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Vegan Brownie Recipe

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 20, 2013 | 3 Comments »

I’ve tried various vegan brownie recipes that I haven’t been thrilled with… I know, how do you mess up brownies? But the texture would always be off, or they were crispy and I couldn’t get them out of the pan. I had a chocolate craving the other night though, and I finally found a recipe that actually came out pretty well.

Brownie

I might tweak it next time by using a bit less oil. I ended up adding a little extra cocoa powder because they seemed too wet from oil, but otherwise they turned out well. They were easy to get out of the pan, and they were fudgy and soft like a brownie should be. The recipe came from All Recipes. They were so yummy I didn’t wait to get a photo of the whole pan as you can see. We just dug right in! If you have a favorite vegan brownie recipe, share it in the comments!

Pan of Brownies

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 cups vegan white sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil (I’d cut this to about 3/4 cup next time – maybe even 1/2 cup)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1 cup nuts (optional)

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 350°.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Then add the water, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Stir until the batter is completely combined.
  • Add the chocolate chips and nuts if desired. I just used chocolate chips in this batch, but I like walnuts in brownies too.
  • Pour the batter into a 9×13 inch baking pan and smooth it out.
  • Bake the brownies for 25-30 minutes until a knife poked in the center comes out clean. Let them cool down a little before cutting them up or they’ll fall apart. Enjoy!

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Virtual Vegan Potluck – Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie with Fresh Berries

Posted in Food Blogs, Recipes, Vegan Blogs, Virtual Vegan Potluck, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 11, 2013 | 29 Comments »

Welcome to the third Virtual Vegan Potluck! It’s been great to see this grow so much each time! In case you just happened upon my blog and don’t know what the Virtual Vegan Potluck is, it’s a blog circle of recipes by vegan and vegan friendly bloggers. You can start at the beginning by going to Vegan Bloggers Unite, or see the blogs before or after me in the potluck by following the Go Forward and Go Back links at the bottom of this post. I’m excited to be participating again, and I’ve brought one of my favorite dessert recipes to share!

This recipe originally came from Vegetarian Times many years ago, and I’ve made a few modifications to it over the years. This pie is pretty easy and quick to make, and it’s perfect for sharing! Who doesn’t love peanut butter, chocolate, and berries? I wish I could give each of you a slice in real life!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

I make the crust from scratch because many store bought graham cracker crusts aren’t vegan. Most graham crackers contain honey, but Nabisco Originals don’t. Making a graham cracker crust from scratch isn’t too hard and doesn’t take much time. I think they’re tastier than the store bought versions too! You can also use ginger snaps, vanilla or chocolate wafer cookies, or any other type of cookie or cracker that is dry and crumbly to make a crust. That’s one of the things I like so much about this pie, it’s easily customizable. In addition to changing the flavor of the crust you could substitute almond butter or cashew butter for the peanut butter, and you could top the pie with anything you like – nuts, vegan whipped cream, bananas, etc. Make it your own!

Graham Cracker Crust Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10-11 whole crackers)

1/4 cup sugar

dash of salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

5 Tbsp melted vegan butter (Earth Balance or organic Smart Balance)

Graham Cracker Crust Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 375°.
  • Place the graham crackers in a ziploc bag and seal it shut. Use a rolling pin or a wooden spoon to crush the crackers into crumbs.
  • Pour the crumbs into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, salt, and cinnamon to the crumbs. Stir until combined.
  • Melt the vegan butter and drizzle it over the crumbs. Mix it with a fork until combined.
  • Pour the crumbs into a 9 inch pie plate. Press them into the bottom of the pie plate and up the edges. They should stick together. If any holes form, make sure you fill them in.
  • Bake the crust for about 10-15 minutes. If the sides of the crust slouch down after baking, gently use the back of a spoon to push the crust back up the sides of your pie plate. Let the crust cool fully before putting the filling in.

Ingredients for Pie Filling:

  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 12-oz. container silken tofu
  • ½ cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • berries for the top

Directions for Pie Filling:

1. In a food processor or blender, combine the silken tofu and maple syrup and blend until smooth. Add the peanut butter and blend it again until it’s smooth.

2. Melt the chocolate chips, either using a double boiler or heating it in 30 second intervals in the microwave until melted. Stir the chocolate frequently as it melts. Add the melted chocolate to the food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Pour the filling into your cooled graham cracker crust. Smooth the top out and refrigerate the pie at least 20 minutes to firm up.

4. Place the berries on top (or use your topping of choice). You can use fresh berries when in season or thawed frozen berries other times of the year. Keep the pie refrigerated. Enjoy!

Be sure to check out the rest of the potluck by following these links! The blog before me is Mama et de Bebe Hawk and the blog after me is Deerly Beloved Bakery. You can also start at the beginning by visiting Vegan Bloggers Unite!

go_bck-300x257 go_forward-300x243

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Vegan Ice Cream Cake

Posted in Holidays, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 25, 2013 | 6 Comments »

Growing up, my mom would make me ice cream cakes for my birthday sometimes, and I wanted to try recreating that in a vegan version. I often make my own vegan ice cream and I have a really yummy chocolate cake recipe, but I wanted to try making a yellow cake. I’m so partial to chocolate cake, that I had actually never made a vegan yellow cake. I started hunting around for recipes and one in particular popped up in a few different places. I’m not exactly sure where it originated, but I followed the recipe from the blog The Ramblings and Recipes of a Vegan Goddess. It baked perfectly, rising up nicely, but not too high so it was still easily stack-able. This will definitely become my go-to recipe when I want to make a yellow cake.

I also followed the butter-cream icing recipe from that blog post. I added in some lemon extract and it tasted good and did the job, but it came out more like a thick glaze or thin icing than I was expecting. I probably need to adjust the ratio of powdered sugar to vegan butter next time, or I’ll use the chocolate peanut butter frosting that I make for the Moosewood Chocolate Cake. If you have a good vegan icing recipe that you like, feel free to post it in the comments. I haven’t found a basic vanilla one that I love yet.

For the ice cream filling, I made a basic vegan ice cream base and added in fresh strawberries and chocolate. The fresh strawberries made the texture of the ice cream a little too icy, but fresh fruit tends to do that. It was still yummy though! I would recommend using my Mint Chocolate Chip, Coffee Chocolate Chip, or Almond Pistachio recipes, or invent your own flavor! You could also use a store bought vegan ice cream.

Ingredients for Ice Cream Layer:

2 cups soy creamer
1 cup soy milk divided
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
3/4 cup of sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
Any extracts or add-ins you choose

Directions for Ice Cream Layer:

  • Note that the ice cream needs to be made the day before so it can be frozen into the same shape as the cakes over night.
  • Mix 1/4 cup of soy milk with 2 tablespoons of arrowroot powder and set aside.
  • Heat up the remaining soy milk, soy creamer, and sugar over medium heat until boiling.
  • Remove from heat and add the vanilla and any other extracts you choose. Then add the soy milk and arrowroot powder mixture. The liquid will thicken because of the arrowroot powder.
  • Put the mixture in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours to fully cool. Freeze according to your ice cream maker directions. The bowl for the ice cream maker usually has to freeze over night before churning.
  • In the last few minutes of churning, add anything else you choose to create the flavor you want – for example chocolate chips, cookie dough, nuts, candy, etc. Line an 8 or 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper, and pour the mixture into the pan. Place it into the fridge overnight to firm up.

Cake Ingredients:

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups cold water
1 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp lemon juice

Cake Directions:

  • This recipe makes two 8 or 9 inch cakes for layering. Preheat oven to 375°. Line the bottom of two 8 inch or 9 inch cake pans with parchment paper. Lightly oil or grease the top of the parchment paper and sides of the pans.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, combine the water, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
  • Once the batter is mixed, add the freshly squeezed lemon juice. The lemon juice won’t make the cake taste lemony. The acidity of the lemon juice interacts with the baking soda to help the cake rise. Give the batter a quick stir to combine the lemon juice and then immediately pour the batter evenly into the two pans.
  • Bake the cakes for 25-30 minutes. They are done when a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes. Then, gently turn the pans over, supporting the cake with your hand, until the cake comes loose from the bottom of the pan. Flip it over onto the surface you want to ice the cake on. Gently remove the other cake from the pan and place it onto a plate or cooling rack with the bottom facing up. This will make it easier to layer the cakes once they’re cool.
  • Allow the cakes to fully cool. You can put them in the fridge to speed up the process. You don’t want them to be warm since you will be layering ice cream in the middle and it will melt.

Assembling the Ice Cream Cake:

  • While your cake layers are cooling, make your icing. Choose your own favorite icing recipe, try The Vegan Goddess’ recipe, or if you want a chocolate frosting try the Moosewood recipe.
  • Once the layers are completely cool, you are ready to start assembling. Your first cake layer should be on the tray or surface that you want to use to ice and serve the cake. If the cake top is very rounded and puffy, you might want to slice the top off to make it flat. When I made this recipe, however, this wasn’t necessary. Pop the ice cream layer out of the cake pan, using the parchment paper to help you pry it out if needed. Place the ice cream layer centered on top of the bottom cake layer. Place the top cake layer on top of the ice cream layer.
  • Ice the top and sides of the cake. You can decorate the top however you like. I decided to keep it simple, and I dusted some cocoa powder over the top and placed a strawberry in the middle. Keep the cake in the freezer until you’re ready to serve it. If it melts, the ice cream and frosting will run down the sides, so you don’t want to leave it out too long.

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Vegan Pie Crust Recipe

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 10, 2013 | 4 Comments »

Homemade pie crust is one of those things that can be intimidating to make the first time, but it’s actually not that hard. I got a new pie plate and a pie bird for Christmas, so I wanted to try them out. I veganized a pie crust recipe from The Joy of Cooking to make an apple pie a little while back and the crust came out perfectly. Everyone has their own way of making pie crust, but this one works really well for me.

Growing up, my mom always made her own pie crusts, and she’s really good at it. Maybe I’m just spoiled, but I think homemade pie crust is so much better than frozen store bought crust! It’s really worth the effort to make it yourself. Try out this recipe with your favorite filling. It makes enough for the top and bottom crust for a 9 inch pie plate. It could also work as the top of a pot pie if you added in some savory spices like thyme or rosemary.

A few tips before you start… The recipe calls for using ice cold water. The reason that you want cold water is so the shortening and vegan butter don’t melt in the dough. On that note, the shortening and vegan butter should also be cold when you start working with them. Don’t leave the vegan butter out to soften up. Another important thing is not to overwork the dough or it will get tough. Just do enough to get everything combined. The amount of water you need to add can also vary greatly depending on a lot of different factors. Just pay attention to the dough and only add a little at a time until you have just enough. If you’re wondering what a pie bird is, it’s a little ceramic bird that is open on the bottom and the beak. It helps vent steam out of your pie while it bakes. They help prevent the filling from boiling up and breaking through the crust.

If you want some very detailed and more scientific info about making pie crust and the various factors that come into play, check out this post on Serious Eats called The Food Lab: The Science of Pie Dough.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp vegan sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup Spectrum vegetable shortening
1 cup vegan butter (Earth Balance or Smart Balance) or another cup of vegetable shortening
1/3 + 1 tbsp (and maybe more) of ice cold water

Directions:

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Stir so they are well combined.
  • Break the vegan butter and shortening into chunks and add them to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut the shortening into the dry ingredients. The mixture will start to form crumbs, with some of the shortening and vegan butter remaining in about pea size clumps. Don’t over mix it. It should be dry and crumby, not pasty like a dough or batter.
  • Slowly drizzle 1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp of ice cold water over the mixture. Using a spatula, gently cut the water into the mixture so it’s evenly distributed. It will start to form into balls of dough that should stick together if you press them together. If the dough won’t come together, continue to add ice cold water 1 tbsp at a time until it does. The dough should be a little on the dry and flaky side however, so don’t add too much water. You can use your hands or the spatula to gently coax the dough together. It’s not going to look smooth like bread dough. It will be a rougher texture. It’s okay to still see little bits of the shortening and butter in the dough. Don’t overwork the dough. Just do enough to get everything combined.
  • Separate the dough into two even balls and wrap them tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate them for at least half an hour, but it’s best to leave it several hours.
  • When you’re ready to use the dough, preheat the oven to 425°. Roll the dough out on a floured surface using a floured rolling pin until it has formed a circle big enough for your pie plate. If any holes form, patch them with extra dough. Using the rolling pin to support the dough, pick it up and place it flat in the pie plate. Pinch off excess dough that hangs over the sides.
  • If you’re using a pie bird, place the pie bird in the middle of the crust and fill the pie with your favorite fruit filling around the pie bird. The bird’s head should be sticking out of the top of the fruit. Then roll out the dough for the top in the same way you rolled the bottom. Lift it up with the rolling pin and place it on top of the filling. Cut a little x in the center of the dough so the head of the pie bird can peak through the crust. Crimp down the edges of the dough to form a seal, removing excess dough as you go. If you aren’t using a pie bird, you’ll want to poke the top crust with a fork 6-8 times around the top so the steam can vent.
  • Before baking the pie, I brushed on a little soy milk and sprinkled on some cinnamon sugar, but this is optional. I like the texture and golden color it creates on top though.
  • Bake the pie at 425° for 30 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350° and bake 30 to 45 minutes more. The top of the pie should look golden brown and you should see thick juice bubbling around the edges when it’s done. Pull the pie out of the oven and let it cool. Enjoy!

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Vegan Matzo Ball Soup AKA Seitan and Dumpling Soup

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 27, 2013 | 3 Comments »

Growing up, I loved matzo ball soup. It’s surprisingly hard to make matzo balls vegan though. If anyone has a good recipe, let me know. My friend Sarah sent me a recipe for a dumpling soup that was vegan, and it’s really, really yummy! Though it’s a little different than matzo ball soup, it definitely satisfies the craving. Sarah makes hers more like a stew, but I modified her recipe a bit to be as close to the matzo ball soup that I remember. This is definitely comfort food, but still a healthy meal. Perfect for a sick day or a cold rainy day…well really for any day!

As a side note, before we get to the recipe, I wanted to share a link. I don’t usually post anything political on this blog, but I wanted to share a video I created at my last job about Edie Windsor called Edie Takes on DOMA. Her case is being heard by the Supreme Court today. If you don’t already know the details, take a few minutes to watch this video. It gives a quick background on her situation. If you’re up for a longer watch, check out another segment I made about the Defense of Marriage Act, called Married But Not Equal. It goes through a few of the many ways that DOMA negatively affects LGBT couples. Okay, that’s it for the politics. I just wanted to share some background info in case anyone was interested. Now on to the recipe!

Soup Ingredients

1 box of Manischewitz Matzo Ball & Soup Mix or 6 cups of vegetable broth
1 bag of mini golden potatoes (about 2 cups) or 2-3 potatoes cubed
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 shallots
olive oil for sauteing
4-5 carrots
2 stalks of celery
1 container of seitan
Black Pepper
Dried Basil
Dried Thyme

Dumpling Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegan butter
3/4 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon dried or fresh dill (use a little more if using fresh dill)

Directions

  • If you’re using Manischewitz Matzo & Soup Mix, you only need the soup packet, not the matzo ball packet. Follow the directions on the back of the box for just the soup mix. It will tell you how much water you need for the mix you bought. If you’re using broth, bring the broth up to a simmer in a soup pot. I like to use the Manischewitz soup mix because it creates a broth that is similar to chicken broth, but it’s vegan.
  • If you’re using whole potatoes, peel and chop them. If you’re using mini potatoes, they’re already bite size, so there’s no prep work. Add the potatoes to the simmering broth.
  • Chop the onions and shallots, and press or mince the garlic. Saute them in a little olive oil until the onions are translucent. Peel and chop the carrots. Chop the celery. Add the onions, garlic, carrots, and celery to the simmering broth.
  • While the soup simmers, make the dough for your dumplings.  In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the vegan butter using a pastry blender or fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the soy milk and dill, and stir until the dough is combined.
  • Add the dough in rounded tablespoonfuls to the simmering broth. Sprinkle in dried thyme, basil, and black pepper to taste. Allow the dumplings to simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then cover the pot and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
  • While the dumplings are simmering, saute the seitan in a little bit of olive oil. Add the seitan to the soup at the end, right before serving.

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Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! – Vegan Irish Soda Bread

Posted in Holidays, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 11, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, I decided to veganize an old favorite, Irish Soda Bread! There are many variations on Irish Soda Bread, some more traditionally Irish, and some more Americanized. I’m not sure exactly where this lies on the spectrum, but it is tasty!

I started with the Irish Soda Bread recipe from Simply Recipes, posted by Elise Bauer, and then made my own adjustments. This recipe is not very sweet, but I liked it that way. If you want it sweeter, you can add a little more sugar. The texture of the bread came out perfect, dense but also fluffy like a scone. There’s also a variety of things you can add or leave out based on your preferences, including raisins, currants, caraway seeds, lemon zest, orange zest, etc. I included raisins and lemon zest. I meant to put caraway seeds in as well, but I forgot to add them, despite making a trip to the store to buy them before I started baking. Sigh. I’m including them in the recipe anyway, in hopes that I remember them next time!

If you’re looking for other Saint Patrick’s Day recipes, check out the recipe for Vegan Irish Potatoes that I posted last year!

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 Tbsp vegan butter
3/4 cup raisins
1 1/2 Tbsp Ener-G egg replacer powder
2 Tbsp warm water
1 3/4 cup soy milk
2 lemons – I used Meyer lemons, which are a little smaller than regular lemons.
1 Tbsp caraway seeds

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 425°. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Cut in the vegan butter using a pastry cutter or a fork. It will form course crumbs in the flour. Add your raisins to the mix.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the egg replacer powder and warm water.
  • Zest and juice your lemons. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy milk and 2 Tbsp of the lemon juice. This creates a vegan version of buttermilk.
  • Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients. Add the egg replacer mixture, the vegan buttermilk, the lemon zest, and the caraway seeds. Stir the dough until just combined. It will start to pull together into a rough ball. Coat your hands lightly with flour and knead the dough gently. If it’s really sticky, add a little more flour, though this dough is meant to be sticky and rough, not smooth like a yeast bread dough. Don’t over-knead the dough or the bread will be tough. You just need to get it into a ball that you can transfer to a baking pan.
  • Line a baking pan with parchment paper if you have it, or lightly grease the pan. Transfer your ball of dough to the pan. Score the top with a large X.
  • Bake the bread for 35-40 minutes. I checked it with a chopstick to see if the center was done. If the chopstick comes out clean, it’s ready. Happy St. Patty’s Day!

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Post Punk Kitchen Recipes – Summer Seitan Saute With Cilantro & Lime, Tofu Omelets

Posted in Food Blogs, Recipes, Vegan Blogs, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 5, 2013 | 2 Comments »

I recently tried a couple of really yummy recipes from Post Punk Kitchen, Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s website, that I wanted to share. The first is called Summer Seitan Saute With Cilantro & Lime. I make stir fries with seitan pretty often for dinner and was looking for a way to change it up a bit. This was perfect! Most of my stir  fries are Asian inspired…soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, etc. But this one is more Mexican, almost like a deconstructed burrito. Very yummy! You can find the recipe here.

LimePepperOnion

I stuck to the recipe pretty closely, but instead of jalapenos, I used a sweet bell pepper. I don’t like food to be too spicy, but I might try it with the jalapenos sometime, since they’re usually milder than other peppers, especially without the seeds. I also left out the mushrooms, as I seem to be the only vegan who hates mushrooms! Next time I will also increase the quantity of cilantro, because I just really like cilantro.

StirfryCooking

This recipe is definitely worth a try, and we’ll be adding it to our usual dinner rotation. Play with the flavors to make it your own!

LimeSeitan

The other recipe that I tried from Post Punk Kitchen was Tofu Omelets. Unfortunately I don’t have a picture, because we ate them up too quickly! She’s got a great photo on her website though. They were really yummy and pretty simple to make. Again, I pretty much stuck to the recipe with the exception of black salt. I couldn’t find it at the store, but I will keep my eye out for it to use in the next batch. I was surprised by how much these looked like actual omelets. The taste and texture weren’t quite the same as eggs, but pretty close. They were really yummy as their own thing.

Has anyone else tried some recipes recently that they really enjoyed? I’m always on the lookout for new dinner ideas to keep things interesting!

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Israeli Salad

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 17, 2013 | 2 Comments »

I used to get Israeli Salad all the time when I would go to Mediterranean restaurants, but I hadn’t eaten it in a few years. I already had a lot of the ingredients on hand, so I decided to make it for lunch. It really is a tasty, but very simple and healthy meal especially for vegans! It’s perfect as a side dish to any Mediterranean food, or you could pack it up for lunch. Most Israeli Salad recipes seem to be pretty similar, but feel free to adjust it to your tastes. Some variations include adding grated carrot, scallions, mint, or za’atar (a yummy Middle Eastern spice mix).

Israeli Salad

Ingredients:

1 cucumber
1 red pepper
1 – 1  1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/4 – 1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 – 2 lemons
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:

  • Chop the cucumber, red pepper, and tomatoes. You can peel the cucumber if you prefer, but I left the skin on. Finely dice the red onion. Roughly chop the parsley.
  • Mix all the vegetables and herbs in a medium sized mixing bowl.
  • Juice the lemons. I used Meyer lemons, which are usually smaller than regular lemons, so I used two. You may only need one if using a regular lemon.
  • Add 2 tbsp of olive oil to the lemon juice and mix well. Drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice over the veggies.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well so all the veggies get coated.

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100th Post! Cardamom Meyer Lemon Ice Cream

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 2, 2013 | 4 Comments »

It’s taken a while to get here, but this is my 100th post on The Vegan Kat! Thanks to everyone who reads my posts, and I hope you’ve enjoyed some of the recipes along the way! If you’ve been reading this blog for a while now, you’ll know that I enjoy playing with new flavors of ice cream, and have posted some of my favorite flavor combos in the past including Almond Pistachio, Coffee Chocolate Chip, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Mango Banana and Watermelon Strawberry Lime Sorbets. I recently tried out a new and more unusual flavor combo to add to this list: Cardamom Meyer Lemon.

I bought a bag of Meyer Lemons at Whole Foods without having a clear plan of what to do with them. I just really like Meyer Lemons, so I knew I’d come up with something. After searching around, I saw a recipe on the blog Fahrenbite for Cardamom Meyer Lemon Crepes, which look amazing. I haven’t made crepes before, and I don’t think I have a pan that would work to try making them. I decided to use the flavor combo in ice cream instead. It turned out really well, and it’s certainly a unique flavor! This isn’t necessarily the kind of ice cream you’d want to eat a whole bowl of because it’s a strong flavor. It’s really yummy in small amounts, and I bet it would be delicious on top of apple pie instead of vanilla ice cream. You could also try adding in toasted pecans, which I think would compliment this very well.

If you don’t already have cardamom on hand, you should get green cardamom that is still in the pod, not pre-ground cardamom. It can be a bit pricey, but I bought a decent sized bag of cardamom at an Indian grocery store near me for about $3.00. If there’s an Indian grocery store near you, I would check there, because you might get a good deal. Or if you’re near a Whole Foods, check their bulk spices. They’ve usually got some pretty good deals and you can buy exactly how much you need. You can also probably find arrowroot powder in the bulk section at Whole Foods.

Cardamom Meyer Lemon Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 scant tsp ground cardamom (start with green cardamom in pods and grind it yourself)
1 Meyer Lemon
1 cup soy milk (divided)
2 cups soy creamer
2 Tbs arrowroot powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

  • The bowl of your ice cream maker needs to be frozen at least overnight before making this recipe, unless you’ve got a kind that doesn’t require pre-freezing.
  • Crack open the cardamom pods, keeping the seeds and discarding the shells. You only need 1 tsp of ground cardamom. Once you have enough seeds, grind them in a spice grinder (or coffee grinder designated for spices), or using a mortar and pestle. Freshly ground cardamom is much stronger than already ground cardamom. I wouldn’t use more than 1 tsp of cardamom, and you should adjust the amount according to your taste.
  • Zest the Meyer Lemon and squeeze the juice out of it. Keep these aside for later.
  • In a small bowl, mix the arrowroot powder and 1/4 cup of the soymilk. Whisk until well combined and set aside.
  • In a pot, mix the remaining 3/4 cup of soy milk, soy creamer, and sugar. Heat on medium until the mixture slowly comes to a boil. Stir in the arrowroot and soy milk mixture, and it will cause the liquid to thicken. Add the ground cardamom, the lemon zest, and the lemon juice. Stir until well combined.
  • Refrigerate the mixture for 2-3 hours until it’s cool.
  • Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the maker’s directions. Usually it has to churn about 1/2 an hour. It will still be a little soft, but ready to eat, or you can firm it up in the freezer before serving.

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Chopped Cabbage and Miso Salad with Marinated Tofu

Posted in Recipes, Vegan Blogs, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 26, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

My sister made this salad for me a while ago, and it’s really yummy. The recipe comes from 101 Cookbooks by Heidi Swanson. This is a really yummy but still pretty light and healthy meal. The crispy shallots alone are amazing, but with the crunchy cabbage, chives, toasted almonds, and miso dressing, it’s really a perfect flavor combination. My sister makes marinated tofu to go with the salad that adds some protein and goes well with the crunchiness of the cabbage.

I didn’t change anything about Heidi’s recipe other than using a combination of red and green cabbage and a larger quantity of cabbage. You can find the recipe for the salad here, and I’ll include the recipe for the marinated tofu I put on top of the salad. Heidi Swanson has a Recipe Journal which some great recipes on it, so browse around her blog while you’re there!

And, to follow up on my New Year’s Resolution, the new (to me) ingredients in the salad are …miso and powdered mustard! I’ve of course eaten miso many times before in miso soup, but for some reason I’ve never cooked with it. Now I have a whole tub, so if you have any other yummy miso recipes, please share them in the comments!

Marinated Tofu Ingredients:

1 block of firm or extra firm tofu
1 – 2 shallots
3 – 4 cloves of garlic
small knob of ginger
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1/4 cup of rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
black pepper
sesame oil

Marinated Tofu Directions:

  • Drain the tofu and press the water out with a paper towel. Slice your tofu into 1/4 inch thick slabs. Spread the tofu out in a baking dish to marinate.
  • Thinly slice the shallots, press or mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, shallots, garlic, and ginger. Whisk together.
  • Pour the marinade over the tofu so it’s evenly coated. Sprinkle some black pepper on top of the tofu. Allow the tofu to marinade for an hour or two (or longer).
  • A lot of the liquid will probably be soaked up into the tofu, but drain off some of the excess liquid. Reserve the shallots, ginger, and garlic by straining the liquid. Pan fry the tofu, shallots, ginger, and garlic in a little sesame oil until the edges are golden and crispy.
  • Top the Cabbage and Miso Salad with the marinated tofu and enjoy!

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