Low Fat Vegan Cooking

I am a friend of the footless,
I am a friend of all bipeds,
I am a friend of those with four feet,
I am a friend of the many footed!

                           Anguttara Nikaya IV 67

June 26, 2010

Multi-Grain Gluten Free Pancakes and Raspberry Sauce

Filed under: Breakfast, Gluten Free, Higher Calorie Density — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 1:02 am

Multi-Grain Gluten Free Pancakes featuring Buckwheat with Raspberry Sauce

Multi-Grain Gluten Free Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce

The first five times i made this recipe, the pancakes were different every time, as i adapted the recipe depending on how my husband and i liked the last batch.  From then on they have remained more or less the same, depending only on what flours i have.

I have come to like these particular pancakes better than my long favorite whole wheat ones.  And with all the flavors, even a person new to low fat cooking might not miss the oil.

Makes about 21 ¼ c. pancakes

Preparation about 45 minutes, including time to do other things like the rest of the meal

Freezes well

Best fresh off the stove

¾ c. brown rice flour

¾ c. buckwheat flour

¼ c. sorghum flour

¼ c. amaranth flour

2 T. ground flax seeds

¼ c. vegan sugar (raw is fine)

1 T. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1 t. agar agar (flakes or powder)

½ t. salt

2 c. vegan milk

Heat oven to 170°.

Mix dry ingredients together (everything but the vegan milk).  Add milk and stir until all the dry ingredients are moistened.

Heat a non-stick skillet or two briefly.  Drop batter on the skillet and cook about 1 minute per side.  Keep warm in the oven until all are done and/or all partakers are assembled.

Serve with raspberry sauce, maple syrup, or fresh fruit with or without soy yogurt.

Raspberry sauce:

Makes about 4 servings

Preparation about 5 minutes

Freezes well

Can be made ahead

Wash 1 ½ c. fresh raspberries.  Drain well.  Put in a small pan with 2 T. vegan sugar.  Heat about 4 minutes, until the berries release their juice.  Stir frequently at first, and then constantly.

Adapted from Ellen’s excellent website I Am Gluten Free

Nutritional information – not guaranteed to be accurate:

Per pancake if 21 are made:  65 calories/1.4 g protein/.9 g fat

Per Serving if you have 4 servings:  342 calories/7.8 g protein/4.7 g fat

June 12, 2010

Soy Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries and Two Sauces

Filed under: Desserts, Gluten Free, Higher Calorie Density, Italian Cuisine — admin @ 1:01 am

Soy Milk Panna Cotta with Blackberries, Raspberries, Grapes, Apricot and Blackberry Sauces

Soy Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries and Two Sauces

I recently decided to learn more about presentation, and got two books by vegan chefs to work my way through.  Here is my first attempt.  It’s actually a pretty simple pudding made elegant with agar agar and two simple sauces, plus fresh fruit.

Panna Cotta comes from Italy originally, but from there it has become widely diverse.  I have seen Panna Cotta with fruit from mangosteen to raspberries, plus chocolate and caramel sauces.

The beauty of this dessert lies in the agar agar making the pudding stiff.  It looks elegant, but it is pretty low fat.

I recommend using a vanilla bean if you can afford it, for the more intense vanilla flavor, but also for the little black specks in the pudding and apricot sauce.

I used soy milk, as this was my first attempt, but i plan to try almond milk.  Now that i see how easy it is, i think any vegan milk would do.

I actually got the fruit for this twice.  Last week i got too busy to experiment, and i ate the fruit before it went bad, so i got it all again – luckily raspberries and blackberries are in season, and are not too dear.  But it’s all for a good cause.

Last night i made the blackberry sauce and went to put it in the freezer to cool quickly for dinner.  It slid off the shelf and the bowl shattered and the blackberry sauce went everywhere!  After i cleaned it all up, i made the sauce again, but this time i just put it in the refrigerator in a jar until today.

Makes 4 servings

Preparation about 1 hour, divided

Panna Cotta keeps in the refrigerator for a couple of days

The pudding:

4 c. vegan milk

2/3 c. refined sugar

1 vanilla bean or 2 t. vanilla extract

4 t. powdered agar agar (not flakes)

Blackberry Sauce:

6 oz. fresh blackberries (about 1 c.)

2 T. refined sugar

Apricot Sauce:

¼ c. apricot jam (sugar free if possible)

1 c. white grape juice or sweet white wine

½ vanilla bean or 1 t. vanilla extract

The fruit:

1 c. fresh blackberries

1 c. fresh blueberries

1 c. fresh raspberries

½ c. seedless grapes

Make the pudding:

Have ready ramekins or small bowls that will give a nice shape to the finished pudding.

Measure the vegan milk and sugar into a heavy medium pan.  Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean and stir in well.  A whisk makes short work of this.  Add the bean to further flavor the pudding and heat to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Sprinkle the agar agar a teaspoon at a time and stir in well after each teaspoon.  Stir until it boils, then boil and stir two minutes.  The mixture will be thin.

Scoop out the vanilla bean, or strain it out, if it isn’t all in one piece.

Pour the pudding into the ramekins.  You can measure ½ c. if you want to have them all the same.  Cool at least 2 hours.  The pudding should be quite firm.

Make the blackberry sauce:

After you get the pudding squared away, make the sauces, as they need to cool too.

Crush the blackberries and 2 T. sugar in a small saucepan with a fork.  You have to press pretty hard to get the juice out. Make sure the sugar is all dissolved.  Let this sit at least 10 minutes.

Then put the mixture on the stove and stir and simmer about 5 minutes, until there are several tablespoons of juice in the pan.

Make the Apricot Sauce:

Meanwhile, heat the apricot jam and grape juice/wine with ½ scraped vanilla bean, stirring constantly until it is smooth.  Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and take out or strain out the vanilla bean, and chill at least 2 hours.

Assembling or plating the Panna Cotta:

Put each ramekin of chilled pudding into a bowl of warm water that will heat the pudding but not flow over the top.  Count slowly to 5.  Dry off the ramekin and invert it over the center of the plate or bowl you will be using.  Be sure the bowl is big enough for the presentation of fruit and sauce around the edges.  If the pudding stubbornly won’t come out, run a sharp knife, or, ideally, a small icing offset metal spatula carefully around the edge.  Invert again, and maybe tap it a little.  Repeat if necessary.

Spoon the apricot sauce around the edges of the pudding, using about ¼ of the sauce.

Spoon the blackberry sauce along one side of the pudding, on top of the apricot sauce.

Arrange the berries and grapes on top of the pudding and sprinkle a few in the sauce if you want, but you want the sauce to show clearly.

Carry carefully to the table.  Accept accolades.

Adapted from Great Chefs Cook Vegan by Linda Long

May 29, 2010

Cherry or Berry Triffle

Filed under: Desserts, English Cuisine, Higher Calorie Density — admin @ 1:01 am

Cherry and Raspberry Triffle

Cherry or Berry Trifle

When i was a really little girl, my mom was going to college, and she left me with my Great Aunt and a little table set for a tea party with my stuffed animals.  I remember the absolutely exquisite table she set that kept me busy and not missing her the whole time she was gone.  In fact, i am not sure i really noticed she was gone.

We had grown-up teas all my life.  There was a tea shop that my mom and i loved to go to when we lived near enough to see each other regularly.  I began to make my own teas when i became vegan.  I didn’t find it difficult.  Most teas are easily made vegetarian, and most food with dairy in it easily translates into vegan with soy cream cheeze, vegan cheeze, vegan margarine, and soy whipped cream.

I had intended this tea for the first day of spring, but, well, things got away from me for a while with other more urgent projects.

It’s a little harder to make a low fat tea, and although the tea i am presenting here is not extraordinarily low fat, it’s lower in fat than i used to eat, and is quite tasty.  And pretty.

I actually wasn’t overly fond of trifle as it is traditionally made with rich pudding and brandy laced cake.  But trifle is so traditional for an English tea, i made a vegan one, and i loved it.  Pudding, fruit, and cake go quite nicely together, and if you layer them in a tall glass, it can be quite elegant.

I had planned to just use cherries, but i ran out, and got some raspberries out of the freezer, and i thought the bright red raspberries contrasted well with the dark sweet cherries.

Instead of brandy, i used a little bit of Amaretto, which i find a lot less harsh.  Another way to go would be to use a small amount, maybe ¼ t. of raspberry or orange extract, or a different liqueur.

It is best to make trifle well ahead of when you plan to serve it, both to get it to the right temperature, and to let the flavors blend.  But i did not do this, and it was quite delicious.

Cherry or Berry Trifle

Makes 4 servings

Preparation about 1 hour

Can be made ahead about 1 day, but is not as pretty

Cake can be frozen, nothing else

Vanilla Cake

Vanilla-Almond Pudding

Liqueur or fruit extract

About 3 c. Fresh or Thawed Frozen Berries

Creamy Sauce

Recipes follow.

Make the cake first and cool.  While the cake is baking, make the pudding and sauce.

To assemble:

Cut the cake or crumble into small pieces.  I made cupcakes and cut one cupcake for each individual trifle into about ¼ inch squares.

Drain the berries well, if necessary.

Put about ¼ c. pudding in the bottom of a tall glass, or pretty bowl(s), either individual or one large bowl.  For an individual serving, add about  6 T. berries, which you might like to first mix with a little sugar, say about 3 T. for 3 c. fruit.

Top with half the cut-up cupcake.  Sprinkle with 1 – 3 t. liqueur.  Some people spread the cake with jam before it’s cut.  I don’t think this adds anything, but it is more authentic, and gives you another chance to contrast flavors, with say, an apricot jam with fresh strawberries.

Repeat.  End with the creamy topping.  Gauge how much to use for each layer depending on how big your glass or bowl is.

Top with one to three perfect berries or cherries.

Refrigerate until a half hour before serving.

Vanilla Cake

 

Makes about 12 servings

Preparation about 20 minutes

Can be made ahead

Freezes well

1 ½ c. whole wheat pastry flour

2 t. baking powder

1 ½ t. Ener-G Egg Replacer

¼ t. salt

¾ c. vegan sugar

¾ c. vegan milk

2 T. water

2 t. vanilla extract

1 t. almond extract

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients and mix just until mixed.

Pour into cupcake paper lined muffin tin, or lightly oiled 8 x 8 inch baking pan.

Bake 20-25 minutes for cupcakes, or 25-30 minutes for cake.

Cool.  If you’re in a hurry, you can stick the cake you need in the freezer for about 45 minutes.  You will have leftovers, which can be frozen.

I invented this cake recipe when i was first a vegan and did not have any vegan cookbooks.  I later discovered Sarah Kramer, who in How It All Vegan, had a very similar recipe, but instead of 1 ½ c. sugar and ½ c. margarine, she had half those amounts.  Well, that is just like me to want more fat and sugar.  But i decided she was right, until i started baking low fat, and found the cake was fine without any fat, except what’s naturally in the flour and so on…

Vanilla-Almond Pudding

Makes 4 ½ c. servings

Preparation about 20 minutes

Can be made ahead

Keeps refrigerated about 2 days

¼ c. arrowroot or cornstarch, stirred into:

½ c. vegan milk (i prefer soymilk for this)

1 ½ c. more of the same kind of vegan milk

1/3 c. vegan sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

½ t. almond extract

Mix arrowroot (which gives a milder flavor and gentler thickness) with ½ c. vegan milk.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, mix the 1 ½ c. vegan milk and sugar.  Heat until bubbles form, but don’t let it boil.

Stir in the arrowroot/cornstarch and over medium heat, cook and stir until thickened.

Remove from heat and stir in the extracts.

Cool.  If you’re in a hurry, you can put it in the freezer for about half an hour, but set a timer so it doesn’t freeze, which would ruin it.  The water in soymilk freezes and separates from the creamy soy part.  I don’t know about other vegan milks, but i would think they would be similar.

I’ve made this pudding for so many years, i don’t even look at my recipe card, but originally i adapted a recipe from Laurel’s Kitchen.

Creamy Sauce

Makes 4 servings

Preparation about 15 minutes

Can be kept refrigerated about 2 days

7 oz. silken tofu (fresh is better)

¼ c. powdered sugar

2 T. vegan milk

1 t. vanilla extract

½ t. almond extract

1 t. lemon juice (optional, gives more of a sour cream flavor)

4 t. cashew or almond butter (optional, makes the sauce richer, but with trifle you don’t really need that)

Put everything in a blender or food processor.  My blender works better for this sauce.  Mix until smooth.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

This is my own recipe, but the first creamy vegan sauce i made was from a recipe from Vegan Planet, and i am grateful to Robin Robertson for it.

May 15, 2010

Tofu Benedict with Roast Beets and Asparagus

Filed under: American Cuisine, Breakfast, Gluten Free, Higher Calorie Density, Main Dishes, Sauces, Side Dishes — admin @ 1:05 am

Tofu Benedict with Roasted Beets and Asparagus

Tofu Benedict with Roast Beets and Asparagus

My special treat for breakfast was Eggs Benedict.  It turns out this was probably an American invention, which was either invented from scratch several times, or adapted without noting the original dish that the chef knew about.  I see chefs often do this if they change the dish.  I know that recipes can be invented in more than one place, as i have invented something myself, and then found other quite similar recipes.

In any case, i saw several recipes for Tofu Benedict which didn’t differ much from the recipe i originally tried, which like so much else, was by Sarah Kramer, and was far superior to any other version.  I wanted a special occasion breakfast, and pulled out my notes on that recipe, and then made it lower fat, and here is the result.  I must say, i did like it with the veggie bacon as well as the tofu of the original version, but it is satisfying both from taste and from knowing you are eating a relatively healthy dish.

Tofu Benedict would be good for supper or lunch, too.

My tofu comes in 14 oz. packages, though i often see recipes for 1 lb.  I think either amount works, if you don’t want to waste food, although the smaller amount is fine, if you want to use it.

If you are going to serve roast vegetables, start them first, as they take longer to bake.

Makes 4 servings

Preparation about 45 minutes

Tofu can be marinated and sauce made ahead

14-16 oz. firm tofu, drained and pressed

¼ c. apple cider vinegar

¼ c. low sodium tamari

4 slices whole wheat or gluten-free bread

4 large or 8 small slices tomato

Sauce:

½ c. nutritional yeast

2 T. whole wheat flour,  or brown rice

½ t. salt (optional)

1 c. water or vegan milk

1 t. low sodium tamari

1 t. Dijon mustard (optional)

Whisk together vinegar and tamari.  Pour this into an 8 x 8 baking dish.  Slice the tofu and put it into the pan, then turn it over.  Marinate at least15 minutes, turn the tofu, and marinate at least 15 more minutes.

Preheat oven to 450° the last fifteen minutes you marinade the tofu.

Bake the marinated tofu in the marinade about 20 minutes, until it is browner and a little firmer, and the marinade is largely absorbed or evaporated.

Meanwhile, stir the nutritional yeast, flour, and optional salt together.  Add water or vegan milk and tamari and stir well.  Stir in optional mustard.  Simmer on low heat, stirring frequently, until ready to serve.

Toast the bread a few minutes before the tofu is done.

On each slice of toast, place 1 tofu piece, 1 or 2 slices of tomato, and 1/4th of the sauce.  Serve immediately.

Adapted from Faux Eggs Benny in How It All Vegan by Sarah Kramer. 

Nutritional information – not guaranteed to be accurate:

Per Serving – 346 calories/38.2 g protein (11.1%)/10.1 g fat (26.2%)

Roast Beets and Asparagus

Makes 4 servings

Preparation about 10 minutes

Can be made ahead

Freezes well

4 large beets

2 bunches asparagus

salt and/or spices such as barbecue spices

The secret to roasting vegetables without oil is to cover them.  You still get most of the roasted flavor, but without the dryness that you can easily get with roasting without a moistening ingredient.

Slice the beets about 1/3 inch thick, and either leave the asparagus whole or cut it into bite sized pieces.  Break off the tough ends of the asparagus.  Just bend it and it will break along where the tough part begins.  Or you can cut it off about where it gets thick, if you want straight ends.

Put the vegetables on a baking sheet in a single layer.  You might want to use two separate pans so the asparagus doesn’t turn beet red.  Sprinkle with the seasoning of your choice, and cover with parchment paper.  Seal this in with aluminum foil.  The parchment paper stops any aluminum from contaminating the veggies.

Bake at 450° about 45 minutes, or until tender.  Serve warm or room temperature.

May 8, 2010

Banana Bread with Optional Walnuts and Chocolate Chips

Filed under: American Cuisine, Breads, Breakfast, Higher Calorie Density — admin @ 1:02 am

Banana Bread with Walnuts and Chocolate Chips

Banana Bread with Optional Walnuts and Chocolate Chips

My daughter has been making gluten free banana bread with chocolate chips recently, and i decided to try a version myself.

The plate you see the result on was made by laying a piece of lace cloth on the wet clay, and glazing in two different colors.  I found it at a crafts fair some years ago.

There are many versions of low fat banana bread.  You might like a more sweet or a less dense loaf, both of which are attained by adding more bananas.  But i think this amount balances best with the chocolate chips, if you are going to use them.  Walnuts relieve the sweetness, but you don’t need a lot to do that.

For some reason, raw sugar crystals don’t melt well in this recipe.  Whole Foods carries granulated vegan sugar.

Makes 1 large loaf or about 12 muffins

Preparation about 30 minutes

Can be made ahead

Freezes well

2 ½ c. whole wheat flour

1 ½ t. baking powder

½ t. baking soda

½ t. salt

¾ c. granulated vegan sugar

3 medium bananas, about 1 ¾ c. chopped

½ c. almond or other vegan milk

2 t. apple cider vinegar

1 t. vanilla extract

½ c. chopped walnuts (optional)

½ c. vegan chocolate chips or a fair trade chocolate bar, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°.  Prepare baking pans or tins with oil or paper liners.

Mix dry ingredients.

Mix wet ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Mix wet and dry ingredients together.

Add optional nuts and chocolate and mix well.

Bake 50-60 minutes for a loaf, or 40-45 minutes for muffins, until top is browned and toothpick comes out clean – you may have to try several times not to hit a chocolate chip.

Adapted largely from two recipes:

Banana Split Tea Bread in Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson.

Banana Bread from Post Punk Kitchen by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero.

Nutritional information – not guaranteed to be accurate:

Plain 1/12th recipe:  155 calories/3.5 g protein (9.2%)/.6 g fat (3.6%)

With walnuts:  187 calories/4.3 g protein (9.3%)/3.8 g fat (18.4%)

With walnuts and chocolate chips:  233 calories/5 g protein (8.5%)/6.4 g fat (25.2%)

May 1, 2010

Delicata Squash Stuffed with Brown Rice Pilaf

Filed under: Gluten Free, Higher Calorie Density, Holidays, Main Dishes, Middle Eastern Cuisine — admin @ 1:05 am

Delicata Squash with Brown Rice Carrot Celery Onion and Italian Herbs served with Fresh Broccoli

Delicata Squash Stuffed with Brown Rice Pilaf

Last year my good friend Melissa made a vegan version of a Sunset recipe for stuffed squash.  It was wonderfully delicious, and i have been meaning to try a lower fat version of it.  There were a lot more nuts in her squash, and in reducing them, i needed something else, and I thought rice would be good.  When i Googled the word pilaf to see if i could use that for my rice concoction, i read that it was originally a Middle Eastern dish, most likely starting in Iran/Persia.  That really tickled me, as i had already found that the cardamom in the cakes i made was also a Middle Eastern ingredient, and i already knew that the hummus i modeled my salad dressing after was Middle Eastern.  So i guess I just intuitively put these three things together, that actually all had origins in the same part of the world.

Melissa used acorn meal as part of the nuts.  It was great, and if you ever have a chance to use some or even make some acorn meal, by all means try it!   Acorns are said to not be hard to process, and they’re free!  Acorns are lower in fat than most other nuts, although they are still too high for every day use.  The meal is good in baking, too.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/clay79.html

Any squash would do in this recipe, although Delicata is a nice, mild, sweet squash that is particularly nice.  I included this recipe in the category Holidays as i think it would be perfect for a fall/winter holiday such as Thanksgiving, Equinox, or Christmas.

The fresh herbs are better, if you can get a hold of them.  You probably can only find fresh marjoram if it is in your garden.  I can’t even find the nutritional information for it online.  But i had fresh sage in my freezer, and can get most of the Italian herbs year round at our produce market.  Any herbs would make this nice, i think, and next time, I want to try it with Middle Eastern spices, like cardamom, cumin, maybe even apricots.

There probably will be more rice than will fit in the squash.  I just piled it on my plate after i took the picture.  But if you are cooking other starches, as for a big feast, you might want to increase the number of squashes, or reduce the rest of the recipe by about half, so that you just have the stuffed squash on the plates with other dishes.

Delicata Squash with Brown Rice Pilaf

Makes about 4 servings

Preparation about 45 minutes, but you need to start about an hour and a half before you want to eat

Can be made ahead

4 Delicata or small squash

3 c. cooked brown rice

2 large onions

8 medium carrots

10 stalks celery, leaves are okay

¼ c. fresh or 1 T. dry sage

¼ c. fresh or 1 T. dry thyme

¼ c. fresh or 1 T. dry marjoram

½ t. salt (optional)

6 oz. plain soy yogurt

1 T. whole almonds

1 T. walnut halves

1 T. shelled pistachios

It isn’t really necessary to preheat the oven for this, but i like to time things carefully, so i usually do, so i know just how long a dish has been cooking.  This saves me checking the oven a few times, but of course it is more expensive not to use every bit of the heat once you turn it on.

Prepare the squash by cutting in half and scooping out the seeds, which some people wash and bake with salt and/or spices.  Place the squash halves on a baking sheet and bake about 30-45 minutes, until tender, but not too brown.

Meanwhile, cook the rice, if necessary.

Toast the nuts in the oven, watching carefully, or on the stovetop in a heavy pan like cast iron over medium heat.  Stir the nuts frequently, and i never leave the stove or oven when I have nuts toasting, as i have burnt so many – probably half of all i ever have tried to toast!  Until i learned that stir constantly means stir constantly – or at least do not leave unattended… they burn so fast!  Take the nuts off/away from the heat and out of the pan as soon as they are lightly browned.  They will still cook as long as they have heat, so you want to cool them down quickly by putting them on a cutting board. 

When the nuts are cool, which doesn’t take long, chop them pretty finely.  You don’t chop them until they are toasted, because chopped nuts burn incredibly fast!

Chop the onion, carrots, and celery, and herbs, if necessary, and salt, if using, and cook in about ½ c. water until just tender.  You want the water almost all absorbed, but you don’t want the vegetables over-cooked, as they will cook further in the oven.

Stir the soygurt into the cooked vegetables and herbs and set aside until the squash is done.

When the squash is done, fill each half with as much pilaf as you can stuff into it and put the stuffed squashes back on the baking sheet (you may need to wash it first).  Bake about 20 additional minutes, until the top is lightly browned.  This step isn’t really necessary, but it makes the whole thing a little nicer.

Top with a sprinkling of 2 t. of the nut mixture just before serving.

Adapted from a recipe from Melissa, from Nut-stuffed Delicata Squash in Sunset Magazine, October 2008

Nutritional information – not guaranteed to be accurate:

Per Serving – using acorn squash, as i couldn’t find accurate nutritional information specifically for Delicata squash – 431 calories/12.4 g protein (11.5 %)/8.2 g fat (17.2%)

Cardamom Cashew Cake or Cupcakes

Filed under: Desserts, Higher Calorie Density, Middle Eastern Cuisine — admin @ 1:01 am

Cardamom Cashew Cupcake with Cardamom Cashew Icing

Cardamom Cashew Cake or Cupcakes

Cardamom Cashew Cake has been about my favorite cake since my first bite.  All the flavors in the cake blend together into an indescribable taste sensation!  I wrote on my recipe card:  “Absurdly good!”   I found a recipe for cardamom cupcakes in the wonderful Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, which is a great cookbook just for the pictures, let alone the recipes, which usually just need to have the oil replaced with some pureed fruit.  I never made these with margarine or oil, as i was already cooking low fat when i found the recipe.  I certainly don’t think anyone would miss the oil.

You could make the cake with 2/3 c. applesauce, or most other pureed fruits, (which don’t have to be cooked), and leave out the cashew butter.  In the icing, in place of the cashew butter, you might want to add a little orange juice, but put the rest of the ingredients in first, and add it by the Tablespoon at a time.  I haven’t actually done that with this cake and icing, but i have done it with similar cakes and icings.  The icing would be runnier, and would need to dry before you move or cut the cake.

It’s a funny thing about cardamom.  My daughter and i both love it, but i know not everyone does.  Maybe there’s something hereditary in who likes it?

Makes 1 – 8 x 8 square cake or 12 cupcakes of about 3 T. batter each, so about 12 servings, if you only want a small treat and taste, otherwise 6 servings or less

Preparation about 40 minutes, plus 20 for the icing

Can be made ahead

I haven’t frozen them, but i think it would be fine

1 c. plus 2 T. whole wheat pastry flour

¾ t. baking powder

½ t. baking soda

½ t. salt

1 t. ground cardamom

¼ t. ground cinnamon

1 t. finely grated lemon peel (a microplane works best for this)

2/3 c. vegan sugar (raw sugar works well, giving the cake a richer taste)

1/3 c. cashew butter

1/3 c. applesauce

¼ c. orange juice

½ c. plus 2 T. vegan milk

Make the applesauce, or other pureed fruit, if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Prepare pan by oiling lightly or fill muffin tins with cupcake liners.  I usually make cupcakes so i don’t have to use the oil.

Mix the dry ingredients.

Mix the sugar and cashew butter.  Add the dry ingredients and mix well.  Add the applesauce, orange juice, and vegan milk, and mix until just blended.  (If you are not using cashew butter, add the sugar to the dry ingredients.)

Spoon into cupcake liners or pour into a prepared cake pan.  If you want the cupcakes to be uniform, measure 3 T. into each of 12 liners (i used a 1/4th cup measure and scooped out about 1 T before i scraped the contents into the liner).  Measure or estimate any leftover batter and fill each liner with the same amount.  Or, just guesstimate, and maybe have a couple of smaller cupcakes or less total cupcakes.

Bake about 25 minutes for the cupcakes, and 35-40 minutes for the cake.  The edges should be light brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of any cake should come out clean.  The smell will be heavenly.

Cool.

Ice with:

Cardamom Icing

2 c. sifted powdered sugar

½ t. ground cardamom

1/3 c. cashew butter

1 t. vanilla extract

2 T. maple syrup

Add each ingredient and stir well before adding the nest ingredient.

An interesting garnish might be a whole cardamom pod.  You can find them at Indian markets.  Some people eat them (my husband).  Lemon or orange peel might also look nice.

Adapted from Cashew Butter Cardamom Cupcakes in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero

Nutritional information – not guaranteed to be accurate:

Per serving (1/12 th of the whole recipe) – 258 calories/4.3 g protein (6.6%)/6.9 g fat (24.1%)

April 24, 2010

Zucchini Bread or Muffins

Filed under: Breads, Breakfast, Higher Calorie Density — admin @ 1:02 am

Zucchini Muffins with Applesauce, Raisins, and Walnuts

Zucchini Bread or Muffins

I didn’t grow up on zucchini bread, although my stepfather grew huge zucchinis that my mother tried to find creative ways to use.  I know i had it a few times before, but it wasn’t until my good friend Melissa made it for me that i grasped that it was delicious. Until then, i thought of zucchinis as something to add to other vegetables, not as a star of a recipe.  Of course i had to make my own version, although hers was great and vegan too!

I made zucchini bread (which has little flecks of green) to go with the 10 Green Things Soup i also made.

Makes 1 loaf or about 16 muffins

Preparation about 70 minutes, including making applesauce

Can be made ahead

Freezes well

3 c. whole wheat flour

3 ½ t. baking powder

½ t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 T. ground cinnamon

1 T. Ener-G egg replacer, dry

1 c. raw sugar

2/3 c. unsweetened applesauce

2 t. apple cider vinegar

2 t. vanilla extract

3 c. zucchini, grated

1 c. raisins

½ c. chopped walnuts (optional)

½ c. vegan milk (i used soymilk)

If you need applesauce, and i prefer homemade, cut up about 3 medium sized apples and cook them over medium heat with about ½ c. water until soft, and water reduced by at least half, about 10 minutes.  Cool.  Put the cooked apples in a blender and process.  Measure out 2/3 c. of the puréed apples and save the rest for another recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Mix dry ingredients together.

Mix the wet ingredients together, except the vegan milk, and add to the dry ingredients, and mix briefly.

Add the grated zucchini, raisins, and optional walnuts, and stir these in well.

Add the vegan milk and mix briefly.

Pour into an oiled loaf pan or paper baking cup lined muffin tins.

Bake the loaf about 45-50 minutes, when the top is browned and a knife comes out clean.  Use a knife to get a bigger sample of the inside, as it can be hard to tell if it is really crumbly or still too moist.

Bake the muffins about 35-40 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Inspired by Melissa’s Zucchini Bread and adapted from Zucchini Bread in How It All Vegan by the greatest cook i know Sarah Kramer, and her friend, Tanya Barnard.

Nutritional information – not guaranteed to be accurate:

Per Serving – 1 muffin or 1/16th loaf with walnuts:  188 calories/4.2 g protein (8.9%)/ 3 g fat (14.4%)

Per Serving – 1 muffin or 1/16th loaf without walnuts:  163 calories/ 3.6 g protein (8.9%)/.6 g fat (3.3%)

April 17, 2010

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

Filed under: Cookies, Higher Calorie Density — admin @ 1:01 am

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

My daughter gave me some Ceylon cinnamon for my birthday.  It is very much more cinnamon than ordinary cinnamon, like a dream of cinnamon.  The little plastic bag i had smelled up the whole kitchen with an overpowering cinnamon smell.   You could even smell it when you walked in the front door, some distance away.

I wanted to try it right away, but what would benefit from intense cinnamon?  The only answer to me seemed to be Snickerdoodles.  When i was about 7, my mother made them for the first time.  I couldn’t decide if i liked them or not.  They seemed strange, because i had never had them, and at that age, that seemed in and of itself like something i maybe didn’t want to eat.  But my mother seemed to think they were a real treat, and not something strange.  Sugar, cinnamon and fat, what’s not to like?  Although they never became a favorite of mine, i made them from time to time, half out of nostalgia, and half as a way to eat a lot of cinnamon and sugar, which i also had on toast sometimes.  Last year, when i was still sometimes baking with margarine, i found a really good Snickerdoodles recipe in my favorite vegan cookbook (my favorite cookbook, period!) La Dolce Vegan.  I realized this must be what people were raving about when they talked about how good Snickerdoodles were.  While they would never replace chocolate chip cookies as a favorite for me, i put it in my file of recipes to repeat regularly (which would be every 2 years or so).

I recently wrote on how i had given up on cookies without margarine.  I completely forgot about that as i plotted how to use my new Ceylon cinnamon.  But these cookies did not come out wonderfully, even with the perfect recipe.  They were dense little balls that needed to be flattened before baking.  They did not spread out like the ones made with margarine.  As i usually do, i used half the fat of the original recipe, but i don’t think even the whole ½ c. would have made these less tough.  They would be fun to dip in tea, though.

Also, the cinnamon sugar you roll them in burns easily, and you have to watch for that magic moment when the insides are cooked, but the outsides are not yet overdone.

But they were wonderfully sweet and cinnamony, and for that reason, i would make them again.  Next time, i think i will try adding ¼ c, pureed plums, which i freeze in the summer.  (If you use prunes, cook them first and take the skins off before you puree them.) The fruit would make the cookies rather cake-like, but maybe that would be a good thing in this case.

Like many things, the cookie is a vehicle for the particular food taste i want, in this case, cinnamon.  Of course, there’s always oatmeal to have with cinnamon.

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

Makes about 16 cookies

Preparation about 25 minutes

Can be made ahead

Can be frozen

Topping:

3 T. vegan sugar

1 ½ t. ground cinnamon

Cookies:

1 1/3 c. whole wheat flour

 ¾ c. vegan sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

2 t. baking powder

¼ t. salt

1 T. ground flaxseeds

3 T. water

¼ c. nut butter such as cashew butter

¼ c. pureed plums or other fruit?

Stir together the sugar and cinnamon topping and set aside.

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the flaxseed and water and set aside for a few minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Mix the dry ingredients together.

Add the nut butter and mix well.  An electric mixture makes this easy.  Add the flax seed mixture, and fruit, if using.

Shape dough into 1 ¼ inch balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.  Place on parchment lined baking sheet, and flatten slightly.  Bake 7 – 10 minutes.

Adapted from Snickerdoodles in La Dolce Vegan by the incomparable Sarah Kramer.

Nutritional information – not guaranteed to be accurate:

Per cookie –  107 calories/2.5 g protein (9.2%)/2.4 g fat (20.1%)

 

April 10, 2010

Oatmeal Whole Wheat Bread

Filed under: Breads, Breakfast, Higher Calorie Density — admin @ 1:06 am

Oatmeal Whole Wheat Bread

Oatmeal Whole Wheat Bread

The little loaf pans in the photograph are a birthday present, and came from Emerson Creek Pottery.

This is a favorite and quick bread to make.  It goes with many things.

I’ve also made it with rice and sorghum flour and oatmeal, with great success, though many people with gluten sensitivities can’t handle the oatmeal.

If you want a less calorie dense bread, you can make it with water.

This bread is also good with about 2 T. poppy seeds, or Italian herbs, ½ c. fresh or ¼ c.dried.  Or try it with cinnamon and sugar, about 1 T. cinnamon and ¼ c. more sugar.

Makes about 12 slices

Preparation about 15 minutes

Can be made ahead

Freezes well

2 c. rolled oats

2 c. whole wheat pastry flour

1 T. baking powder

1 t. salt

¼ c. vegan sugar

2 c. vegan milk

Preheat oven to 450°.

Mix dry ingredients.  Add vegan milk.  Pour into a lightly oiled loaf pan or three mini-loaf pans.  Or, this would make about 24 muffins.

Bake about 30 minutes for the loaves, 25 for the muffins.  Check with a toothpick to see if the inside of the loaf is still wet.

Adapted from Kissing Cousins Oat Bread by the terrific Sarah Kramer.

Nutritional information – not guaranteed to be accurate:

Per Serving – using almond milk – 146 calories/5.1 g protein (13.9%)/1.7 g fat (10.2%)

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