c. vegan cream cheese
¾ c. sugar
1 T. lemon juice
½ c. soy milk
2 T. arrowroot
1 t. vanilla

1 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/8 c. sugar
splash lemon juice

Combine soy creamer, cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Heat and mix contents. It will take some whisking to break up the cream cheese and get it to dissolve. While heating, combine the ½ cup soy milk and 2 tablespoons arrowroot and set aside. Once the pan’s contents are boiling, take from heat and add soy milk–arrowroot mixture. The liquid should thicken quickly. Add vanilla extract. Set aside to cool.

Combine blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Heat until boiling and some blueberries have burst. Set aside to cool.

Freeze cream cheese mixture according to ice cream maker instructions. Add blueberries 5 minutes before end of freezing cycle.
Now on to the other dishes.

Cindy made raspberry coconut ice cream that was amazing:


Ivan made these healthy sweet balls that were made from dates and all sorts of other healthy things but were also yummy.

Vicki made sweet and moist carrot cake cupcakes
and "Cheese" and spinach rolls, Toby is so jealous that he didn't get to try one because I keep raving about them


Bec made a peach or pear pie, I forget but it warm and creamy



Craig made gluten free potato cakes because I keep telling him I have missed them and I have been craving more since then, so so so awesome!
Carla made a rice salad with sun dried tomatos, smoked tofu and all sorts of other lovely flavours and cupcakes which I didn't get a pic of.
Jo made pate and it even had a jelly layer on the top, so fancy and yummy and olive tapede. I want the pate recipe Jo please!
Shawna made brownies, so rich and delicious!!!!
Johanna also made brownies but made pumpkin cheesecake brownies, so unique and delicious:

Anikee made Italian rice and beans from vegan yum yum one of my favourite dishes and quinoa salad, or did someone else made the quinoa salad?

Michael made "colby cheese" and vegetarian sausages, I never thought I could eat another veg sausage and was super relived to find out that g/f versions exist:

There was so many dishes I didn't get pics of like the caramel slice, that was so amazing and Steph's delicious nacho cheese dip because I was too busy eating and eating and eating and eating. Thanks everyone for making it an inclusive potluck for me, it meant a lot!

I can't believe it has taken me so long to blog about this potluck, but I have had a few distractions like getting super close to handing in my thesis and trying to put together a journal article submission, finishing up at two different offices (I've got a new job) and of course doing all of the cooking/housework, I miss your cooking Toby! To say things have been hectic would be an understatement. I'm also trying to complete the couch to 5km running plan, anyway enough whinging, just please excuse me if I'm not super attentive to your blogs for a little while.

Anyway, the potluck was awesome, it was so good to be able to eat everything and I didn't get sick afterward so no-one accidentally poisoned me :-) Several of the bloggers have already blogged about it including: Steph (twice), Cindy, Michael, Vicki (twice) and Johanna. As many of the other potluckers have pointed out, the original theme was cheese but changed to gluten free when I tested positive to coeliacs disease but some people did both themes.

I made blueberry iced rooiboss tea

Toby made goats cheese from vegan soiree, I've never had goats cheese before, but didn't like this at all, it was too sour for my liking. The texture was more like a loaf as a few people commented.

To make up for it, I tried to make another 'cheese' using this recipe from rawmazing at the last minute. This also didn't work out very well either, but I didn't soak the cashews.
The one dish that I was proud of was the blueberry cheesecake ice cream, the recipe is from a vegan ice cream paradise and was thick creamy and pretty damn yummy:

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

2 c. Silk soy creamer (I used soy milk)
1 c. vegan cream cheese
¾ c. sugar
1 T. lemon juice
½ c. soy milk
2 T. arrowroot
1 t. vanilla

1 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/8 c. sugar
splash lemon juice

Combine soy creamer, cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Heat and mix contents. It will take some whisking to break up the cream cheese and get it to dissolve. While heating, combine the ½ cup soy milk and 2 tablespoons arrowroot and set aside. Once the pan’s contents are boiling, take from heat and add soy milk–arrowroot mixture. The liquid should thicken quickly. Add vanilla extract. Set aside to cool.

Combine blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Heat until boiling and some blueberries have burst. Set aside to cool.

Freeze cream cheese mixture according to ice cream maker instructions. Add blueberries 5 minutes before end of freezing cycle.
Now on to the other dishes.

Cindy made raspberry coconut ice cream that was amazing:


Ivan made these healthy sweet balls that were made from dates and all sorts of other healthy things but were also yummy.

Vicki made sweet and moist carrot cake cupcakes
and "Cheese" and spinach rolls, Toby is so jealous that he didn't get to try one because I keep raving about them


Bec made a peach or pear pie, I forget but it warm and creamy



Craig made gluten free potato cakes because I keep telling him I have missed them and I have been craving more since then, so so so awesome!
Carla made a rice salad with sun dried tomatos, smoked tofu and all sorts of other lovely flavours and cupcakes which I didn't get a pic of.
Jo made pate and it even had a jelly layer on the top, so fancy and yummy and olive tapede. I want the pate recipe Jo please!
Shawna made brownies, so rich and delicious!!!!
Johanna also made brownies but made pumpkin cheesecake brownies, so unique and delicious:

Anikee made Italian rice and beans from vegan yum yum one of my favourite dishes and quinoa salad, or did someone else made the quinoa salad?

Michael made "colby cheese" and vegetarian sausages, I never thought I could eat another veg sausage and was super relived to find out that g/f versions exist:

There was so many dishes I didn't get pics of like the caramel slice, that was so amazing and Steph's delicious nacho cheese dip because I was too busy eating and eating and eating and eating. Thanks everyone for making it an inclusive potluck for me, it meant a lot!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad